The former [Central Intelligence Agency](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/cia) director John Brennan has added his name to growing calls for the president to be ousted on grounds that he is unfit for the job, arguing that the US constitution’s 25th amendment addressing involuntary removal from office was “written with Donald Trump in mind”. Brennan, who served as head of the spy agency during Barack Obama’s presidency, told [MS Now](https://www.ms.now/ali-velshi/watch/fmr-cia-director-john-brennan-iran-didn-t-pose-an-imminent-threat-admin-lies-are-obvious-2496023107742) on Saturday that Trump’s recent volatile remarks about destroying Iranian civilization and the danger he posed to so many lives merited his removal from the Oval Office. “This person is clearly unhinged,” he said. “I think the 25th amendment was written with [Donald Trump](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/donaldtrump) in mind.” Brennan added that Trump was too much of a liability to be allowed to continue to be commander-in-chief, with immense firepower at his disposal, including the US nuclear arsenal. The ex-CIA director’s comments cast him at the forefront of a mounting debate over Trump’s decision to go to war with Iran and his increasingly violent threats to inflict mass destruction on that country. On 7 April, [the president warned](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/07/israel-warns-iran-lives-at-risk-if-they-use-trains-trump-deadline) that Iran’s “whole civilisation will die tonight” if the Iranian regime failed to meet his ultimatum – a threat Brennan said hinted at the deployment of nuclear capabilities. As Trump has ramped up his aggressive and [expletive-filled](https://www.cnn.com/2026/04/08/us/word-of-week-fkin-cec) rhetoric, an increasing number of Democrats have responded by calling for the 25th amendment to be invoked. The measure, baked into the US constitution in 1967, allows for the vice-president and a majority of the cabinet to [remove the president](https://constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/amendments/amendment-xxv) on the basis that he is “unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office”. More than 70 Democrats in Congress have called for the amendment to be applied, according to the latest count by [NBC News](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/democrats-trump-removal-iran-threats-impeachment-25th-amendment-rcna267194). The chances of that actually happening are close to nil, given the lock-tight loyalty that continues to be shown to Trump by his vice-president, JD Vance, and his entire cabinet. However, concern about Trump’s increasingly charged language and dystopian threats are likely to persist given the failure of peace talks between the US and Iran on Saturday as well as the possibility of renewed hostilities. Brennan’s comments were especially striking given that he is under active investigation by Trump’s US justice department as part of the president’s vendetta against his perceived enemies. Under pressure from the White House, the justice department put Brennan and the former FBI director James Comey under [criminal investigation](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/trump-administration-targets-comey-brennan-new-investigation-rcna217713) in July. Two months later, Comey was charged with [two counts](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/25/james-comey-fbi-director-indictment) accusing him of lying to Congress during testimony in 2020 over the Russia election interference investigation. A judge has thrown out that prosecution. It is understood that the investigation into Brennan is ongoing. In March, the chair of the House judiciary committee, Trump ally Jim Jordan, claimed the inquiry was “[heating up](https://judiciary.house.gov/media/in-the-news/jim-jordan-says-probe-former-cia-director-john-brennan-heating-doj-seeks#:~:text=Jim%20Jordan%20says%20probe%20into,Russia%20to%20influence%20the%20election)”.

A federal prosecutor leading the investigation into former [CIA](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/cia) director John Brennan is no longer working on the case after expressing reservations about it, according to a person familiar with the matter. The prosecutor, Maria Medetis Long, informed attorneys involved in the case she was no longer handling it, [according to CNN](https://edition.cnn.com/2026/04/17/politics/prosecutor-running-john-brennan-investigation-removed), which first reported she was leaving the case. Medetis Long is a career attorney serving as the chief of the national security division in the US attorney’s office for the southern district of Florida. The Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The investigation is said to be related to an assessment from the intelligence community following the 2016 election that Russia interfered to boost Donald Trump’s chances. Trump and his allies have long fumed about that conclusion. Jason Reding Quiñones, the US attorney in the southern district of Florida, has told justice department officials an indictment may be coming soon, according to the New York Times. The development comes after Trump fired attorney general Pam Bondi earlier this month, reportedly angry over the lack of progress on prosecuting political adversaries. Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general, is said to want the job and Trump reportedly told him his time in the acting role would be a kind of audition, [according to Fox News](https://www.foxnews.com/politics/top-white-house-officials-encouraged-potential-bondi-replacement-make-case-trump-ag-job-sources). A former top aide to Blanche recently relocated from the department’s headquarters in Washington to the southern district of Florida and is reportedly working on the Brennan matter, [Bloomberg Law reported](https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/justice-department-shakes-up-probe-into-alleged-trump-conspiracy). As Trump sought to prosecute the New York attorney general, Letitia James, last year, career prosecutors in Virginia expressed reservations about that case and were [fired from the department](https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/24/politics/beth-yusi-fired-letitia-james-case-information-email).

