DOJ Investigates E. Jean Carroll, Bessent on Trump $250 Bill, Potential Iran Deal: AM Update 5/29

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0:32Good morning, everyone. I'm Emily Drashinsky, host of After Party and the Megyn Kelly Wrap-Up Show on SiriusXM Channel 111. It's Friday, May 29th, 2026, and this is your AM Update. Perjury cases are serious. They're punishable by maximum five years in prison, but they're much harder for prosecutors to prove than I think people might realize. The DOJ launching a criminal probe into E. Jean Carroll, weighing whether or not she committed perjury in her civil suit against President Trump. I will mention, three weeks ago, I got an honorary degree from the University of South Carolina, so if you really want to get a question, you can call me Dr.

1:06Besson. Treasury Secretary Scott Besson taking on the White House press briefing, becoming the latest cabinet member to step in for Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt. New reporting raises questions on whether U.S. and Iranian officials are nearing a deal. And Coast Guard crews are back in Bahamian water, renewing the search for missing American Lynette Hooker. All that and more coming up in just a moment on your AM Update.

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2:37Jean Carroll, focusing on whether she committed perjury in her civil lawsuits against President Trump. Carroll previously filing two lawsuits against President Trump. In 2019, Carroll alleging in a New York Magazine excerpt from her memoir that Mr. Trump raped her in a Bergdorf-Goodman dressing room sometime around 1995 or 1996. President Trump publicly denied the allegations, prompting Carroll to sue him for defamation. That case was put on hold because of issues related to the fact that he was the sitting president. Carroll later filing a second lawsuit, alleging both defamation and sexual assault after New York temporarily opened a legal window for older sexual assault claims.

3:18That second case went to trial first, with a jury in May 2023 finding President Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation, but not rape. Mr. Trump ordered to pay Carroll$5 million. Carroll's original defamation case later went to trial separately, with jurors only deciding damages after the earlier verdict had established liability, that jury awarding Carroll$83.3 million. President Trump denies Carroll's allegations and is appealing both verdicts. Now, Carroll's own testimony reportedly under scrutiny. According to CNN, prosecutors are focused on a 2022 deposition when Carroll said no one else was paying her legal fees.

3:58Her lawyers disclosing that some of her legal expenses had been covered through a non-profit backed by LinkedIn co-founder and Democratic megadonor Reid Hoffman, a major Trump critic. Mr. Trump's attorneys arguing at the time that the funding disclosure raised serious questions about Carol's credibility. Carol's lawyers arguing the funding had no bearing on her claims, saying she had not met or spoken with anyone connected to the nonprofit. Neither Carol nor Hoffman commenting yet on the latest reporting. The DOJ declining to comment on the investigation to multiple outlets. CNN legal analyst Allie Honig explaining why a perjury case is serious, but not simple.

4:37So perjury cases are serious. They're punishable by maximum five years in prison, but they're much harder for prosecutors to prove than I think people might realize. So what prosecutors want to show here to have an indictment against E. Jean Carroll is that, A, she gave false testimony about whether she knew where this funding was coming from. B, that the way she was asked the question was unambiguous, that there's no wiggle room. There's no confusion about what the question was or what the answer was. See that she knew it was false at that time in 2022 at the deposition. And then D, the prosecutors will have to show what we call materiality, meaning was the thing she allegedly lied about relevant to some substantial issue in the case?

5:16It's not enough if it was just some detail or some throwaway. So those are the things prosecutors have to show. And of course, Kate, beyond a reasonable doubt when it gets to a jury, if and when it gets to a jury. President Trump refiling his$10 billion defamation lawsuit against the publisher of the Wall Street Journal and two of its reporters, taking another run at the case after a federal judge tossed the original complaint last month. The lawsuit centering on a July 2025 report about Jeffrey Epstein's 50th birthday album, compiled in 2003 by Ghislaine Maxwell, years before the disgraced financier was convicted on prostitution charges involving a minor.

5:52The journal publishing a story headlined, quote, Jeffrey Epstein's friends sent him body letters for a 50th birthday album. One was from Donald Trump. President Trump repeatedly denying authoring the letter. Shortly after the article's publication, Mr. Trump's legal team filing a defamation lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, naming the journal's parent company, News Corp., founder Rupert Murdoch, CEO Robert Thompson, publisher Dow Jones, and two reporters. Mr. Trump's lawyers arguing the report caused significant financial and reputational harm. The journal's legal team urging the court to dismiss the case, arguing the reporting was accurate, and that Trump could not show the journal acted with, quote, actual malice in its reporting, a standard required for public figures.

