CNN Legal Analyst Tells Jim Acosta 50-50 Trump Gets ‘Prison Sentence’ Days From Now

CNN legal analyst Elie Honig told anchor Jim Acosta that President-elect Donald Trump could get sentenced to jail time, and it’s “possible” he will serve time — after January 20, 2029.

Trump’s legal woes receded into the background during the campaign, but he is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 26 for the 34 felony counts he was found guilty of in the Stormy Daniels hush money-election interference trial, and he still faces dozens of criminal counts in the classified documents case whose dismissal is under appeal, the January 6 case, and the now-paused Fulton County election crimes case.

But the federal cases are now set to be “unwound” in the wake of Trump’s victory and the Fulton County case is in limbo, leaving only Judge Juan Merchan’s sentence still in play.

On Thursday’s edition of CNN Newsroom With Jim Acosta, Honig and Acosta gamed out how the sentencing will be carried out given Trump’s impending ascent to the Oval Office:

JIM ACOSTA: And Elie, I mean, this is also on the horizon. Trump is scheduled to appear in a New York courtroom on November 26th to receive a sentence in his hush money trial. Is there any chance that this happens? I suppose this is all in Judge Merchan’s hands at this point.

ELIE HONIG: It’s absolutely is all in Judge Merchan’s hands. I think it’s going to be a 50/50 call whether it happens or not, as Paula Reid and others have reported.

Trump’s team is arguing that that sentencing should not go forward because Donald Trump is now the president-elect. If it does go forward, Jim, I think there’s again, a 50/50 chance that Judge Merchan’s will impose a prison sentence as opposed to a probation sentence.

But even if the judge does hold this sentencing on November 26th, and even if the judge says I hereby sentence you to X in prison, Donald Trump is not going to serve that time while he’s in transition as he is now, or certainly while he’s president. I think it’s going to be just formal or ceremonial if it comes to that.

JIM ACOSTA: I’m sorry, what does that mean? Does that mean that he won’t have to report to prison? That will be delayed or postponed until after he leaves office the second time around? What does that mean?

ELIE HONIG: Well, that’s an interesting question.

So the formal way that that would happen, Jim, is something called bail pending appeal, which a lot of defendants get. Someone in Donald Trump’s position would normally get it, meaning you don’t have to actually go to prison or start serving your sentence until all your appeals are done. That’s a year or two down the line.

But I guess there’s a good question you raise. I hadn’t really thought about what happens on January 20th, 2029, when Donald Trump isn’t– finished with his second term.

If he’s sentenced to prison, then I think you get into a question of is it actually going to be enforced on an– I don’t know, he’ll be 82 years old at that point. Maybe. I guess theoretically it’s possible, but that’s that’s way down the line.

Watch above via CNN Newsroom With Jim Acosta.