Chris Hayes sounded off amid reports that the Department of Justice was set to open a criminal investigation into E. Jean Carroll, suggesting it was likely a move made “purely out of spite and vendetta.”
After CNN and The New York Times reported that the DOJ was planning to launch a criminal inquiry into Carroll, who filed civil lawsuits against Donald Trump for battery and defamation, in which she won huge jury verdicts, Hayes invited senior legal reporter Lisa Rubin onto his MS NOW show, “All In With Chris Hayes,” where they broke down the specifics of the situation.
In the segment, Rubin explained that DOJ’s investigation zeroed in on whether Carroll committed perjury in her testimony tied to the lawsuits. Specifically, in regards to her claim that she did not receive outside funding for her suit against the president, though Reid Hoffman contributed by paying some of her legal fees and expenses.
While Hayes thanked Rubin for “walking through the facts here as they’re established,” he appeared to get heated over the breaking news.
“I just want to say no criminal investigation or case brought by the Department of Justice against an obvious person that Donald Trump has a vendetta against should be treated at face value,” Hayes scoffed. “To begin with, it’s simply not rational. It’s not logical. It’s not a good faculty of judgment by anyone.”
He continued: “The obvious default that people should have is that it is purely out of spite and vendetta until shown otherwise, right? The rebuttable presumption.”
As Hayes went on, he suggested this probe appeared to be “one of the most aggressive and egregious examples” of a vendetta.
“An 82-year-old woman who said that Donald Trump sexually assaulted her in the Bergdorf Goodman dressing room, who Donald Trump called a liar, who then sued him for defamation for lying about her and then won,” he added. “That’s who we’re talking about that the Department of Justice apparently wants to criminally prosecute.”
Rubin then reminded Hayes that “not only did [Carroll] win, she won twice. She won two separate verdicts from juries compromised of people from all over.”
Watch Hayes’ full commentary below.
Representatives for the White House and DOJ did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
“All In With Chris Hayes” airs weeknights at 8 p.m. ET on MS NOW.
