CNN legal analyst Ellie Honig said Thursday that President-elect Donald Trump is “actually benefiting” from the ruling Friday from New York state judge Juan Marchan.

The Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision in which Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined the court’s three liberals, rejected an emergency appeal by the president-elect to halt Trump’s sentencing. I refused. Honig told former Daily Caller reporter and CNN host Caitlan Collins that the sentencing hearing will allow Trump to appeal his conviction. (Related article: Jonathan Turley says Trump still has a ‘chilling effect’ despite Juan Marchan partially lifting gag order)

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“I think it was perfectly healthy,” Honig said. “Basically, the majority justices said two things. First of all, they said, ‘What’s the harm?’ You’ll get a zero sentence. You can do it on Zoom. You can roll out of bed and do it. And secondly, you may have a serious problem. ”I think he has significant issues on appeal, but those can be addressed through a full post-conviction appeals process. ”

Last May, a Manhattan jury found Trump guilty of 34 felonies for falsifying business records. Honig said that after the sentencing hearing, Trump would be able to appeal his conviction.

“In fact, Mr. Trump will benefit from being sentenced tomorrow. If the sentence ends tomorrow morning, Mr. Trump will be able to file a full appeal,” Honig said. “He could go to the New York Court of Appeals. He could probably go to the United States Supreme Court and say, ‘The charges against me were unconstitutional,’ and I think that might be the case. He could say he didn’t properly instruct the jury, but if he had had his way, he wouldn’t have been able to appeal if the verdict wasn’t handed down tomorrow. ”

Honig also said that Marchan reportedly plans to sentence Trump to “virtually do nothing” through “unconditional termination.” under new york state lawa ruling of “unconditional release” would confirm Mr. Trump’s conviction, but not jail, fines, or probation.

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