President-elect Donald Trump is seeking a stay of his Friday sentencing in the hush money case, according to a court filing made public Monday.
“The Court should vacate the sentencing hearing scheduled for January 10, 2025 and suspend all further deadlines in the case until President Trump’s immunity appeals are fully and finally resolved,” Trump’s lawyers argued in a filing before Judge Juan Merchan dated Sunday.
Merchan had denied Trump’s attempt to dismiss the case in a ruling last week and ordered his sentencing on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to proceed this week, ahead of his inauguration.
The filing says Trump will appeal those decisions to the state Appellate Division later today and is entitled to an “automatic stay.”
In a statement, Trump spokesman Steven Cheung called the sentence “unlawful.”
“The Supreme Court’s landmark immunity decision, the New York State Constitution, and other established legal precedents demand that this baseless hoax be immediately dismissed,” he said.
NBC News has reached out to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office for comment.
In his ruling Friday, Merchan said he did not plan to imprison Trump and would likely sentence him to unconditional release, meaning he would remain a convicted felon but would have no other punishment.
