President-elect Donald Trump applied for a stay of criminal proceedings to the US Supreme Court on Tuesday for his hush-money case pending his interlocutory appeal for presidential immunity.

The application provides several grounds to support why a stay of proceedings should be granted. One of the grounds the application argues is there is a reasonable probability the court will grant certiorari, or judicial review, of this case. The application explains the issues of an automatic stay pending an appeal on immunity, the admission of official acts as evidence, and the extension of immunity to a president-elect are all “‘unprecedented and momentous questions about the powers of the President.'”

In addition to the issue of whether Trump is entitled to an automatic stay of criminal proceedings, the application also discusses two other key issues. The first is whether the trial court’s admission of Trump’s official acts as president as evidence violates the Trump v United States doctrine. For this issue, the application explains Trump had filed a motion to vacate the jury verdict and challenge the admission of his official acts as evidence, but the trial court denied the motion. The application finds this decision was “made in error” and “if allowed to stand, would gravely undermine the American Presidency as we know it.”

The second issue presented in the application is whether a sitting president’s immunity from criminal prosecution extends to a president-elect. For this issue, the trial court previously found immunity from criminal process does not extend to this period. However, the application argues this conclusion is erroneous. When Trump filed the motion to vacate the jury verdict and dismiss the criminal case, he argued that the doctrine of “sitting-president immunity” prevented him from the criminal process during the presidential transition period. As discussed, Trump’s motion to vacate was denied.

Trump’s application for an emergency stay comes after a New York judge denied his request to delay his sentencing hearing for his conviction earlier this week, which remains scheduled for January 10. In his application to stay proceedings, Trump has requested a stay to “prevent further criminal proceedings in New York state court,” which includes his sentencing hearing. The application cites Trump v United States as an authority for this request, reasoning Trump’s interlocutory appeal causes an automatic stay of proceedings in the trial court.

If the court grants Trump’s request, his criminal proceedings in the trial court will be halted until the New York appeals court hands down the decision for his appeal concerning the presidential immunity questions.

Previously, Trump’s sentencing was postponed several times from its original date in July while the merits of his immunity claim were considered amidst the 2024 presidential election. He was convicted in May 2024 on 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree.

Trump’s inauguration is expected on January 20.