President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday urged the U.S. Supreme Court to stay his trial in the hush money case, an unusually high-profile request that relies on a court ruling last year granting broad immunity from criminal prosecution.
Trump’s urgent appeal came a day after a state appeals court in New York rejected a request to delay his sentencing, which had been set for Friday.
The stay was sought, Trump’s lawyers told the court, “to prevent gross injustice and to undermine the institution of the presidency and the operations of the federal government.”
More on the request: The president-elect is appealing his conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records, arguing that it should be thrown out because a conservative majority of the Supreme Court ruled in July that former presidents are entitled to immunity for official acts.
Trump’s latest request to the U.S. Supreme Court is unusual and likely to be a tough fight because his criminal case has not yet been fully resolved by the New York court. Judge Juan Merchan, a New York City judge, rejected Trump’s request to halt the trial on Friday.
Merchan signaled that Trump, who will be inaugurated on Jan. 20, will not face legal consequences.
Trump was convicted in May of falsifying business records to pay his lawyer Michael Cohen to cover up $130,000 in compensation payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels to keep her quiet about the alleged affair before the 2016 election. . Trump has denied the charges. The judge upheld Trump’s conviction last week.
