The Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into writer E. Jean Carroll, the woman who won two civil cases against President Donald Trump, over testimony she gave during the years-long legal fight between the pair, according to CNN.

Federal prosecutors are examining whether Carroll made false statements under oath during a 2022 deposition connected to her lawsuits against Trump. The inquiry reportedly centers on Carroll’s statement that no outside parties were funding her legal battle against the president.

Carroll later disclosed that billionaire LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, through a nonprofit organization, helped cover some legal expenses associated with the case.

The development marks the latest escalation in Trump’s ongoing legal feud with Carroll, whose allegations against the president resulted in two separate jury verdicts totaling nearly $90 million in damages.

Carroll accused Trump of sexually assaulting her inside a dressing room at Bergdorf Goodman in the mid-1990s. Trump denied the allegations and repeatedly attacked Carroll publicly, triggering the defamation claims that followed.

In a 2019 statement that later became central to the case, Trump said, “She’s not my type.” He also claimed Carroll fabricated the accusation to help sell books.

A Manhattan jury in 2023 found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation, awarding Carroll $5 million. A second jury awarded her $83.3 million in 2024 after determining Trump continued defaming her while denying the assault allegations.

Investigators are now focused on statements Carroll made during videotaped testimony in 2022. During that deposition, Trump attorney Alina Habba asked Carroll whether anyone else was financing the litigation.

Two weeks before trial, Carroll’s legal team disclosed that Hoffman’s nonprofit had contributed funding tied to legal fees and security costs. Trump’s attorneys argued the arrangement should have been revealed earlier.

“They conspired to conceal the truth for nearly six months,” Habba said during court proceedings.

U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan later ruled the funding issue was not relevant to the substance of Carroll’s claims and barred Trump’s legal team from raising it before jurors.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche recused himself from the investigation because he previously represented Trump during appeals connected to the Carroll cases. Other officials within the deputy attorney general’s office are overseeing the matter.

The case has reportedly been referred to federal prosecutors in Chicago, where one of the nonprofit entities connected to the legal funding is based.

Legal experts and Trump critics have already questioned whether the investigation reflects political retaliation by an administration that has increasingly targeted Trump’s longtime adversaries.

Meanwhile, Trump continues appealing both civil judgments. The Supreme Court has repeatedly delayed deciding whether it will hear Trump’s appeal of the $5 million verdict tied to Carroll’s sexual abuse claims.