Trump made a 'big mistake' on the first day of defamation trial — and then it got worse: former prosecutor

The defense of Donald Trump in a Manhattan courtroom, where he stands accused of rape and defamation by writer E. Jean Carroll, got off to a rough start on Tuesday, claims a former sex crimes prosecutor.

In a column for the Daily Beast, attorney and legal analyst Shan Wu stated that the former president's choice not to attend the opening proceedings, while his accuser was in full view of the jury pool, could come back to haunt him and that his attorney's initial approach didn't help matters.

Trump's absence, in a trial that could end with him branded as a rapist as he makes a third bid for the Oval Office, may have already left jurors with questions about his innocence that his attorneys will have to overcome.

As Wu explained, jurors in a sex crime case take a different approach to how they view the case writing, "Credibility determinations are a particularly important factor in such cases and a big part of that is the demeanor of parties both on and off the stand. In preparing witnesses for court, I always impress upon that every moment the jury or judge can see.

According to the attorney, "In court today, E. Jean Carroll was in full view of the jurors with her gaze “fixed on Tacopina [Trump’s lawyer]” during his opening. Carroll’s presence signaled to the jury that she stands behind her allegations and that she is unafraid to let them see for themselves her demeanor and reactions. Thus the jurors had no view of Trump to compete with the sexual predator that Carroll’s lawyer portrayed him to be other than the attacks on Carroll’s character made by Trump’s attorney, Joe Tacopina."

Wu noted that Tacopina's "blustery" style also may have made matters worse for his client.

He wrote that the Trump attorney's "....claim that Carroll’s story also should not be believed because staff or other customers in the store would have noticed or heard a sexual assault, before adding, "This point, however, is just a dog-whistle to the idea that sexual assault victims cannot be believed if they did not “fight back”–a misogynistic viewpoint that will seem exactly that to a jury. Tacopina’s other arguments involved the standard celebrity defense of claiming that Carroll fabricated the accusations to gain money and/or fame."

RELATED: First day of Trump's defamation trial incorporates mocking abuse of E. Jean Carroll

After explaining that accusations against Trump are already public knowledge, as well as his well-publicized comments in the infamous "Access Hollywood" tape, Wu suggested Trump's defense was already on its heels before the trial began.

"Jury trials are impossible to accurately predict even for the most seasoned litigators. They are always a roll of the dice for both sides," the former prosecutor cautioned before adding, "But the E. Jean Carroll case against Trump looks like the beginning of a bad roll for Trump."

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