Watchdog challenges lawyer over undisclosed billionaire funding of Carroll's suit

The National Legal and Policy Center submitted a bar complaint alleging that lawyer Roberta Kaplan did not disclose that Democrat donor Reid Hoffman funded E. Jean Carroll’s defamation action against Donald Trump. The grievance, filed with New York’s Attorney Grievance Committee, contended that Kaplan waited nearly six months after Carroll’s deposition to amend her earlier denial of external financing. The committee dismissed the complaint without conducting a thorough investigation, a decision the NLPC’s chief counsel Paul Kamenar is now appealing.

The appeal maintains that the dismissal sidestepped the core issue of Kaplan’s possible misconduct, not merely Carroll’s testimony. Court records show the 2nd U.S. Court of Appeals previously ruled that there was no evidence Carroll herself secured the funding. Hoffman’s nonprofit, American Future Republic, reportedly paid $7 million toward Carroll’s legal costs. Both Kaplan’s firm and Hoffman’s spokesperson declined to comment.