5 hours ago [Add as preferred on Google](https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=bbc.com) Jemma CrewBusiness reporter Reuters The US justice department is dropping its investigation into the Federal Reserve chairman, Jerome Powell, over alleged building cost overruns. US Attorney Jeanine Pirro said instead there would be an internal investigation led by the central bank's inspector general. President Donald Trump has said the cost of the Fed's building renovations were too high, as part of a long-standing feud with Powell. Powell's term is nearing its end and the US Senate is considering Trump's nominee for his replacement, Kevin Warsh. A key Republican, Thom Tillis, has withheld his support for Warsh unless the Trump administration would drop its investigation into Powell. "American taxpayers deserve answers about the Federal Reserve's fiscal mismanagement, and the Office of the Inspector General's more powerful authorities best position it to get to the bottom of the matter," said White House spokesman Kush Desai in a statement. "The White House remains as confident as before that the Senate will swiftly confirm Kevin Warsh as the next Federal Reserve Chairman to finally restore competence and confidence in Fed decision-making." In her post on X, Pirro said she would not "hesitate to restart a criminal investigation should the facts warrant doing so". The Fed declined to comment. The inspector general's office said it was "actively working to complete our review, and look forward to making the results available to the public and Congress upon completion", declining to comment on a timeline. July 2025: Watch Trump and Powell's awkward exchange Trump called for the Fed to lower interest rates after returning to office last year, and then began floating the idea of firing Powell - a step some said could be illegal. Amid months of attacks, he branded Powell a "knucklehead" and claimed he was "doing a lousy job" after his repeated calls for rate cuts were ignored. Powell took the highly unusual step of releasing a video in January disclosing that the justice department had served the Fed with subpoenas and threatened a criminal indictment over testimony he gave to a Senate committee about renovations to Federal Reserve buildings. Calling the investigation "unprecedented", Powell said he believed it was opened due to Trump's anger over the Fed's refusal to cut interest rates despite repeated public pressure from the president. Trump said he did not "know anything" about the investigation. It marked the first time Powell had publicly and robustly pushed back against the US president, as he warned that the independence of the US central bank was at stake. "This is about whether the Fed will be able to continue to set interest rates based on evidence and economic conditions, or whether instead monetary policy will be directed by political pressure or intimidation," Powell said. Lower interest rates make it cheaper to borrow, while higher rates dampen spending activity, helping to keep prices stable. Trump, who cut his teeth professionally taking out loans as a property developer, has long confessed to liking a low interest rate policy. He objected when the Fed raised rates in his first term, and has argued keeping rates too high could do unnecessary economic damage. [ Why Trump keeps attacking the US central bank --------------------------------------------- ](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx20lyg4385o) The Fed buildings being renovated are the Eccles and 1951 Constitution Avenue. The "overhaul and modernisation" will be the first works since they were constructed in the 1930s, and includes removal of asbestos and lead contamination. Powell was nominated by Trump for the role as Fed chair in 2017 during his first term as president. Powell's term expires on 15 May, but he is planning to remain in post until his successor, Warsh, is confirmed by the Senate.

