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President-elect Trump has requested the Supreme Court to postpone his upcoming sentencing in a New York hush money case, a recent court filing revealed. This intervention by the high court could potentially grant Trump a legal victory by either delaying the sentencing or preventing the lower court from enforcing a penalty for his unprecedented felony conviction.
Judge Juan Merchan has already determined that Trump will not face jail time. Trump’s legal representatives argued in a Wednesday emergency application that any further proceedings in the New York trial court should be immediately stayed to avoid serious injustice and damage to the presidency and federal government operations. They contend that Trump’s sentencing should be delayed while his appeals regarding presidential immunity are considered.
Trump’s attorneys further argue that presidential immunity should also cover presidents-elect during the critical transition period before inauguration, protecting them from criminal proceedings. They claim that preparing Trump for a criminal sentencing in a felony case while he is about to assume the presidency imposes an unbearable and unconstitutional burden that jeopardizes important national interests.
This plea to the Supreme Court follows after Judge Merchan denied Trump’s recent attempt to stop his sentencing, and an appeals judge also dismissed his request to overturn the conviction.
Reflecting on earlier events, a New York jury had convicted Trump on 34 counts of falsifying business records, marking him as the first former U.S. president to be found guilty of a felony.
Despite leveraging a Supreme Court decision from July, which affirms presidential immunity for “official acts,” to attempt to dismiss or delay the case, Trump has found limited success in his federal cases since his election victory. Nonetheless, Judge Merchan has insisted on proceeding with the New York hush money case.
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