An Illinois-based federal prosecutor forcefully denied reports that his office opened a criminal investigation into E. Jean Carroll, the writer who won multimillion-dollar judgments against President Donald Trump after accusing him of sexual abuse and defamation.

Andrew Boutros, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, issued a statement Thursday rejecting reports from multiple outlets that linked his office to an alleged Justice Department inquiry into Carroll as “categorically false.”

“In light of wide-spread reporting and intense media and public interest into the E. Jean Carroll matter in New York, the Chicago U.S. Attorney’s Office can confirm that it has not opened – and has never opened – a criminal investigation into E. Jean Carroll. Any claim to the contrary is categorically false,” Boutros said.

The denial came after reports sparked a political firestorm among Democratic lawmakers and Trump critics, who accused the Justice Department of weaponizing against a woman who successfully sued the president in civil court.

Carroll, a former magazine columnist, accused Trump of sexually assaulting her in the mid-1990s. In 2023, a jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing Carroll and awarded her $5 million in damages. A year later, she secured an additional $83 million judgment in a defamation case.

Reports circulating this week suggested an alleged inquiry focused on whether Carroll committed perjury during a 2022 deposition when she stated that outside supporters were not financing her legal battle against Trump.

Carroll later disclosed that billionaire LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman had helped fund some legal expenses through a nonprofit associated with his network, though she maintained she had no direct involvement with the arrangement.

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