'Very credible witness': Legal expert says Trump will struggle to put away civil rape case

The civil rape trial against former President Donald Trump has officially begun, with writer E. Jean Carroll laying out her allegations that the former president assaulted her in a department store dressing room in the 1990s — and Trump's defense counsel works to discredit it.

But the former president will have trouble putting this case away, argued former White House ethics czar Norm Eisen on CNN — because Carroll is presenting a credible account.

"Trump's lawyer is trying to poke holes in Carroll's evidence of this alleged assault, and is saying the jurors can hate donald trump but should take that to the ballot box instead of in this court of law," said anchor Wolf Blitzer. "What do you make of this opening statement?"

"Well, Wolf, Trump is going to attempt to through his lawyers in this case and more generally point to this — these accusations as being part of a political pattern," said Eisen. "For example, his attorneys have pointed to the timing, to the fact that E. Jean Carroll did not file a police report at the time, that she did not come forward publicly. But the problem is, Miss Carroll is a very credible witness. And she did talk about this with others. Some of them may testify. And of course, there's a larger pattern of conduct. I think the evidence is in Carroll's favor."

"The judge right now is demanding an answer on whether Trump will testify in person by the end of this week," said Blitzer. "How important is it for his defense that the former president actually shows up?"

"The jury is going to notice that E. Jean Carroll is there every day all day long, and the jury was very attentive today, very engaged," said Eisen. "And that there's an absence at the defense table. There's no avoiding that. That being said, having argued to juries, having served on juries, the defendant's absence here is not going to be dispositive, but I do think it leaves a gap in the courtroom. Some of those jurors are going to say, well, if Mr. Trump feels so strongly, where is he?"

Watch video below or at this link.

Norm Eisen says E. Jean Carroll is "credible" www.youtube.com