Lawyers for President-elect Donald Trump have filed a last-minute appeal to the Supreme Court asking it to prevent him from being sentenced on Friday by a New York judge following his 2024 conviction.
His attorneys are making three arguments as to why his sentencing should be delayed:
- Trump is entitled to an automatic stay while his claims of presidential immunity are addressed
- Whether the trial court’s admission and use of evidence of Trump’s official acts in a state-court violated the doctrine of presidential immunity
- Whether a sitting president's immunity from criminal prosecution extends to the president-elect
Trump's appeal is coming at the last possible moment as the Supreme Court will be closed on Thursday for the state funeral of Former President Jimmy Carter.
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Judge Juan Merchan last week scheduled for Trump to be sentenced Friday, but indicated that he would not face jail time. Nevertheless, the decision set up Trump — who is set to be inaugurated on Jan. 20 — to become the first U.S. president to take office after being convicted of felony crimes.
Trump was convicted last May of 34 counts of falsifying business records, including what prosecutors described as a scheme to cover up a hush money payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels in 2016.
