President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday asked the Supreme Court to block the criminal proceedings in his hush money case in New York, with a sentencing hearing scheduled for Friday.
The court asked New York prosecutors to respond to Trump’s request on Thursday morning, giving the justices time to act before the trial.
“This court should enter an immediate stay of the proceedings in New York trial court to prevent unfairness and harm to the institution of the presidency and the operations of the federal government,” Trump’s lawyers wrote in a new filing.
They argue that the case should not proceed because Trump is protected by presidential immunity, as recognized by the Supreme Court earlier this year.
“The Supreme Court’s historic decision on immunity is constitutional and establishes a precedential mandate that this futile deception must be dismissed immediately,” Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment.
On Tuesday, a New York appeals court judge declined to block the conviction.
Trump was convicted in May of falsifying records related to money that his then-lawyer Michael Cohen paid adult film star Stormy Daniels in the closing days of the 2016 presidential election. Daniels testified that she had a sexual relationship with Trump in 2006, a claim he has denied.
Trump’s lawyers argue that some of the evidence in the trial focuses on official actions Trump took while in the White House. They also took the unprecedented step of saying that a president-elect should have the same protections from criminal prosecution that a sitting president has.