The US Department of Justice is dropping its criminal investigation against the Federal Reserve chair, [Jerome Powell](https://www.theguardian.com/business/jerome-powell), clearing the path for [Donald Trump](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/donaldtrump)’s new nominee for chair to be confirmed. Jeanine Pirro, Trump’s appointed US attorney for the District of Columbia, said in a social media post that she had directed her office to close its investigation into [renovations](https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/jul/21/us-federal-reserve-renovations) at the Fed headquarters that went over budget. “I have directed my office to close our investigation as the \[inspector general’s office\] undertakes this inquiry,” Pirro wrote. “Note well, however, that I will not hesitate to restart a criminal investigation should the facts warrant doing so.” The investigation was first made public in January after Powell released a [video](https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/speech/powell20260111a.htm) announcing he had been [subpoenaed](https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/jan/12/jerome-powell-investigation-explained) by the justice department. In rare, pointed remarks about the White House, Powell said the investigation was not actually about the Fed’s renovation but was a pretext meant to pressure the central bank to lower interest rates. “This is about whether the Fed will be able to continue to set interest rates based on evidence and economic conditions – or whether instead monetary policy will be directed by political pressure or intimidation,” Powell said at the time. The White House received bipartisan criticism over the investigation, including from Thom Tillis, the Republican senator [who said](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/16/thom-tillis-republican-senator) he would block the nomination of [Kevin Warsh](https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/apr/21/kevin-warsh-trump-federal-reserve), Trump’s pick to replace Powell, until the justice department ends its investigation. “Let’s get rid of the investigation so I can support your nomination,” Tillis told Warsh during his Senate [hearing](https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/apr/21/kevin-warsh-federal-reserve-senate-trump) on Tuesday. Trump has been [at](https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/jan/28/federal-reserve-holds-rates-powell-trump) [loggerheads](https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/apr/15/trump-threatens-fire-fed-chair-jerome-powell) [with](https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/jan/13/jerome-powell-fed-chair-trump) [Powell](https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/aug/01/trump-jerome-powell-tariffs-federal-reserve) over interest rate policy – branding the Fed chair a [“moron”](https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/aug/01/trump-jerome-powell-tariffs-federal-reserve) for voting against rate cuts. Despite the growing pressure to end the investigation, Trump last week [doubled down](https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/apr/15/trump-threatens-fire-fed-chair-jerome-powell) on the search, saying that “whether it’s incompetence, corruption or both, I think you have to find out”. But Republicans needed Tillis’s tie-breaking vote to get Warsh through the Senate’s banking committee. Powell’s term will end on 15 May. A former investment banker and Fed governor, Warsh in his hearing made clear that he is aligned with Trump on wanting lower interest rates, drawing concerns from Democrats over whether he would be able to keep the central bank [independent](https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/apr/22/trump-fed-chair-kevin-warsh-interest-rate-cut) from the White House. The Democratic senator Elizabeth Warren was highly critical of Warsh at the Senate hearing. After the announcement that the Powell investigation had been dropped, she said: “This is just an attempt to clear the path for Senate [Republicans](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/republicans) to install President Trump’s sock puppet Kevin Warsh as Fed Chair.” Economists largely agree that a non-political, independent central bank is essential for a stable economy. Even with the end of Powell’s investigation, Trump’s prolonged battle with the Fed is not over yet. The supreme court still has to rule on whether Trump’s firing of Lisa Cook, the Fed governor who was temporarily [reinstated](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/18/trump-supreme-court-lisa-cook-fed) by a federal court, [was constitutional](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/21/supreme-court-trump-fed-governor-case). The court is expected to release a ruling by June.

