The US Justice Department has launched a criminal investigation into E. Jean Carroll, focused on whether she committed perjury in testimony tied to two civil lawsuits against Donald Trump. One of the civil lawsuits involved Carroll’s allegation that Trump sexually abused her in a New York department store in the mid-1990s. Another lawsuit included a defamation claim from 2019. According to France24, a 2023 civil trial found that Carroll had been sexually assaulted by Trump in a New York department store. The Guardian reported that the investigation is examining whether Carroll committed perjury in a 2022 deposition and that she alleged in her civil lawsuits that she did not accept outside financial support for her legal battles. According to SCMP, Carroll accused Trump of raping her in the mid-1990s.