Trump calls for reprieve in hush money case

President-elect Donald Trump is seeking a stay of Friday’s sentence in the financial secrecy case, according to a court filing released Monday.

“The Court should cancel the sentencing hearing scheduled for January 10, 2025, and suspend any further delays in the case until President Trump’s immunity appeals are fully and finally resolved,” they argued. Trump’s lawyers in a filing Sunday with Judge Juan Merchan.

Merchan had rejected Trump’s request to dismiss the case in a ruling last week and ordered his sentencing on 34 counts of falsifying business records to continue this week, before his inauguration.

The filing says Trump will appeal those decisions to the state’s Appellate Division later today and will be entitled to an “automatic stay.”

In a statement, Trump spokesman Steven Cheung called the conviction “unlawful.”

“The Supreme Court’s landmark decision on immunity, the New York State Constitution and other established legal precedents demand that this baseless hoax be immediately rejected,” 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 intend to imprison Trump and was likely to sentence him to unconditional release, meaning he would remain a convicted felon but not would suffer no further punishment.