_This story appeared in [The Logoff](https://www.vox.com/the-logoff-newsletter-trump), a daily newsletter that helps you stay informed about the Trump administration without letting political news take over your life. [Subscribe here](https://www.vox.com/pages/logoff-newsletter-trump-administration-updates)_. **Welcome to The Logoff:** President Donald Trump’s FBI director was the subject of an embarrassing story. Now, the FBI is going after the reporter. **What’s happening?** On Wednesday, [MS NOW reported](https://www.ms.now/news/fbi-investigating-leaks-to-journalist-who-wrote-explosive-article-on-kash-patel-sources) that the FBI launched a federal criminal investigation “focusing on” Atlantic reporter Sarah Fitzpatrick over a story she wrote last month about FBI Director Kash Patel. [The story](https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/2026/04/kash-patel-fbi-director-drinking-absences/686839/), which is sourced to more than two dozen people, describes Patel as paranoid, frequently drunk, and ill-equipped for the job of FBI director. Notably, however, it centers on Patel’s personal conduct in the role, and doesn’t contain any classified information. As MS NOW points out, that fact — as well as the investigation’s reported focus on Fitzpatrick rather than her sources — makes the investigation both abnormal and disturbing. (The FBI, for what it’s worth, has denied that any such investigation exists.) On Wednesday, Fitzpatrick published [a second story about Patel](https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/2026/05/kash-patel-fbi-bourbon/687066/?gift=otEsSHbRYKNfFYMngVFweGQA-zyeZDo2xA_cRrian4s) describing his habit of distributing customized bottles of bourbon engraved with his name, and sometimes signed. **What’s the context?** The reported investigation into Fitzpatrick is the latest in a long string of attacks on press freedom under the second Trump administration, including another investigation — since dropped — into a New York Times reporter who reported on Patel and his girlfriend’s use of FBI resources. The FBI also seized devices belonging to Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson earlier this year as part of a leak investigation reportedly targeting one of her sources. Natanson’s reporting [won her a Pulitzer Prize](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/05/business/media/hannah-natanson-washington-post-pulitzer.html) earlier this week. **What else should I know?** This isn’t even the only major FBI news from Wednesday: This morning, agents raided the office of Virginia state Sen. Louise Lucas, who spearheaded a Democratic [redistricting effort](https://www.vox.com/politics/486357/virginia-redistricting-gerrymander-democrats-gop-middecade-referendum-fair-election-midterm-2026) in Virginia that has helped to stymie Trump’s attempts to gain an edge ahead of the midterm elections. The case reportedly centers on possible corruption allegations, but given Trump’s record of using investigations and indictments to [punish his political enemies](https://www.vox.com/politics/479064/trump-doj-democrats-indictment-national-guard-ice), the timing is conspicuous, to say the least. Good news, readers — the Denali Puppy Cam has returned with a new litter of sled dog puppies, named for America’s national parks. You can see them introduced to the camera [here](https://x.com/Interior/status/2051750094785953896?s=20), and watch the livestream [here](https://www.nps.gov/dena/learn/photosmultimedia/webcams-pups.htm). Have a great evening, and we’ll see you back here tomorrow! See More: * [Donald Trump](https://www.vox.com/donald-trump) * [Politics](https://www.vox.com/politics) * [The Logoff](https://www.vox.com/the-logoff-newsletter-trump)

A former Department of Justice prosecutor is facing felony charges after emailing herself a sealed Biden-era investigative report concerning Donald Trump and attempting to hide the documents as cake recipes, federal authorities [said](https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndfl/pr/former-doj-attorney-indicted-concealment-theft-government-records) on Wednesday. Carmen Mercedes Lineberger, who worked as a managing assistant US attorney in [Florida](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/florida), is facing two counts of theft of government money or property in addition to charges related to her alleged alteration of the documents, according to the indictment. In early 2025, Lineberger received a copy of an internal report “related to a pending federal criminal investigation”, which she would later send from her justice department inbox to her personal email in December 2025, according to the indictment. The report was filed in the US district court for the southern district of Florida, where she was employed. Lineberger allegedly sought to hide evidence of the document by changing its name to “Bundt\_Cake\_Recipe.pdf” before saving it to her government-issued computer, prosecutors said. The indictment did not offer further details about the nature of the report, but it did characterize the document as being blocked from public release, per an order from US district judge Aileen M Cannon. Cannon, who Trump has previously [lauded](https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/2025/12/judge-aileen-cannon-trump-grand-jury/685387/) as a “model of what a judge should be”, barred the former justice department special counsel Jack Smith from discussing or sharing any findings from his investigation into Trump’s alleged mishandling of White House documents at the end of his first term. Smith also led an investigation into Trump’s alleged plot to obstruct the 2020 election. Both cases were dropped after Trump secured a second term. Justice department policy protects sitting presidents from criminal prosecution. In a January court filing, federal prosecutors condemned Smith’s report. “The illicit product of an unlawful investigation and prosecution belongs in the dustbin of history,” they said. Meanwhile, advocacy groups have sought to unseal the report through court appeals. It is unclear why Lineberger may have sent the report to herself. She faces a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison if convicted of the charges.

