President-elect Trump asked the Supreme Court to block his scheduled Friday sentencing on 34 New York felony counts of falsifying business records. The emergency application asks the court to prevent the hush money prosecution from moving ahead until his appeals involving presidential immunity are resolved, reports The Hill. Trump is "engaged in the most crucial and sensitive tasks of preparing to assume the Executive Power in less than two weeks, all of which are essential to the United States’ national security and vital interests,” Trump’s attorneys wrote. “Forcing President Trump to prepare for a criminal sentencing in a felony case while he is preparing to lead the free world as President of the United States in less than two weeks imposes an intolerable, unconstitutional burden on him that undermines these vital national interests,."
Trump claims the historic case must be dismissed because of a two-fold immunity claim. His attorneys argue that the trial was tainted by evidence protected by the Supreme Court’s immunity test for presidents and the prosecution must also be tossed to accommodate Trump’s status as president-elect. Judge Juan Merchan rejected those arguments and scheduled the sentencing for Friday, 10 days before the inauguration. The judge has said he is inclined to impose no jail time or punishment for Trump if the sentencing moves forward and will allow him to appear virtually. Trump’s emergency appeal to the Supreme Court comes after a mid-level New York appeals court refused to block the proceeding on Tuesday. Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said, “The American People elected President Trump with an overwhelming mandate that demands an immediate end to the political weaponization of our justice system and all of the remaining Witch Hunts.”
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