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Former President Donald Trump is trying to indefinitely delay the verdict in his hush money case.
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On Thursday, the former president filed a request to have the case moved to a federal court.
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This effort could ultimately lead to the U.S. Supreme Court challenging the case on immunity grounds.
Former President Donald Trump is attempting to take his hush money lawsuit to federal court in an attempt to overturn his conviction and delay sentencing in the case.
On Thursday night, Trump’s lawyers asked the U.S. District Court in Manhattan to intervene in the case, arguing that the Manhattan state court hearing the case violated Trump’s constitutional rights.
Trump’s lawyers pointed to the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on presidential immunity. If the case is heard in federal court, it could end up before the U.S. Supreme Court.
“This ‘zombie’ case should have been dismissed long ago,” attorneys Todd Blanche and Emil Bove wrote in their 64-page filing to the U.S. District Court.
Blanche and Bove argue that the case could harm Trump’s chances in the November election.
“The ongoing proceedings will continue to cause direct and irreparable harm to President Trump, the leading candidate for the 2024 presidential election, and to voters far beyond Manhattan,” they wrote.
“And a grossly unjust sentencing is currently scheduled for September 18, 2024, which could result in the immediate and unconstitutional imprisonment of President Trump and prevent him from continuing his groundbreaking campaign,” the lawyers added.
A representative for the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office declined to comment when contacted by Business Insider.
Representatives for Trump and the U.S. District Court did not immediately respond to requests for comment from BI.
In May, a New York jury found Trump guilty on 34 charges: falsifying business records to cover up a hush-money payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels days before the 2016 election.
Trump is expected to be sentenced in the case on September 18, but if his legal request on Thursday is granted, the sentencing will be delayed.
Trump’s lawyers filed the request Thursday with Judge Alvin Hellerstein, who earlier this year had denied Trump’s previous request to move the case to federal court.
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