6:36Obama appointed U.S. District Judge Darren Gales siding with the journal, dismissing the complaint without prejudice, meaning the president can refile at a later date. Now the president's legal team doing just that. In the amended filing, Mr. Trump's lawyers argued the journal and its reporters presented the letter as fact without showing proof that he wrote, drew, or signed it. They also argued the journal failed to explain how the letter was obtained, how it was verified, and questioned why the article did not include a denial from Ghislaine Maxwell, who reportedly told the DOJ she did not recall receiving a letter from Trump for the book.

7:10According to the complaint, Mr. Trump personally called Rupert Murdoch before publication, denied sending or signing the letter, and believed Murdoch would stop the story after allegedly saying he would, quote, handle it. A spokesperson from Dow Jones referring to a previous statement, quote, we have full confidence in the rigor and accuracy of our reporting and will vigorously defend against any lawsuit. Treasury Secretary Scott Besant stepping behind the White House briefing room podium, becoming the latest cabinet official to fill in as Press Secretary Caroline Levitt, remains out on maternity leave.

7:44Secretary Bassett holding the briefing as a new inflation report shows consumer prices increasing, with annual inflation rising to 3.8 % in April, up from 3.3 % in March, marking the highest level since May of 2023. The Secretary opening the briefing by placing those numbers inside a broader economic picture. We've had sustained and resilient GDP growth. Real GDP has risen 2.6 % over the past four quarters. Atlanta Fed's GDP now predicts 3.8 % for this quarter, second quarter. The average 401k is up almost$30 ,000 since President Trump's inauguration. President Trump Rx has already saved Americans over$600 million.

8:27I'm sure all of you will want to report on that. And the unemployment rate remains low at 4.3%. Secretary Besson also fielding several questions about a new report from The Washington Post that Trump administration officials are pushing for designs of a new$250 bill featuring the current president's portrait, despite a law barring any living person from appearing on U.S. currency. Mr. Besant responding to the report. Again, as Treasury Secretary, I have two mandates for U.S. currency. At present, no living person can be on U.S. currency, and the currency must stay in God we trust. So right now there is proposed legislation in front of the House, in front of the Senate, to change the first requirement so that a living person, Donald J.

9:16Trump, could be on a$250 bill. So it's all in the hands of, it's all up on Capitol Hill. At Treasury, we prepare things in advance. So we have prepared in advance that if the legislation is passed, but we will stick to the law. Secretary Besson also asked about President Trump's settlement with the IRS and Treasury Department over the leak of his tax returns. The agreement creating a roughly$1.8 billion compensation fund for Americans who say they were harmed by political weaponization of the federal government. Democrats and other critics blasting the arrangement as a taxpayer-funded slush fund, while the administration argues it's meant to compensate people who were unfairly targeted.

9:59Here, Secretary Besson. This is going to be the only question I'll take on this matter today. So there's ongoing litigation, so it would be inappropriate for me to comment. President Trump is a great American who has endured more than 10 years of nonstop harassment and weaponization from the federal and state government actors. A bad actor at the IRS leaked more than 400 ,000 tax returns, including the Trump family, all the employees, and that's how we got here now. No American should be targeted for political reasons, and every citizen deserves fair treatment, full protection of the law. The Department of Justice represented Treasury and the IRS in this matter, and I'm going to have to refer any questions to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanch.

10:47The secretary did end up taking one follow-up on the subject. Governor Gavin Newsom has floated this idea of a 100 % state tax on Californians who receive money from President Trump's anti-weaponization fund. Your response to the governor's call from herself? There's no cure for stupid. Coming up, the U.S. and Iran may be nearing a deal. Maybe. And the Coast Guard resumes the search for a missing American woman in the Bahamas, nearly two months after she went missing.

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11:55Give yourself the kind of comfort that lives with you all day. Designed to keep you cozy, comfortable, and actually relaxed all season long. Head on over to CozyEarth.com and use our code MEGAN for up to 30 % off your order, but just for a limited time. This exclusive offer runs just through June 1st, okay, through June 1st only, so do not wait. That's code MEGAN at CozyEarth.com for up to 30 % off. And if you see a post-purchase survey, Tell them that you heard about Cozy Earth right here. U.S. officials saying American and Iranian negotiators have reached an agreement on a 60-day Memorandum of Understanding, or MOU, to extend the ceasefire and begin negotiations on Iran's nuclear program, according to Axios and other outlets.

