President-elect Donald Trump has made an unusual request to the US Supreme Court to pause his sentencing in the hush money case, citing the court's previous decision granting him broad immunity from criminal prosecution. This request comes after a state appeals court in New York denied his plea to postpone the sentencing scheduled for Friday.
Trump's legal team argues that the pause is necessary to prevent injustice and harm to the presidency and federal government. The president-elect is appealing his conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records, contending that former presidents are entitled to extensive immunity for official actions, as ruled by the Supreme Court in July.
However, Trump's request faces challenges as his criminal case in New York is not fully resolved, with Judge Juan Merchan refusing to halt the upcoming sentencing. Merchan has indicated that Trump, set to be inaugurated on January 20, will not face legal penalties.
In May, Trump was convicted of falsifying business records related to payments made to his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, to reimburse a $130,000 hush money payment to adult-film star Stormy Daniels. The payment was allegedly made to prevent Daniels from disclosing an affair before the 2016 election, a claim Trump denies. Last week, Merchan upheld Trump's conviction.
