The Department of Justice is investigating the nonprofit organization created by LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, which provided financial support for E. Jean Carroll's legal costs in her civil case against President Trump, according to a source familiar with the matter.
The probe centers on American Future Republic, Hoffman's charitable vehicle, rather than Carroll herself. Investigators are examining the circumstances surrounding how the nonprofit's contributions flowed to her legal team, though sources say Carroll is not the subject of the inquiry.
The case has drawn scrutiny because Carroll initially testified under oath in 2022 that she received no outside funding for her lawsuit. Later, her attorneys clarified that Hoffman's nonprofit had actually covered portions of her legal expenses through a grant to the law firm handling the matter.
Hoffman, a longtime critic of Trump and major Democratic donor, has become a focal point for the former president's allegations about left-wing funding networks. Trump previously claimed Hoffman bankrolls "radical left" organizations involved in political violence.
The funding arrangement began in 2017 when Dmitri Mehlhorn, a philanthropic adviser for Hoffman, said the nonprofit donated money to the Kaplan Hecker & Fink law firm for unrelated public interest litigation. When the firm later took on Carroll's case in 2020, her lawyer asked whether existing grant funds could support the Trump lawsuit. Mehlhorn acknowledged they had no initial expectation the grant would finance Carroll's specific case.
A federal appeals court previously examined Trump's claim that Carroll committed perjury by failing to disclose the funding. The Second Circuit rejected the argument, finding no evidence that Carroll personally sought out the money, communicated with Hoffman, or knew the funds' origin before her October 2022 deposition.
A jury initially found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation in the Carroll case, ordering him to pay $5 million. He has appealed to the Supreme Court, which has not yet decided whether to take up the matter.
Neither the DOJ, Carroll's legal team, nor Hoffman immediately provided comment. The White House deferred inquiries about the investigation to the Justice Department.
Author James Rodriguez: "The timing of this investigation, focused on a Trump critic's nonprofit helping fund litigation against the former president, carries uncomfortable optics for an independent Justice Department."
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