George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley said Friday that New York Judge Juan Marchan had to answer “very difficult questions” in the criminal trial before sentencing former President Donald Trump.

In his ruling on Friday, Judge Marchan postponed Trump's sentencing trial from Sept. 18 to Nov. 26, citing the presidential election. Judge Turley said the Supreme Court's July 1 exoneration ruling could void Trump's May 30 conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records. (RELATED: 'I don't know what they'll do': Jonathan Turley reacts to Supreme Court halt to Biden administration's latest loan forgiveness effort)

“That's not what you would expect from Judge Marchan. I sat in the courtroom and, frankly, I was troubled by many of his rulings. I felt there were some rulings that were clearly wrong. He ruled primarily in favor of the prosecution and against the former president,” Turley told “America Report” co-hosts John Roberts and Sandra Smith in a phone interview. “And that's why I think there are aspects of this case that really need to be reviewed on appeal. But this is the right decision.”

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'There's a lot of work to be done': Jonathan Turley reacts to Marchan delaying Trump's sentence until after the election pic.twitter.com/3ignPOrgut

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) September 6, 2024

“So not only does he have a ton of work to do, but there's also the very difficult question of whether the Supreme Court's decision will vacate this conviction,” Turley continued. “I've always believed he'll ultimately uphold the conviction, but he can't just do that with a wave of his hand. He's going to have to explain why the evidence that was obviously privileged at trial was not conclusive and was not essential to any conviction. I think that's an argument he's likely to accept.”

Bragg's team has called former White House communications director Hope Hicks to testify about the Trump campaign's response to a taped recording of a 2016 conversation between Trump and “Access Hollywood” host Billy Bush during his trial over a $130,000 payment to porn actress Stormy Daniels.

Turley previously suggested that delaying the sentence could give Marchan a reason not to give Trump a prison sentence. (RELATED: 'Trump's victory': Jonathan Turley says Supreme Court immunity decision is a blow to Jack Smith)

“There's an interesting dynamic about timing that, in a weird way, might work in favor of Mr. Marchan not imposing a prison sentence,” Turley said. “If Donald Trump is elected president, Mr. Marchan could use that fact to argue that the court recognizes the complexities of a person who would have to serve as the president-elect and support the lack of a prison sentence.”

“In some ways, it would serve to take the cup away from his mouth and say, I'm going to impose a different type of punishment. So there's a strange aspect to all of this timing that it might make it easier for Marchand not to impose an actual prison sentence,” Turley added.

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