The Justice Department launched a criminal investigation into E. Jean Carroll — the woman whose two civil lawsuits resulted in $88 million in damages against President Trump — focused on whether she committed perjury when she testified under oath in 2022 that she had received no outside funding for her lawsuit.

It was later revealed that billionaire Democratic donor and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman had been a major funder of Carroll’s case the entire time — and Carroll claimed she had completely forgotten about his financial involvement when questioned under oath. Trump’s attorneys said Carroll’s team conspired to conceal the truth for nearly six months — and the DOJ criminal investigation is now being led by federal prosecutors in Chicago, where Hoffman’s nonprofit is based. She won in court twice. The oath she took to get there is now the thing that could cost her everything.