Topline
Billionaire and Democratic megadonor Reid Hoffman made his first public comments Friday on the Trump DOJ’s reported criminal investigation into E. Jean Carroll, slamming the probe and saying he will not “bend the knee” to the president as reporting suggests he and his nonprofit are the main focus of the government’s probe.
Key Facts
Hoffman responded on X on Friday after The New York Times reported he and his nonprofit American Future Republic are under investigation in connection with donations to writer E. Jean Carroll, whose awards in two lawsuits against President Donald Trump for defamation and assault now total near $100 million.
Initial reports suggested the DOJ’s criminal investigation was focused on Carroll herself, and whether she committed perjury by not initially disclosing American Future Republic’s role in funding her litigation during a 2022 deposition.
The Justice Department then responded to those reports by claiming the agency “never opened” an investigation into Carroll, leading anonymous sources cited by The Times to clarify that Hoffman and his nonprofit are the actual subject of the inquiry, rather than Carroll.
Hoffman called the Trump administration’s accusations of wrongdoing against him “absurdly false,” claiming, “The premise of the investigation would be laughable if the subject matter weren’t so serious” and that he was only being investigated because he supported Carroll.
Hoffman’s involvement in the case was first disclosed right before Carroll’s first trial against Trump in 2023, leading Trump’s attorneys to claim Carroll had committed perjury during a 2022 deposition in which she suggested she had an arrangement with her attorneys to only pay them if she won her case, and she was unclear how expenses were being paid in the litigation in the meantime.
A federal appeals court previously ruled there was “no evidence” to suggest Carroll was personally involved with securing American Future Republic’s funding or interacted at all with the nonprofit.
Crucial Quote
“Trump hopes that these fraudulent investigations will silence those who stand up to him,” Hoffman wrote on X on Friday, referring to the reported probe into him and other criminal investigations the DOJ has launched against Trump’s enemies. “He is wrong. I will not bend the knee.”
What To Watch For
It’s unclear how far along the DOJ’s reported investigation into Hoffman is, though The Times reports it’s overseen by “top officials” at the agency with the exception of Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who reportedly recused himself from the probe given he formerly served as Trump’s personal attorney. The DOJ is handling the investigation through its office in Chicago, according to The Washington Post, and is considering potential charges of money laundering, obstruction and conspiracy. It remains to be seen whether the investigation will actually result in any charges, which would have to be approved by a grand jury, and how long it could take before any indictment could come out. The Post reports it’s also still possible the criminal probe could eventually examine Carroll and result in charges against her, though she’s not a subject of the investigation at this point.
Hoffman’s Connection To Carroll, Explained
Hoffman and American Future Republic helped to pay legal expenses in Carroll’s case, and The Post reports the DOJ is investigating whether the nonprofit may have directed Carroll to lie in her deposition about the funding. Dmitri Mehlhorn, an advisor to Hoffman, previously claimed the billionaire donated money to the nonprofit before Carroll’s lawsuits were filed and did not know his money would be spent on those cases specifically, and alleged clients that receive funds through the nonprofit typically don’t know where they came from. Carroll’s attorneys have maintained she never spoke with the nonprofit and did not intentionally fail to disclose the funding, alleging she only later recalled “her counsel at some point secured additional funding from a nonprofit organization to cover certain expenses and fees.” Trump’s attorneys used Hoffman’s involvement as an argument to fight the litigation and have it thrown out, and Carroll sat for another deposition on the topic, though that has never been released publicly. The argument over Hoffman’s donations didn’t hurt Carroll’s ability to win her litigation against Trump, however, and the president’s attorneys were barred from discussing it at trial.
Key Background
The reported investigation into Hoffman and Carroll is the latest in a string of investigations the DOJ has opened into the president’s political enemies. Those investigations have already led to charges against Trump rivals like former FBI Director James Comey, New York Attorney General Letitia James and former White House advisor John Bolton, and other Trump critics reportedly under investigation include former Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell and Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., among others. None have yet been successful. No one has gone to trial or been convicted of any crimes, and multiple grand juries and judges have rejected indictments, resulting in charges not able to be brought or cases being thrown out. The slew of investigations has prompted widespread criticism that Trump is purposely targeting his political enemies as “retribution,” rather than because of legitimate allegations of wrongdoing, after the president was himself indicted multiple times during his years out of office.
This story is breaking and will be updated.
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