12:42However, the MOU agreement is still awaiting final approval from President Trump and Tehran. The MOU calling for unrestricted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and the clearing of all Iranian mines within 30 days. The agreement also requiring the removal of the U.S. naval blockade and limited sanction waivers allowing Iran to sell oil. Meanwhile, in return, Iran committing to not pursue a nuclear weapon, with both the U.S. and Iran continuing negotiations regarding the disposal of its highly enriched uranium as well as enrichment limits. Treasury Secretary Scott Besant yesterday addressing the deal.

13:17It is a multifaceted agreement, and nothing is going to be on the table until we see the Strait of Ramouth open and the Iranians agree that they have to turn over the highly enriched uranium and that they can't have a nuclear program. And to be clear here, that this administration, President Trump, has done something that no other administration is able to do. We have gotten the Iranians to talk about their nuclear program and to perhaps commit to not having one. That has never happened before. It had been off the table. So I think when you look at the results of the kinetic action of our economic pressure, it has worked to bring them to the table and have a discussion on this.

14:02The news of the potential agreement following an exchange of strikes in the Middle East on Thursday, with CENTCOM accusing Iran of a, quote, egregious ceasefire violation. The U.S. military saying Iran targeted Kuwait with a missile, though Kuwaiti forces successfully intercepting it. According to CENTCOM, the military downing several Iranian drones hours earlier, saying, quote, they posed a clear threat in and near the Strait of Hormuz. Besset insisting the ceasefire, at least for now, is still in effect. With the Iranian government, we did not have regime change, but we changed the regime. As President Trump said at the cabinet meeting, as we've said other times, the first layer of leadership was eliminated, the second layer, and we're now at the third layer.

14:48And the way to think about it is the Iranian government, such as it is, is three pillars. It is the elected government, it is the IRGC, and it is the clerics. And they are having trouble communicating. So we are being patient. We do not have unlimited patience. President Trump always prefers a peace deal. So everything we have done thus far has been defensive. And at present, that is what we will continue doing. But if President Trump doesn't think he can get a peace deal, then Kinetic is back. The MOU deal reportedly also laying out steps toward humanitarian aid for Iran and an end to the Israel-Hezbollah war in Lebanon, the topic of at least one tense conversation between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

15:35Reuters reporting Iran's news agency Tasneem saying the exact text of the agreement has not been finalized or confirmed. U.S. officials saying the 60-day period would test whether Tehran is serious and ready for a broader shift. President Trump reportedly taking a few days to consider the proposal. The U.S. Coast Guard reopening the search for missing American woman Lynette Hooker in the Bahamas nearly two months after she disappeared while boating with her husband. Lynette last seen on April 4th, while traveling by dinghy with her husband, Brian Hooker, back to the sailboat where the couple lived.

16:10Brian telling investigators Lynette fell overboard during the trip and was swept away by a strong current. An initial search by Bahamian authorities and the U.S. Coast Guard called off days later after investigators were unable to locate Lynette. Lynette's daughter, Brian's stepdaughter, immediately raising concerns about his account. Carly Ailsworth telling multiple outlets shortly after Lynette's disappearance the story doesn't add up, and pointing to what she describes as a history of domestic violence in the relationship. Ailsworth describing the relationship to NBC as volatile, saying they have, quote, a history of not getting along, especially when they drink.

16:46Brian initially telling police he and Lynette had been drinking the night she went missing. Bahamian authorities arresting Brian on April 8th, holding him for several days before releasing him without charges, as the investigation continued. Brian denies wrongdoing and has not been charged with the crime and returned to the United States on April 15th. The U.S. Coast Guard also launching its own investigation into Lynette's disappearance, taking custody of the couple's sailboat, Soulmate, earlier this month. And now, investigators returning to the water. NBC News reporting GPS data appears to undermine Brian's account of where he was the night Lynette disappeared.

17:23CBS News reporting that data, taken from one of Brian Hooker's electronic devices, showing a track of the device's movements that did not line up with what he told investigators. The outlet reporting investigators now believe Brian's account may have led search teams to look in the wrong area of the Sea of Abaco, Bahamian authorities approving a U.S. Coast Guard request to send divers into a new search area, with crews expected to search waters roughly 25 feet deep, according to Fox News. That'll do it for your AM Update. I'm Emily Jashinsky, host of After Party. Catch the Megan Kelly Show live on SiriusXM's The Megan Kelly Channel, 111 at noon east on YouTube.com slash Megan Kelly and all podcast platforms.

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