The Department of Justice has reportedly launched a criminal investigation into E Jean Carroll, the former New York magazine writer who accused President Donald Trump of sexual assault.
The probe is believed to focus on whether Carroll, 82, committed perjury in her civil lawsuits against Trump, in which she claimed he sexually abused and defamed her, The New York Times reports, citing a person with direct knowledge of the situation.
Andrew S Boutros, the Trump-appointed US Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, opened the inquiry, according to the source.
Meanwhile, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is said to have recused himself from the investigation because he represented Trump in the Carroll case, for which she won a $5 million civil judgment against the president in May 2023.
A federal jury in New York found Trump liable at the time of sexually assaulting Carroll in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the mid-1990s. The jury also found Trump defamed her by saying on social media that her case was a hoax and a lie.
Trump has since asked the Supreme Court to overturn it.
The Department of Justice has reportedly launched a criminal investigation into E Jean Carroll, the former New York magazine writer who accused President Donald Trump of sexual assault (pictured last year)
President Trump was found liable in May 2023 of sexually assaulting Carroll in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the mid-1990s
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.