President-elect set to be sentenced in New York criminal case 10 days before beginning second term.
United States President-elect Donald Trump has requested the Supreme Court to halt proceedings in his New York criminal case involving hush-money payments to an adult film star.
A court filing released on Wednesday comes just two days before Trump is scheduled to be sentenced in the case.
Last May, Trump was found guilty on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. Prosecutors claim he did this to conceal an affair before the 2016 presidential election that could have been damaging politically.
Judge Juan Merchan recently ordered the sentencing to occur on Friday, just 10 days before Trump is inaugurated.
In the Supreme Court filing, Trump’s legal team asked for an immediate stay of the sentencing to prevent harm to the Presidency and federal government operations.
This would give time for Trump’s appeal of the case to progress. The Supreme Court has requested prosecutors to respond by Thursday.
Trump’s lawyers argue that due to a previous Supreme Court ruling granting presidents broad immunity from criminal prosecution, some evidence in the case should not have been presented.
They are pushing for the conviction to be overturned.
The appeal to the Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative supermajority, including three Trump appointees, follows the rejection of Trump’s stay request by lower courts.
Historic conviction
The New York case marks Trump as the first former US president to be indicted. He is poised to re-enter office as the first president who is also a convicted felon.
Trump also faces criminal charges in three other cases: one federal case related to the 2020 election, one federal case involving classified White House documents, and one case in Georgia related to election result challenges.
Following Trump’s election victory, two federal cases were dismissed by the US Special Counsel, as the Department of Justice typically avoids prosecuting sitting presidents.
The fate of the Georgia case remains uncertain, as the state appeals court recently replaced the top prosecutor. While the state case is not subject to the same restrictions as the federal case, it is unlikely to proceed while Trump is in office.
Trump’s 2024 election victory poses questions on the impact on his New York sentencing. However, Judge Merchan has indicated in court filings that he will sentence Trump to “unconditional discharge,” maintaining his conviction but avoiding imprisonment, fines, or probation.
