JUST IN: Trump Hits Back At Judge Merchan, Makes Major Legal Maneuver

President-elect Donald Trump moved to slap Manhattan Judge Juan Merchan with an order of his own just days after the Trump foe signaled he would allow for a sentencing hearing to move forward even as he minimized the possibility of jail time.

Legal observers of Trump’s hush money case have looked to Merchan for months as he’s delayed a sentencing hearing after the Republican was found guilty in May of last year on 34 felony counts of obscuring business records. Days after the election, Merchan toyed with the possibility of throwing out Trump’s conviction entirely based on the defense’s argument that Trump is immune from prosecution based on last year’s Supreme Court ruling, but shortly after, he changed course and determined the president-elect must face some form of punishment, even if it’s after he serves another four years in office. A sentencing hearing scheduled for this Friday is looking to be pushed off by Trump’s lawyers, who asked the Supreme Court to intervene and delay or terminate the hearing based on the importance of Trump serving as president without the long shadow of legal punishment. “This Court should enter an immediate stay of further proceedings in the New York trial court to prevent grave injustice and harm to the institution of the Presidency and the operations of the federal government,” Trump’s lawyers wrote in the new filing.

The filing gives the office of District Attorney Alvin Bragg just over 24 hours to file its expected objection if Supreme Court justices are to make a ruling before Friday. A spokesman for Trump repeated his lawyers’ claims that he is immune from charges and, therefore, should not face a punishment. “The Supreme Court’s historic decision on Immunity, the Constitution, and established legal precedent mandate that this meritless hoax be immediately dismissed,” Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement to NBC. A request for comment from Bragg’s office was not returned.

On Tuesday, a New York appeals court declined to stay the proceeding, setting Trump up to potentially be sentenced to community service, a fine, or some lesser punishment than jail time just days before he is set to be sworn into the presidency. He stands alone as the only current or former president to be convicted on felony charges when a Manhattan jury found him guilty of coordinating with Michael Cohen to falsify business documents related to a $130,000 payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels. Because the terms of reimbursement to Cohen were not completed until after Trump took office in 2017, his lawyers argued that the payment was an “official” act and, therefore, protected by the high court’s 2024 ruling exempting current or former presidents from criminal charges for performing their duties. Actions taken in the personal capacity of a current or former president, however, are not immune from prosecution.

Merchan himself is not above reproach for his handling of the case. In September, former Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), whom Trump has tapped to serve as his U.N. ambassador, filed a complaint with the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct alleging that Merchan’s discretion is tainted by his adult daughter’s work as a Democratic political operative for top party leaders like former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).