Reid Hoffman calls DOJ scrutiny of his nonprofit retaliation

Reid Hoffman said the Justice Department's reported probe of a nonprofit he backs is "absurdly false" and accused President Donald Trump of retaliation. He wrote on X that he will "not bend the knee." The remarks followed reports that the DOJ opened a criminal investigation tied to E.

Jean Carroll's civil lawsuits against Trump. The Wall Street Journal reported the department was probing whether Carroll committed perjury, while The Washington Post, Reuters, and others reported the focus was American Future Republic, a nonprofit backed by Hoffman that helped pay some of Carroll's legal expenses.

Carroll won two civil judgments against Trump — a 2023 Manhattan federal jury found him liable for sexual abuse and defamation and awarded $5 million, and a 2024 jury ordered him to pay $83.3 million for defamation. The reported scrutiny centers on a 2022 deposition in which Carroll said no one was paying her legal fees; her lawyers later disclosed American Future Republic helped cover some costs nearly a year after she filed the lawsuit.

United States, Manhattan

reid hoffman, justice department, donald trump, carroll, american future, perjury, legal fees, civil judgments, defamation, deposition