The Trump administration has opened a criminal investigation into E Jean Carroll, the writer who accused the president of sexual assault, [according](https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/27/politics/exclusive-justice-department-launched-e-jean-carroll-investigation) to [news reports](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/27/us/politics/us-is-said-to-open-criminal-inquiry-of-e-jean-carroll-over-accusations-against-trump.html). Prosecutors, the New York Times and CNN reported on Wednesday, are looking into whether Carroll, 82, committed perjury in a 2022 deposition during her civil lawsuits against Trump, in which she said she did not accept outside financial support for her legal battles. Nearly six months later, before the trial started, Carroll’s attorneys informed the judge and Trump’s lawyers that a nonprofit funded by Reid Hoffman, the billionaire LinkedIn co-founder, had paid some legal fees and expenses. Trump’s lawyers claimed Carroll hid Hoffman’s funding and that the obfuscation undermined her credibility. Carroll’s lawyers said she never met or spoke with anyone from the nonprofit. The judge allowed Trump’s attorney, Alina Habba, to question Carroll again in a second deposition. In 2024, a three-judge federal appeals court panel in New York [dismissed](https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ca2.60504/gov.uscourts.ca2.60504.176.1_1.pdf) the claim that Carroll had lied in her deposition. Carroll, a longtime advice columnist, claimed in her 2019 book What Do We Need Men For? that Trump forced himself upon her in a New York department store’s dressing room. Trump denied the allegations, accusing her of [“totally lying](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-accuser-e-jean-carroll-voices-frustration-about-lack-of-consequences-for-repeated-allegations-of-sexual-misconduct/2019/06/24/852905ec-9697-11e9-830a-21b9b36b64ad_story.html)” and adding that she was “not my type”. Carroll filed a federal civil lawsuit against Trump for sexual abuse and defamation. A jury found Trump liable on both counts, and awarded Carroll $5m in damages. A year later, a separate jury ordered Trump to pay $83m in another defamation case. Trump has appealed both judgments. CNN and the New York Times reported that Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general, has recused himself from the justice department investigation due to his role representing Trump in Carroll’s civil case. The reported federal investigation into Carroll marks the latest example of Trump’s justice department launching criminal investigations into political opponents. Federal prosecutors have investigated former FBI chief James Comey, New York attorney general Letitia James and Democratic members of Congress including Adam Schiff and Ilhan Omar. The investigations have not yet resulted in convictions. The justice department and Carroll’s legal representatives did not immediately return the Guardian’s requests for comment. _Robert Mackey contributed reporting_

The justice department’s [inquiry](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/27/trump-doj-investigation-e-jean-carroll) into [E Jean Carroll](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/e-jean-carroll) is part of an investigation into an entity backed by the LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, according to people familiar with the matter. A source familiar with the investigation told the Guardian that Carroll is not the subject of the investigation, but said that it was related to Carroll and her deposition, and is more focused on Hoffman’s non-profit. The non-profit, American Future Republic, [helped fund](https://assets.bwbx.io/documents/users/iqjWHBFdfxIU/r3oEzrMqhcWU/v0) a lawsuit in which Carroll won [$5m](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/09/nyregion/trump-carroll-trial-sexual-abuse-defamation.html) in damages in 2023 against [Donald Trump](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/donaldtrump) based on allegations Trump sexually assaulted and defamed her. Carroll won a second, [$83.3m defamation](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/jan/26/e-jean-carroll-damages-trump-defamation-trial) award against the president in 2024. Trump has repeatedly [denied the allegations](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/22/us/e-jean-carroll-donald-trump.html) against him. The justice department investigation is being led by the US attorney for the northern district of Illinois, where the non-profit is based. A second person familiar with the matter said the Hoffman-entity investigation involves potential money-laundering conspiracy and obstruction. The Department of Justice declined to comment. Carroll’s legal team also did not provide comment on the news of the investigation. Hoffman