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CNN Guest Says Merchan ‘Did The Right Thing’ By Postponing Trump Sentence

CNN guest and former New York Supreme Court Justice Jill Convisor told the network on Tuesday that Judge Marchan “made the right decision” to postpone former President Donald Trump's sentence.

Conviser appeared on “The Source with Kaitlan Collins” to discuss the impact of the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision on President Trump's immunity appeal. After the Supreme Court announced its decision on Monday that a sitting president is immune from criminal prosecution for “official duties,” CNN host Kaitlan Collins asked the justices whether they intended to challenge President Trump's conviction in New York state. (Related article: Alvin Bragg's team agrees to postpone Trump trial following Supreme Court immunity decision)

“They will ask for a retrial, and that may be the case depending on what the newspapers say, but if you look at the Supreme Court decision, it talks about core constitutional liability, and I don't think bribing a porn star has anything to do with core constitutional liability. So I thought there may ultimately be a basis to strike it down,” Conviser said.

“But Judge Marchan did the right thing, because you have to hear the parties. You may have to have a hearing, you may decide on paper. But he was cautious. If he wrote it down and said the decision is today, he would be saying, 'I deny it.' He didn't do that. He was cautious. He said, 'If there's a decision, it's time.'”

Fellow guest Ellie Honig, a senior CNN legal analyst, called the Supreme Court's decision “a godsend for Donald Trump” and analyzed the court's “surprisingly broad” definition of official conduct.

Trump was convicted in New York on May 30 after Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg filed a lawsuit alleging the former president falsified business records through repaying non-disclosure payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels. A jury found Trump guilty of all 34 felony counts, and his trial date was originally scheduled for July 11.

But following this week's Supreme Court ruling, Trump's lawyers submitted a letter to Marchan arguing that the decision violates presidential immunity and creates a serious risk that the executive branch will eat itself. according to Marchant then moved Trump's sentencing date to September 18, a move Bragg's legal team agreed to, according to CBS News.

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