‘Will Not Bend The Knee’

Hoffman responded on X on Friday after The New York Times reported he and his nonprofit American Future Republic are under investigation in connection with donations to writer E. Jean Carroll, whose awards in two lawsuits against President Donald Trump for defamation and assault now total near $100 million.

Initial reports suggested the DOJ’s criminal investigation was focused on Carroll herself, and whether she committed perjury by not initially disclosing American Future Republic’s role in funding her litigation during a 2022 deposition.

The Justice Department then responded to those reports by claiming the agency “never opened” an investigation into Carroll, leading anonymous sources cited by The Times to clarify that Hoffman and his nonprofit are the actual subject of the inquiry, rather than Carroll.

Hoffman called the Trump administration’s accusations of wrongdoing against him “absurdly false,” claiming, “The premise of the investigation would be laughable if the subject matter weren’t so serious” and that he was only being investigated because he supported Carroll.

Hoffman’s involvement in the case was first disclosed right before Carroll’s first trial against Trump in 2023, leading Trump’s attorneys to claim Carroll had committed perjury during a 2022 deposition in which she suggested she had an arrangement with her attorneys to only pay them if she won her case, and she was unclear how expenses were being paid in the litigation in the meantime.

A federal appeals court previously ruled there was “no evidence” to suggest Carroll was personally involved with securing American Future Republic’s funding or interacted at all with the nonprofit.