Trump petitions the Supreme Court to halt his New York hush money sentencing, citing presidential immunity. Court asks for quick response.
On Wednesday, President-elect Donald Trump requested the Supreme Court to impede criminal proceedings in New York pertaining to his hush money matter, wherein a sentencing hearing is scheduled for Friday.
The judicial body has directed prosecutors in New York to furnish a response to Trump's request by Thursday morning, thereby affording the justices time for deliberation prior to the sentencing proceeding.
In a new filing, legal representatives for Trump asserted, "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."
Their contention is that the matter should not progress due to the protections afforded to Trump by presidential immunity, as acknowledged by the Supreme Court earlier this year.
A statement from Trump spokesman Steven Cheung conveyed, "The Supreme Court’s historic decision on Immunity, the Constitution, and established legal precedent mandate that this meritless hoax be immediately dismissed."
The Manhattan district attorney's office did not immediately provide a response to NBC News' request for comment.
On Tuesday, a judge within a New York appeals court declined to impede the sentencing.
In May, Trump was found guilty of falsifying records pertaining to hush money disbursed by his then-attorney Michael Cohen to adult film performer Stormy Daniels in the concluding period of the 2016 presidential election. Daniels testified to a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006, a claim he has refuted.
Legal representatives for Trump contend that certain evidence presented at trial centered on official actions undertaken by Trump during his tenure in the White House. They are also taking the unprecedented step of asserting that a president-elect should possess the same safeguards against criminal prosecution as a sitting president.
Judge Juan Merchan, who presided over the trial, initially deferred Trump’s scheduled sentencing in July following the Supreme Court’s ruling that month establishing a new standard for presidential immunity.
However, Merchan subsequently concluded that Trump does not possess immunity until his inauguration as president. He then directed that Trump’s sentencing on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records would occur on Friday morning.
The Supreme Court's contentious ruling on presidential immunity arose from the separate matter in which Trump was charged with endeavoring to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. With Trump poised to become president again, that matter has now been discontinued.
The court determined that certain official actions undertaken by presidents are exempt from criminal prosecution. Actions undertaken by a president in their personal capacity would not be protected.
The Supreme Court request from Trump was filed by lawyer D. John Sauer, whom the president-elect intends to appoint as solicitor general, the chief courtroom advocate for his administration. Another legal representative for Trump listed on the filing, Todd Blanche, is Trump's selection for the role of deputy attorney general.