The U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has asked the Supreme Court to prevent the New York state court from sentencing him on January 10 in his hush money case.
Trump filed the petition after the Manhattan court, on Tuesday, rejected his plea to delay sentencing in his criminal conviction, which should come ten days before his inauguration.
“This court should enter an immediate stay of further proceedings in the New York trial court to prevent grave injustice and harm to the institution of the presidency and the operations of the federal government,” his legal team argued in a filing made public Wednesday.
Trump’s lawyers asked for an emergency stay, citing the need for clarity on presidential immunity. .
The Supreme Court has ordered Manhattan prosecutors to respond by Thursday morning, indicating that the justices may act swiftly on the matter.
Trump was convicted in May on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
The charges stemmed from a $130,000 payment made through his former personal lawyer in 2016 to silence porn actor Stormy Daniels, who alleged she had a sexual encounter with Trump a decade earlier—a claim he consistently denied.
Trump’s sentencing was originally scheduled for July 11, 2024, but was postponed twice at the request of his lawyers.
It was eventually rescheduled to a date in late November 2024 after the presidential election, which Trump eventually won, prompting the court to put everything on hold to consider what to do.
Spokesperson for Trump, Steven Cheung on Wednesday, said his legal team has asked the Apex court “to correct the unjust actions by New York courts and stop the unlawful sentencing.”
A representative for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, whose office prosecuted the case, confirmed that prosecutors would respond in court.
Justice Juan Merchan has indicated that he might lean towards a sentence that would amount to just closing the case without any real punishment, but it will leave a stain on Trump’s record without penalties like jail time, fines, or probation.
Trump’s legal team argued that the case should be dismissed citing the supreme court’s July 1 ruling, which granted former presidents broad immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts.
“By repeatedly admitting evidence of President Trump’s official acts during trial, the trial court violated the principles of presidential immunity that this court enumerated,” Trump’s lawyers stated in Wednesday’s filing.
They also argued that, as president-elect, Trump is immune from prosecution during “the brief but crucial period” between his election on November 5 and his inauguration on January 20.