New York, New York - Nikki Haley feigned ignorance about former President Donald Trump's sex abuse and defamation case and claimed he's "innocent" even though a jury has already found him liable for sexually abusing E. Jean Carroll.

As the only female candidate running against Trump ramps up her GOP primary fight, Haley sought to dodge questions about the trial that started in a Manhattan courtroom, with decidedly mixed results.

"I haven't paid attention to his cases and I'm not a lawyer," Haley said in an interview with CNN's Dana Bash. "All I know is that he's innocent till proven guilty. ... You've got investigations into Trump and Biden."

Asked what she thinks about Donald Trump's baseless claims that he is the victim of a partisan "witch hunt," Haley mostly agreed.

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"Some of the cases have been political. This one, I haven't looked at," she said asserted.

The former UN ambassador then falsely suggested that Trump hasn't been found to have sexually assaulted and defamed Carroll.

"If he's found guilty, he needs to pay the price. If he's not found guilty, we need to move forward," she said.

Contrary to Haley's claims, a jury already found Trump liable and ordered him to pay $5 million to Carroll. A second trial that started Tuesday is focused only on how much more he must pay for continuing to defame Carroll after the verdict.

Trump appeared in court as the trial started in Manhattan just hours after he trounced Haley and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in the Iowa caucuses – a victory that underlines his ability to leverage legal woes to boost his presidential campaign.

He faces four upcoming criminal trials on 91 felony charges, as well as a looming decision in a civil fraud trial that could effectively put his real estate empire out of business.