Trump asks US Supreme Court to halt his criminal hush money sentencing

HOUSTON, United States

President-elect Donald Trump asked the US Supreme Court on Wednesday to halt his criminal hush money sentencing scheduled for Friday, according to media reports.

Trump's attorneys argued in a court filing that sentencing the president-elect would damage "the institution of the Presidency and the operations of the federal government."

"Most fundamentally, forcing President Trump to defend a criminal case and appear for a criminal sentencing hearing at the apex of the Presidential transition creates a constitutionally intolerable risk of disruption to national security and America's vital interests," said Trump's attorneys.

An appeals court in the US state of New York on Tuesday denied Trump's request to delay the Jan. 10 hearing, despite requests from his lawyers to dismiss the case, citing presidential immunity.

By making the unprecedented request to the nation's highest court, a possible intervention to stop the sentencing could set the course for how future presidents-elect could use presidential immunity to avert criminal convictions.

Trump was found guilty last May of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to $130,000 in hush money payments made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels to keep her story of an alleged affair with Trump from going public during the 2016 presidential election. Trump has denied the allegations.

In the court filing, Trump's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to consider whether he is entitled to a stay of the proceedings during his appeal; whether presidential immunity prevents the use of evidence related to official acts and if a president-elect is entitled to the same immunity as a sitting president.

If the high court adopts the new terms of immunity for a president-elect, it could expand the breadth of presidential authority, temporarily providing a private citizen with the absolute immunity reserved for a sitting president.

Trump's lawyers argued that the Constitution and doctrine of separation of powers "compel the conclusion that the President-elect is completely immune from criminal process."

If the sentencing moves forward Friday, Trump technically faces up to four years in prison, but New York Judge Juan Merchan has signaled that he plans to sentence Trump to an unconditional discharge, meaning that the president-elect would not serve prison time, receive fines or probation. In essence, it would just be a technical blemish on Trump's record.

The Supreme Court has asked for a response from New York prosecutors by Thursday morning.

The Manhattan district attorney's office said they would respond accordingly through court papers.