Donald Trump's Lawyer 'Screwed Up' E. Jean Carroll Case—Attorney

A lawyer who withdrew from Donald Trump's legal battle against E. Jean Carroll "screwed up" the case, a separate attorney has said.

Joe Tacopina and his two partners, Chad Seigel and Matthew DeOreo, withdrew from a damages trial that is following on from a civil ruling against the former president last year. A New York City jury awarded E. Jean Carroll, a journalist, $5 million in damages in May, ruling that Trump had sexually assaulted her and was liable for defamation.

They also withdrew from a case in which he is accused of falsifying business records over a hush money payment to former adult film star Stormy Daniels to keep an alleged affair secret during the 2016 campaign. Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts, and he is separately involved in other legal battles.

Tacopina filed a declaration requesting the withdrawal of his firm's representation in the Carroll case on Monday, also requesting that Judge Lewis Kaplan allow his partners to withdraw their services. While the reason for their exit isn't yet clear, Tacopina has been criticized over his legal skills and the way he ran the case.

"I respectfully submit this Declaration in support of [Tacopina Seigel and DeOreo's] motion, made pursuant to Local Civil Rule 27.1, to withdraw as counsel (including TSD attorneys Joseph Tacopina, Chad D. Seigel and Matthew G. DeOreo) for Trump, with such other and further relief as the Court deems just and proper," Tacopina wrote in the filing.

He didn't specify a "legal or factual basis to withdraw" in his filing. Newsweek contacted his firm and a representative for Trump by email to comment on this story.

Speaking about the news on MSNBC's The Beat, another lawyer who once represented the Republican, Tim Parlatore, criticized Tacopina's legal skills, specifically referring to the Carroll case.

"He's essentially been on the shelf ever since he screwed up the first Jean Carroll case," Parlatore said. "He's very good at self-publicity, but not actually very good in the courtroom, and I think that that's something that we all saw during the Jean Carroll case. It's something that I warned them repeatedly – do not bring this guy in at all."

"I think he barely cross-examined Jean Carroll," he added. "He didn't call the witnesses that they had prepared and obviously he was put in a bad position because they didn't really do much, you know, good work in the discovery of that case. But here's a guy that probably hasn't tried a case in over 10 years coming in cold and barely cross-examining a witness."

He added that it is widely thought "he's not a very competent lawyer."

Newsweek has also asked representatives for Tacopina by email to comment on these remarks.

Meanwhile, Trump was mocked by political commentators on social media over the loss of his legal representation.

Experts said the departures could be a problem for the GOP frontrunner, with his former attorney Michael Cohen telling Newsweek: "Donald's outcome remains bleak."