Alleged fraudster obtained them from the government after claiming 'work-related expenses'
Ex-counterterror official Joe Kent warns keeping U.S. forces near Iran puts U.S. at risk of being "forced back into the war on Iran’s terms."
Former White House press secretary Alyssa Farah Griffin cannot figure out why President Donald Trump would want to spend the 2026 midterm elections rehashing some of the worst scandals of his career. CNN reported Wednesday that the Justice Department is now targeting E. Jean Carroll, who won a civil suit against Trump for defamation when he attacked her multiple times publicly over her allegations of sexual assault. Two juries ultimately agreed that she was sexually abused and that Trump was held liable for defaming Carroll was awarded a combined total of $88 million. Now Trump's DOJ is accusing her of committing perjury when she was asked whether she got any outside funding for her legal fees. Later, her lawyer said that they had received funding. It's unclear if Carroll knew that at the time, however. Griffin told CNN host John Berman she can't understand why the Trump administration would want to rehash some of the biggest scandals throughout his history six months before an election. "I will never understand why this administration wants to put some of the worst associations of the president back in the headlines," Griffin said. "Most of us have kind of forgotten about the E. Jean Carroll suit, the allegations, what he was ultimately found liable for, and now he puts it front and center. It's very similar to the January 6th cases. DOJ wants to keep rehashing them."Meanwhile, she added, Republicans attack Democrats, saying they keep talking about the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. "No, this president keeps talking about the election lies [and] January 6th. So from purely a standpoint of wanting to focus on his domestic agenda and move forward, this makes zero sense," she said. Berman said it was related to his follow-up question: What is Trump and the administration getting out of bringing all of these issues up again? "Absolutely nothing," she said frankly. "It's not a headline that they want. And we've seen a number of these cases go forward. James Comey and others, where they overreach. DOJ was not able to get the outcome that they wanted. And I suspect this will be a similar case. I'm not from a legal perspective, but based on what we know, this should be the last thing Donald Trump wants to talk about in the twilight of his presidency. He should be focusing on the economy, gas prices, the war in Iran, not relitigating this."Berman went on to ask her if those in Trump world are afraid that once Democrats take over, there will be investigations into the weaponization of government, and anyone who worked for Trump will become part of that. Griffin explained that it isn't fear; they've accepted it. "I think folks knew to lawyer up and be ready, because this is a president who was very clear that he was going to be doing a bit of a revenge tour," Griffin said.Trump should "focus on actually delivering for the American people," instead, she closed.
A former CIA official is facing federal charges after being accused of stealing hundreds of gold bars from the agency and lying to superiors about his background. Last week, the FBI arrested David Rush, a senior executive with a top-secret security clearance, whom prosecutors say stole 303 gold bars worth more than $40 million and […]
E. Jean Carroll, a co-founder of multiple hookup sites whom Elle fired as a columnist in 2020, has accused numerous men of sexual abuse decades after the alleged incidents supposedly happened.Whereas other allegations didn't go much further than the pages of her imaginative tell-alls, Carroll's allegations against President Donald Trump ended up centering a pair of civil lawsuits — one in which she alleged that Trump sexually abused her in the Bergdorf Goodman department store in Manhattan back in the 1990s and the other in which she alleged defamation over Trump's denial that the incident happened.'Her counsel sat by and allowed her to do so, knowing full well that her testimony was false,' Trump's attorneys claimed.Carroll's legal offensive ultimately left the president on the hook for a $83.3 million jury award — but now, she may have to go on defense.The Justice Department has launched a criminal investigation into Carroll, sources familiar with the matter told multiple publications, including CNN and the New York Times. Investigators are reportedly looking into whether the fired columnist committed perjury in testimony linked to her lawsuits against Trump.The probe reportedly focuses on Carroll's assertion in a 2022 deposition statement that she received no outside funding for her lawsuit, which was later shown to be demonstrably false.RELATED: Trump’s anti-weaponization fund puts GOP cowards on trial Anti-Trump activist Reid Hoffman. Jason Alden/Bloomberg/Getty Images.When asked on Oct. 14, 2022, whether anyone else was paying her legal fees, Carroll definitively answered, "No."A jury found Trump civilly liable for sexual abuse and defamation in May 2023.However, several weeks earlier, Carroll's attorneys admitted in an April 10, 2023, letter that LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, a big-time Biden donor and anti-Trump activist, had been funding Carroll's lawsuit, prompting Trump's legal team to raise hell.Attorneys for the president said in an April 13, 2023, letter to U.S. District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan — the Clinton-appointed judge overseeing the case — that the belated disclosure "raises significant concerns as to plaintiff's bias and motive in commencing the instant lawsuit."Trump's attorneys also rejected the suggestion that Carroll suddenly remembered all that money didn't come ex nihilo:Of course, the proposition that plaintiff has suddenly “recollected” the source of her funding for this high-profile litigation — which has spanned four years, spawned two separate actions, and been before numerous state, federal, and appellate courts — is not only preposterous, it is demonstrably false. Indeed, it simply defies logic to believe that plaintiff’s attorneys — four of whom were present at her deposition — were unaware that their own firm had “secured additional funding from a nonprofit organization” to bankroll their client’s various lawsuits and ensure their bills were being paid.Trump's attorneys noted in summary that Carroll "apparently perjured herself during her deposition; her counsel sat by and allowed her to do so, knowing full well that her testimony was false; and then they conspired to conceal the truth for nearly six months, only to disclose it on the eve of trial."At the time, Kaplan denied the request by Trump's attorneys to delay the case so they could properly investigate the funding issue.Carroll's lawyers, meanwhile, suggested that the outside funding — from the largest donor to the Democratic Party of Wisconsin — was irrelevant, even though it buttressed Trump's 2019 claim that the lawsuit was a setup intended to "carry out a political agenda."Carroll's lawyers also claimed that she had nothing to do with securing the outside funding or outsider funding source.The inquiry into Carroll was reportedly launched by the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Andrew Boutros. Having previously represented Trump, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has allegedly recused himself from the investigation.Carroll did not respond to a request for comment from Blaze News, and the DOJ declined to comment.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
The Department of Justice has reportedly launched a criminal investigation into E Jean Carroll, the former New York magazine writer who accused President Donald Trump of sexual assault.
Nearly two months after the United States and Iran agreed to a ceasefire, are the two sides any closer to a lasting peace deal? We speak with Robert Malley, the Middle East program director at the International Crisis Group, who worked in multiple Democratic administrations and helped negotiate the Obama-era Iran nuclear deal with Iran. He says Trump’s decision to pull the U.S. out of that deal in 2018 “was a completely reckless and absurd one,” with the Trump administration renegotiating many of the same issues, as well as pushing to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran did not previously control. “We should never have been in the position we’re in now.”
California Democratic gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra is leading the race for governor despite a record-breaking spending blitz from fellow Democrat Tom Steyer. Becerra, the former California attorney general and Biden administration health secretary, and Republican Steve Hilton, a former Fox News contributor, sit atop a crowded field of candidates heading into next week’s California primary, […]
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has reportedly launched a criminal investigation into E. Jean Carroll, who accused President Trump of sexual assault, according to multiple reports. CNN was the first to report Wednesday night that the DOJ’s probe focuses on whether Carroll committed perjury while speaking at a deposition as part of her two civil…