The chief federal prosecutor in Chicago has publicly refuted claims that his office initiated a criminal probe into E. Jean Carroll, the author who successfully sued U.S. President Donald Trump over sexual assault and defamation allegations.
On Thursday, U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros issued a statement clarifying his office’s position after reports emerged suggesting the Justice Department had begun examining Carroll’s testimony.
“The Chicago U.S. Attorney’s Office can confirm that it has not opened – and has never opened – a criminal investigation into E. Jean Carroll,” Boutros stated.
The confusion arose after a source with knowledge of the situation informed Reuters on Wednesday that federal prosecutors were looking into potential perjury charges related to Carroll’s testimony in her two victorious civil cases against Trump.
Carroll’s attorney, Robbie Kaplan, has not yet responded to requests for comment regarding the matter.
According to the anonymous source, the alleged inquiry centered on Carroll’s statements during her successful legal battles, which concluded in 2023 and 2024. These cases involved accusations that Trump sexually assaulted her at a New York department store and subsequently defamed her by calling her a liar.
CNN was the first news outlet to report on the purported investigation.
The Trump administration’s Justice Department has initiated multiple investigations targeting the president’s critics and has filed criminal charges in several instances since taking office.
The source indicated that prosecutors were focusing on a 2022 deposition where the former Elle magazine writer stated she had not received external funding for her lawsuit. Her legal team later disclosed that Reid Hoffman, the billionaire co-founder of LinkedIn, had covered portions of her legal expenses.
However, an appeals court ruled in 2024 that “Ms. Carroll plausibly represented that she had forgotten about the limited outside funding counsel obtained in September 2020 when this question was first posed to her in 2022, and the additional discovery did not indicate otherwise.”
In May 2023, a jury determined that Trump had sexually assaulted Carroll and defamed her through false statements, though they did not find him guilty of rape. A separate jury in January 2024 concluded he had defamed her and ordered him to pay $83.3 million in damages.
Trump continues to deny any wrongdoing and remains engaged in ongoing legal disputes with Carroll.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who has swiftly implemented Trump’s directives since replacing his predecessor, has recused himself from any department investigation due to his previous role as one of Trump’s personal lawyers in the Carroll appeals process, according to the source.
