President-elect Donald Trump asked the Supreme Court on Wednesday to intervene and pause his sentencing in New York, his attorneys claiming that being sentenced for his felony conviction would be a “grave injustice.”
Trump’s attorneys appealed to the Supreme Court after a New York appeals court refused to postpone his sentencing, which is set for Friday. Trump’s attorneys claimed that action from his allies on the Supreme Court was necessary to guard against "harm to the institution of the presidency and the operations of the federal government.”
“President Trump is currently 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 lawyers 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.”
The arguments presented by Trump’s team lean on the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity decision, which held that presidents could generally not be prosecuted over “official acts.” The acts at issue in the hush money case in New York, however, concern actions Trump took before his presidency.
Trump’s lawyers have also argued that defending himself in court is “uniquely taxing and burdensome” and that this presents a challenge for the president-elect, who they say is “engaged in the most crucial and sensitive tasks of preparing to assume the executive power in less than two weeks.”
Justice Sonia Sotomayor oversees cases arising on an emergency basis from New York and can choose to either respond to the appeal on her own or refer it to the whole court.
