WASHINGTON — The Justice Department has opened an investigation into whether E. Jean Carroll, the longtime advice columnist who has said Donald Trump sexually assaulted her in a Manhattan department store 30 years ago, lied during the course of civil litigation against the Republican president, according to a person familiar with the matter.
What You Need To Know
The Justice Department has opened an investigation into whether longtime advice columnist E. Jean Carroll lied during the course of civil litigation against Donald Trump, who Carroll says sexually assaulted her in a Manhattan department store 30 years ago
That’s according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to publicly discuss an ongoing inquiry and spoke Thursday on the condition of anonymity
Lawyers for Carroll have not responded to requests for comment from The Associated Press
The Justice Department has opened a series of investigations into perceived adversaries of the Republican president
The person who confirmed the existence of the investigation was not authorized to publicly discuss an ongoing inquiry and spoke on the condition of anonymity. The perjury investigation is being led by the federal prosecutors’ office in Chicago, and acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has had no involvement because of his prior work as Trump’s personal attorney, the person said.
Lawyers for Carroll did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press on Thursday.
It’s the latest in a series of investigations the Trump administration Justice Department has opened into perceived adversaries of the president.
The Carroll investigation was first reported by CNN.