CNN legal analyst Elie Honig said Thursday that President-elect Donald Trump “actually gets a benefit” when he is sentenced by New York Judge Juan Merchan on Friday.
The Supreme Court declined to halt Trump’s sentencing by a 5-4 ruling in which Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined the court’s three liberals in rejecting an emergency appeal by the president-elect. Honig told CNN host Kaitlan Collins, a former Daily Caller reporter, that the sentencing hearing would allow Trump to appeal his conviction. (RELATED: Jonathan Turley Says ‘Chilling Effect’ Still Exists For Trump Despite Juan Merchan Partially Lifting Gag Order)
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“I think it was perfectly sound,” Honig said. “Basically, the justices in the majority said two things. First of all, they said ‘What‘s the harm? You‘re going to get sentenced to zero. You can do it by Zoom. You can roll out of bed and do it. And, second of all, you do maybe have substantial issues.’ I think he has substantial issues on appeal, but you can handle them through the full appeal process that will follow your sentencing.”
A Manhattan jury found Trump guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records last May. Honig said that after the sentencing hearing, Trump would be able to appeal his conviction.
“Trump actually gets a benefit by being sentenced tomorrow, which is once that sentencing is over as of tomorrow morning, then he can take his full appeals,” Honig said. “He can go up to the New York Courts of Appeals. He can go maybe to the U.S. Supreme Court and say, ‘The charge against me was unconstitutional,’ which I think it may be. He can say that the jury was not properly instructed, but if he had gotten his way, if he was not sentenced tomorrow, he would not have been able to appeal.”
Honig also said that Merchan reportedly plans to sentence Trump to “essentially nothing” through an “unconditional discharge.” Under New York law, a sentence of “unconditional discharge” would finalize Trump’s conviction, but he would not be imprisoned, fined or placed on probation.
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