did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Hoffman is a major donor to Democrats and other liberal causes, and the investigation is the latest example of Trump using the justice department to punish political rivals. Justice department officials have also pushed prosecutors to crack down on a non-profit led by George Soros, [another major leftwing funder](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/25/us/politics/justice-trump-george-soros-foundation.html). The justice department filed similar money-laundering conspiracy charges against the Southern Poverty Law Center [in April](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/27/trump-doj-investigation-e-jean-carroll) that experts have said [are flimsy](https://www.justsecurity.org/137171/indictment-southern-poverty-law-center-splc/). Lawyers representing the civil rights organization moved to dismiss those charges earlier this week, claiming a vindictive prosecution. According to [CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/27/politics/exclusive-justice-department-launched-e-jean-carroll-investigation), which first reported the news of the justice department investigation related to Carroll on Wednesday, the prosecutors’ theory is related to [an October 2022 deposition](https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ca2.60504/gov.uscourts.ca2.60504.114.0_1.pdf) made by Carroll, in which she said that she was receiving no outside funding for her lawsuit against Trump. “Is anyone else paying your legal fees, Ms Carroll?” she was asked in the [deposition](https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ca2.60504/gov.uscourts.ca2.60504.114.0_1.pdf). “No,” Carroll responded. However, in 2023, Trump’s lawyers [wrote to the judge](https://assets.bwbx.io/documents/users/iqjWHBFdfxIU/r3oEzrMqhcWU/v0) stating that they had received a letter from Carroll’s attorneys stating that Carroll “now recalls that at some point her counsel secured additional funding from a nonprofit organization to offset certain expenses and legal fees” and that Hoffman had been [helping to financially](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/apr/23/donald-trump-e-jean-carroll-trial-rape) support Carroll’s case against Trump. Trump’s lawyers accused Carroll of concealing that information and argued that it raised “significant questions” as to Carroll’s credibility, “as well as her motive for commencing and/or continuing the instant action”. Carroll’s legal team at the time argued in [their own letter](https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.590045/gov.uscourts.nysd.590045.109.0.pdf) to the court that Hoffman’s support was “plainly irrelevant to Carroll’s claims”. Her lawyers also pointed out that it was almost a year after Carroll had filed her first lawsuit against Trump that their firm obtained the financial support from the non-profit to “help pay certain costs and fees in connection with the firm’s work on Carroll’s behalf”. The judge allowed Trump’s attorneys to question Carroll about the discrepancy before trial. But ultimately, per [CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/27/politics/exclusive-justice-department-launched-e-jean-carroll-investigation), the judge concluded that he saw no credibility issue with Carroll, and barred Trump’s lawyers from raising Hoffman’s funding during the trial. Trump and his team appealed the verdict in that case, citing the evidentiary rulings made by the court, but in a 2024 [ruling](https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ca2.60504/gov.uscourts.ca2.60504.176.1_1.pdf), the second US circuit court of appeals upheld the district court’s handling of the issue. The appeals court [wrote](https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ca2.60504/gov.uscourts.ca2.60504.176.1_1.pdf) that Carroll “plausibly represented that she had forgotten about the limited outside funding counsel obtained in September 2020 when this question was first posed to her in 2022, and the additional discovery did not indicate otherwise”. In a 2023 [interview](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NooiVt89n_s) with the Washington Post, Hoffman discussed financially supporting Carroll’s lawsuit and said that “it is a standard practice that happens a lot where there is outside funding of lawsuits”, adding that “we didn’t encourage the lawsuit to happen, we only got on board after she’d already filed it and was down the road”. “My team looked at it, and thought that her voice should be heard, that because she was challenging someone who’s so much more wealthy and powerful, it shouldn’t be squashed and that providing that voice for people who otherwise would be ground down by the system or the powerful is, I think, a good thing,” he said. “Providing that support was something that I felt very happy to do,” he added.

