President-elect Donald Trump, just days away from his scheduled sentencing in a New York criminal case, has escalated his legal fight to the US Supreme Court, seeking a last-minute intervention to halt the proceedings.
His lawyers filed an emergency application late Tuesday, urging the justices to block the sentencing, which is set for Friday — 10 days before Mr. Trump’s inauguration as the 47th president.
The request comes after a New York appeals court rejected a similar plea earlier on Tuesday, casting doubt on the validity of Mr. Trump’s arguments.
Central to his appeal is the claim that, as president-elect, he is entitled to full immunity from prosecution and sentencing, a stance rooted in a contentious Supreme Court ruling last year that extended broad immunity to former presidents for their official acts.
“This court should enter an immediate stay of further proceedings in the New York trial court,” Mr. Trump’s legal team wrote, “to prevent grave injustice and harm to the institution of the presidency and the operations of the federal government.”
The Supreme Court has ordered prosecutors to respond to the application by Thursday morning, signaling that a decision could come before the sentencing. The Manhattan district attorney’s office, which prosecuted Mr. Trump, has not commented publicly, stating only that it will file a response in court.
Although the trial judge, Justice Juan M. Merchan, has indicated that Mr. Trump will not face jail time, the sentencing would formalise his status as a felon — the first U.S. president to hold such a designation. Legal experts note that the felony conviction could carry significant symbolic weight and complicate his duties as president.
Mr. Trump’s lawyers argued that sentencing a sitting or incoming president could lead to “constitutionally intolerable” restrictions, such as travel limitations, reporting requirements, or probationary conditions. They added that the collateral consequences of a felony conviction could undermine his ability to fulfill his presidential responsibilities.
Mr. Trump’s legal team also sought an emergency stay from New York’s highest court, the Court of Appeals, citing the urgency of the situation and the dwindling time before his inauguration. “Because it is highly questionable whether the New York Court of Appeals will act in the next 48 hours, filing applications in both courts appears to be the only viable option,” the filing stated.
If the Supreme Court grants the stay, it could effectively derail the sentencing. Once Mr. Trump assumes the presidency, he is shielded from criminal prosecution under long-standing legal precedent.
While Mr. Trump’s odds at the Supreme Court remain uncertain, the conservative-leaning bench — which includes three justices he appointed during his first term — has previously ruled in his favor. Last year, the court’s ruling on presidential immunity curtailed a federal criminal case against Mr. Trump stemming from efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
Even so, legal experts are divided on whether his current petition has sufficient merit. The case has already faced skepticism in lower courts, which have rejected his immunity claims in this instance.
Chioma Kalu
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