Justice Department Probes Hoffman-Backed Nonprofit Over $5 Million Carroll Case as Money-Laundering Theory Emerges
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · May 28
Justice Department Probes Hoffman-Backed Nonprofit Over $5 Million Carroll Case as Money-Laundering Theory Emerges
10 articles · Updated · The Guardian · May 28
A Justice Department investigation tied to E. Jean Carroll is centered on American Future Republic, a Reid Hoffman-backed nonprofit based in Illinois, with Carroll herself not the target, people familiar with the matter said.
The probe is examining potential money-laundering conspiracy and obstruction linked to funding for Carroll’s lawsuit against Donald Trump, after her 2022 deposition said no one else was paying her legal fees.
Trump’s lawyers later disclosed that Carroll’s attorneys had obtained nonprofit support for some costs and fees, but her legal team said the funding came nearly a year after the first suit was filed and was irrelevant to her claims.
Judges already let Trump question Carroll about the discrepancy, then barred the funding issue at trial; an appeals court in 2024 upheld that handling and said Carroll could plausibly have forgotten the limited outside support.
The inquiry adds to scrutiny of liberal-funded nonprofits under Trump’s Justice Department, which has also pursued George Soros-linked groups and filed similar April charges against the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Will heightened IRS scrutiny of non-profits chill the private funding of public interest lawsuits?
What actions could turn a non-profit's lawsuit funding into a federal money-laundering crime?
How does the justice system balance a witness's funding sources against their right to privacy?