_This story appeared in [The Logoff](https://www.vox.com/the-logoff-newsletter-trump), a daily newsletter that helps you stay informed about the Trump administration without letting political news take over your life. [Subscribe here](https://www.vox.com/pages/logoff-newsletter-trump-administration-updates)_. **Welcome to The Logoff:** President Donald Trump’s Justice Department is investigating a woman who accused him of sexual abuse. **What’s happening?** On Wednesday evening, we learned that E. Jean Carroll — a writer and advice columnist who alleged in a [2019 essay](https://www.thecut.com/article/donald-trump-assault-e-jean-carroll-other-hideous-men.html) and two subsequent, successful civil lawsuits that Trump assaulted her decades ago — is now under federal criminal investigation in Illinois. The investigation has yet to produce an indictment — and may not — but its mere existence is another indication of the extent to which Trump has weaponized the justice system to punish his enemies. **What is the DOJ investigating?** The investigation, which CNN [first reported](https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/27/politics/exclusive-justice-department-launched-e-jean-carroll-investigation), reportedly centers on a perjury allegation against Carroll over a statement she made in 2022. At the time, Carroll said — incorrectly — that she had not received outside funding supporting her civil lawsuits against Trump. As my colleague Zack Beauchamp [explains](https://www.vox.com/politics/490226/e-jean-carroll-investigation-doj-trump-authoritarian), however, a federal appeals court already concluded in 2024 that there was no evidence the misstatement was intentional, and Carroll may have simply forgotten. As one legal expert [told Zack](https://www.vox.com/politics/490226/e-jean-carroll-investigation-doj-trump-authoritarian) on Thursday, even if Carroll is indicted, “A conviction is just not going to happen.” **Why Carroll?** Carroll is not alone in accusing Trump of sexual misconduct or assault; [at least 27 women](https://www.axios.com/2024/10/28/trump-sexual-misconduct-allegations-women) have done so to date. Her allegation, however, has been both costly and embarrassing for Trump: He was found liable in 2023 for sexually abusing and defaming Carroll, who also won more than $88 million from him in two civil judgments. (The money has not yet been paid, as Trump [continues to appeal](https://www.scotusblog.com/2026/05/court-puts-off-deciding-whether-to-consider-5-million-verdict-against-trump-yet-again/).) **What’s the big picture?** Carroll joins a growing list of people Trump’s second-term DOJ has pursued on flimsy, if not outright preposterous, grounds, including former FBI Director James Comey ([indicted](https://www.vox.com/the-logoff-newsletter-trump/463076/donald-trump-james-comey-indictment-revenge-campaign) [twice](https://www.vox.com/the-logoff-newsletter-trump/487279/james-comey-indictment-seashells-threat-trump-blanche-revenge)), [New York state Attorney General Letitia James](https://www.vox.com/the-logoff-newsletter-trump/464378/letitia-james-indictment-virginia-donald-trump-lindsey-halligan) (just [once](https://www.vox.com/the-logoff-newsletter-trump/464378/letitia-james-indictment-virginia-donald-trump-lindsey-halligan)), and half a dozen Democratic lawmakers (tried and [failed](https://www.vox.com/the-logoff-newsletter-trump/478981/grand-jury-reject-indictment-kelly-slotkin-democratic-lawmakers-illegal-orders)). He’s almost certainly going to keep at it — but at least so far, he keeps failing, too. Here’s a headline that speaks for itself, from my colleague Sara Herschander: [An HIV-free generation is closer than you think](https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/488805/hiv-free-generation-babies?view_token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJpZCI6ImpXalprSnFPS1ciLCJwIjoiL2Z1dHVyZS1wZXJmZWN0LzQ4ODgwNS9oaXYtZnJlZS1nZW5lcmF0aW9uLWJhYmllcyIsImV4cCI6MTc4MTIxMDkwNCwiaWF0IjoxNzgwMDAxMzA0fQ.OruR9FI6z4mDsLi-s-XAJuElacpAyaX_4aqOJ7HhGgQ&utm_medium=gift-link). As Sara explains, the problem isn’t solved yet, and there’s still work to do. But testing and anti-retroviral drugs have been a marvelous success story in recent decades, dramatically reducing the number of babies born with HIV. You can read her full story [here](https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/488805/hiv-free-generation-babies?view_token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJpZCI6ImpXalprSnFPS1ciLCJwIjoiL2Z1dHVyZS1wZXJmZWN0LzQ4ODgwNS9oaXYtZnJlZS1nZW5lcmF0aW9uLWJhYmllcyIsImV4cCI6MTc4MTIxMDkwNCwiaWF0IjoxNzgwMDAxMzA0fQ.OruR9FI6z4mDsLi-s-XAJuElacpAyaX_4aqOJ7HhGgQ&utm_medium=gift-link) with a gift link. Have a great evening! See More: * [Donald Trump](https://www.vox.com/donald-trump) * [Politics](https://www.vox.com/politics) * [The Logoff](https://www.vox.com/the-logoff-newsletter-trump)