Donald Trump requests US Supreme Court to pause sentencing in hush money case

Washington [US], January 9: US President-elect Donald Trump requested the Supreme Court, to pause his sentencing in the hush money case, scheduled for Janaury 10, CNN reported.
This comes after a New York state appeals court rejected his request to postpone the sentencing, ahead of Trump's swearing-in on January 20.
Trump's attorneys argue that delaying the sentencing is necessary "to prevent grave injustice and harm to the institution of the presidency and the operations of the federal government."
The Manhattan District Attorney's office has stated that they will respond to Trump's filing in court papers.
Further, the high court has asked prosecutors respond by 10 am (local time) on Thursday.
The president-elect is appealing his conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records, arguing it should be tossed because a conservative majority of the Supreme Court in July ruled that former presidents are entitled to sweeping immunity for official actions, as reported by CNN.
Notably, Trump was convicted in May 2023, of falsifying records to conceal payments to his then-lawyer Michael Cohen, who reimbursed USD 130,000 hush money payment made a adult-film star Stormy Daniels for her silence about an alleged affair with Trump before the 2016 election. Trump has denied the affair.
According to CNN, the request is 'unusual' because Trump's criminal case is not yet fully resolved by New York courts.
Judge Juan Merchan, the trial judge in New York, has rejected Trump's demands to stop the sentencing, scheduled for Friday. Merchan upheld Trump's conviction last week and indicated that Trump, who will be inaugurated on January 20, will face no legal penalties.
Steven Cheung, a spokesman for Trump, said Wednesday's request was made "to correct the unjust actions by New York courts and stop the unlawful sentencing in the Manhattan D.A.'s Witch Hunt."
Source: Times of Oman