The Department of Justice has launched a criminal investigation into American Future Republic, a nonprofit run by LinkedIn co-founder and longtime Trump critic Reid Hoffman that helped fund part of E. Jean Carroll’s civil lawsuit against President Trump, according to multiple reports.
The investigation is reportedly examining possible money laundering, conspiracy, and obstruction offenses tied to the nonprofit’s funding. Sources told CBS News the probe is focused on the organization itself, not Carroll.
Questions surrounding the funding stem from Carroll’s 2022 deposition testimony in which she said she had not received outside financial backing for the lawsuit. Her attorneys later disclosed that Hoffman-linked funding helped cover some of her legal expenses.
Tax filings show American Future Republic provided $7 million to Kaplan Hecker & Fink, the law firm representing Carroll, in 2020. Former Hoffman adviser Dmitri Mehlhorn previously said the money was originally donated for a separate public interest case before Carroll’s attorney later asked if the funds could be used for the lawsuit against Trump.
American Future Republic is based in Chicago, and the investigation is being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois. Sources said allegations that Carroll may have committed perjury were included in the original referral sent to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago earlier this year, though prosecutors are not currently pursuing that aspect of the case.
Chicago U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros clarified on X Thursday evening that his office “has not opened a criminal investigation into E. Jean Carroll.”
