President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday asked the Supreme Court to block criminal proceedings in his hush money case in New York, with a sentencing hearing scheduled for Friday.
The court has asked New York prosecutors to respond to Trump’s request by Thursday morning, giving the justices time to act before the sentencing proceeding.
“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,” Trump’s lawyers wrote in the new filing.
They argue that the case should not go forward because Trump, who was president at the time of the alleged offenses, was protected by presidential immunity, as recognized by the Supreme Court earlier this year.
On Tuesday, a New York appeals court judge declined to block the sentencing.
Trump was convicted in May of falsifying records related to hush money that his then-attorney Michael Cohen paid adult film star Stormy Daniels in the closing days of the 2016 presidential election. Daniels testified she had a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006, a claim he has denied.
Judge Juan Merchan, who presided over the trial, initially postponed Trump’s scheduled sentencing in July in the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling setting a new standard for presidential immunity that month.
But Merchan later concluded Trump does not have immunity until he is sworn in as president. He then directed Trump’s sentencing on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to take place Friday morning.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Adam Reiss and Dareh Gregorian contributed.
