Former Elle columnist E Jean Carroll accused Donald Trump of using the defamation case for political gain.

       “The courtroom is not a courtroom to him. It was a campaign stop,” Ms Carroll told CNN on Monday of the 2024 GOP frontrunner.

       She said the former president’s legal team and her lawyers had two separate objectives: “Ours was to win a case. His was to win voters.”

       “He’s using me to win voters,” Ms Carroll said. “The man found liable for sexual assault is using the woman he sexually assaulted to get votes.”

       A jury determined last week that Donald Trump must pay E Jean Carroll over $83m in damages for the defamatory statements he made about the writer. Last year, a jury found Mr Trump liable for sexually abusing Ms Carroll in a department store in the 1990s. In that case, he owed her $5m in damages.

       Before and even after that verdict, Mr Trump has claimed that Ms Carroll’s sexual assault allegations against him were false.

       On CNN, Ms Carroll was also asked how she would use the money. “We’re going to do good with that money…. Mary Trump has suggested we turn Trump Tower into an animal sanctuary,” she said before clarifying, “That was a joke.”

       Seriously, she said, “We were inspired to not waste a penny of this. And we have some good ideas that we’re working on.”

       “Well Donald Trump hates women,” Ms Carroll said.

       So, she continued, “I think one of the things we could do see is how he’s very instrumental in taking away women’s rights over their bodies across the United States. Maybe we can think about how we can restore women their rights. Use a little of the money for that.”