President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday sought the intervention of the United States Supreme Court to block his sentencing in a New York hush-money case scheduled for Friday.
Donald Trump’s plea comes after New York courts rejected his request to delay the sentencing, leading his legal team to take the matter to the Supreme Court.
Trump’s lawyers asked the Supreme Court to stay the sentencing by Judge Juan M Merchan, who presided over Trump’s trial and conviction last May on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, arguing that it could severely restrict him as he prepares to assume the presidency, news agency Associated Press reported.
While Merchan has indicated he will not impose jail time, fines or probation, Trump’s lawyers argued a felony conviction would still have intolerable side effects.
The case pertains to a $130,000 hush money payment made to porn star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign.
Notably, Trump has denied any wrongdoing in the case.
What is Donald Trump’s motion in US Supreme Court?
The emergency motion was moved by Trump’s attorneys, including John Sauer, who is nominated to be solicitor general, and Todd Blanche, a prominent legal figure slated for a key position at the Justice Department.
The motion states that imposing a felony conviction on the President-elect before he takes office would cause “grave injustice” and interfere with the operations of the federal government.
The sentencing should be delayed as he appeals the conviction to “prevent grave injustice and harm to the institution of the Presidency and the operations of the federal government,” they argued.
The filing also contends that the New York trial court lacks authority to impose any sentence while Trump’s appeal is pending.
Trump’s legal team further emphasised a previous Supreme Court ruling that granted presidents broad immunity from prosecution over actions taken while in office, arguing that evidence used in the hush money case, including testimony from White House aides and social media posts, should have been shielded by that immunity.
They also pointed to the Supreme Court ruling giving Trump and other presidents broad immunity from prosecutions over their actions in office, saying it supports their argument that his New York conviction should be overturned.
Their filing said the New York trial court “lacks authority to impose sentence and judgment on President Trump — or conduct any further criminal proceedings against him— until the resolution of his underlying appeal raising substantial claims of Presidential immunity, including by review in this Court if necessary.”
However, judge Merchan disagreed, finding they would qualify as personal business. The Supreme Court’s immunity decision was largely about official acts of presidents while in office.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office is expected to respond in court papers, while the emergency motion was submitted to Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who handles appeals from New York.
Meanwhile, Trump’s spokesman, Steven Cheung, criticized the case as politically motivated and called for its dismissal.
‘Politically motivated’: What’s the hush-money case against Trump?
The Donald Trump hush money case stems from what prosecutors described as an effort by the President-elect to cover up the hush money payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels before the 2016 Presidential campaign, who claims to have had a sexual encounter with Trump in 200, a claim he denies.
Trump’s legal team argues that the trial and conviction were unjust and politically motivated, citing the broader implications of presidential immunity as the central legal argument in their push to delay the sentencing.
As the deadline for the sentencing nears, all eyes are now on the Supreme Court to determine if Trump’s legal challenge will delay the proceedings or set the stage for a prolonged legal battle ahead of his January 20 inauguration.
