LinkedIn co-founder and Democratic megadonor Reid Hoffman is crying foul after reports surfaced that the Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into a nonprofit that helped fund writer E. Jean Carroll's lawsuits against President Donald Trump. Hoffman didn't mince words: he called the probe "absurdly false" and pure political retaliation.
In a thread on X Friday, Hoffman laid out his case. "Trump cannot be allowed to use the full weight and power of the US Government to come after women who speak up, or anyone who supports them in doing so," he wrote. The White House and DOJ didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.
The investigation reportedly targets American Future Republic, a nonprofit backed by Hoffman that helped cover some of Carroll's legal expenses. According to reports, prosecutors are looking into whether Carroll's earlier statements about who paid her legal bills squared with later disclosures about outside funding.
Here's the background: In a 2022 deposition, Carroll said no one was paying her legal fees. But later, her legal team disclosed that American Future Republic had chipped in to cover some costs—nearly a year after she first sued. Trump's legal team seized on that, arguing it raised questions about her credibility. But the judge overseeing the cases ruled the funding didn't affect Carroll's credibility and limited how much lawyers could question her about it during trial.
Carroll has already scored two major civil victories against Trump. In 2023, a jury found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation, awarding her $5 million. The next year, another jury hit him with $83.3 million in a separate defamation case. Trump has denied the allegations and is appealing both judgments.
Hoffman sees the DOJ probe as a thinly veiled attempt to intimidate. "He is investigating me because I supported E Jean's lawsuit," Hoffman wrote. "Trump hopes that these fraudulent investigations will silence those who stand up to him." He added, with a flourish: "He is wrong. I will not bend the knee."
The episode raises uncomfortable questions about the line between legitimate law enforcement and political score-settling. For now, Hoffman is standing his ground, and the fight—both legal and political—shows no signs of cooling off.
