Trump asks Supreme Court to block his criminal hush money sentencing

President-elect Donald Trump has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to prevent Friday's sentencing in his New York criminal hush money case.

In a filing Wednesday morning, defense lawyers argued that sentencing Trump -- who has attempted to halt the case based on a claim of presidential immunity -- would damage "the institution of the Presidency and the operations of the federal government."

"Most fundamentally, forcing President Trump to defend a criminal case and appear for a criminal sentencing hearing at the apex of the Presidential transition creates a constitutionally intolerable risk of disruption to national security and America's vital interests," Trump's lawyers said.

The Supreme Court asked for a response from prosecutors in New York by Thursday at 10 a.m. ET.

The Manhattan district attorney's office, when asked for comment, said they will respond in court papers.

Later Wednesday, Trump's lawyers launched an eleventh-hour request to New York's highest court to pause the case.

Trump's lawyers warned New York's Court of Appeals that continuing with the sentencing could lead to "grave injustice and harm to the institution of the Presidency and the operations of the federal government," in a filing that largely echoed Trump's three other attempts this week to have the case delayed.

"Under the doctrine of sitting-President immunity, it is unconstitutional to conduct a criminal sentencing of the President-elect during a Presidential transition, and doing so threatens to disrupt that transition and undermine the incoming President's ability to effectively wield the Executive power of the United States," argued Trump's attorneys, who took the unusual step of simultaneously asking two different courts for the same relief.

The request will reviewed by a single judge who has the authority to stay the case, and no oral argument is expected. Trump's previous attempts to sway the New York Court of Appeals -- such as his challenges to the gag orders in his criminal and civil cases -- have been unsuccessful.

With their application to the Supreme Court, Trump's lawyers have asked the country's highest court for an unprecedented intervention in the ongoing criminal case of a former president -- whose appointment of three justices cemented the court's conservative majority -- that would effectively toss his criminal conviction less than two weeks ahead of his inauguration.

The move came after a New York appeals court on Tuesday denied Trump's request to delay the Jan. 10 sentencing.

Trump was found guilty in May on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to a hush money payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in order to boost his electoral prospects in the 2016 presidential election.

Trump asked the Supreme Court to consider whether he is entitled to a stay of the proceedings during his appeal; whether presidential immunity prevents the use of evidence related to official acts; and whether a president-elect is entitled to the same immunity as a sitting president.

If adopted by the justices, Trump's argument about immunity for a president-elect could expand the breadth of presidential authority, temporarily providing a private citizen with the absolute immunity reserved for a sitting president.

Trump's lawyers argued that the Constitution and doctrine of separation of powers "compel the conclusion that the President-elect is completely immune from criminal process."

In a 6-3 decision last year, the Supreme Court broadened the limits of presidential immunity, finding that a former president is presumptively immune from criminal liability for any official acts and absolutely immune for actions related to his core duties. The decision not only expanded the limits of presidential power but also upended the criminal cases faced by Trump.

Despite that favorable opinion, Trump faces uncertainty in convincing the justices to halt his sentencing. The Supreme Court does not typically take on random interlocutory appeals, even by a president-elect.

The president-elected faces up to four years in prison, but New York Judge Juan Merchan has signaled that he plans to sentence Trump to an unconditional discharge -- effectively a blemish on Trump's record, without prison, fines or probation -- in order to respect Trump's transition efforts and the principle of presidential immunity.

Defense lawyers argued that sentencing still "raises the specter of other possible restrictions on liberty."

"Indeed, every adjudication of a felony conviction results in significant collateral consequences for the defendant, regardless of whether a term of imprisonment is imposed," Trump's lawyers argued -- despite Judge Merchan's plan not to impose any of the restrictions on Trump.

Trump's lawyers also argued that the former president's conviction relied on evidence of official acts, including his social media posts as president and testimony from his close White House advisers. The New York judge in the case, Juan Merchan, ruled that Trump's conviction related "entirely to unofficial conduct" and "poses no danger of intrusion on the authority and function of the Executive Branch."

"This appeal will ultimately result in the dismissal of the District Attorney's politically motivated prosecution that was flawed from the very beginning, centered around the wrongful actions and false claims of a disgraced, disbarred serial-liar former attorney, violated President Trump's due process rights, and had no merit," Trump's filing to the Supreme Court said.