Meeropol Slams DOJ Carroll Probe as 'Vindictiveness'
SkimNews Take
The Justice Department's reported investigation of E. Jean Carroll, an alleged victim in a civil case, signals a potential expansion of legal scrutiny to individuals beyond the primary defendant in high-profile civil disputes.
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- Ivy Meeropol, director of the "Ask E. Jean" documentary, is responding to New York Times and CNN reports that the Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into E. Jean Carroll, calling the development 'unbelievable, yet not surprising' and attributing it to Trump's 'pure vindictiveness.'
- The probe is examining whether Carroll committed perjury when she testified she was unaware of anyone financially supporting her lawsuits against Trump, which stemmed from a mid-1990s incident in which Carroll alleged Trump sexually assaulted her in a Manhattan department store dressing room.
- The U.S. Attorney in Northern Illinois overseeing the matter issued a statement denying Carroll was the target, though sources tell CNN and the New York Times that status could change; CNN characterizes the probe as part of the department's efforts to meet Trump's demands to target personal foes.
- Reid Hoffman, the LinkedIn cofounder and Trump critic, was revealed during litigation to have picked up some of the legal costs of Carroll's suits — the financial support that appears to be at the heart of the perjury inquiry.
- Carroll's defamation and battery judgments against Trump total almost $90 million, but Meeropol notes Trump 'has not paid out a dime,' with both cases potentially headed to the Supreme Court.
- "Ask E. Jean" opened at NYC's IFC Center one week before the investigation reports surfaced, is being held over for a second week due to packed houses, and is booked into more than 40 theaters over the next month through distributor Abramograma.
- Meeropol published a New York Times op-ed on May 20 about making the documentary under what she called 'this shadow of Trump,' telling Deadline: 'We premiered the film just one week ago in New York City... And then a week later, lo and behold.'
Why it matters: Carroll won nearly $90 million in judgments against Trump for defamation and battery yet has reportedly received nothing, and now faces a DOJ criminal probe that CNN frames as part of Trump's effort to target personal enemies through law enforcement. The investigation's timing — surfacing one week after Meeropol's documentary opened in Trump's hometown of New York — raises the question of whether the probe is retaliation for the film's renewed attention to Carroll's allegations.
