Trump asked court to delay sentencing in financial document forgery case

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump filed a lawsuit to the Supreme Court with an appeal to suspend the proceedings on the case of forgery of financial documents of the Trump Organization company when paying money to former porn actress Stormy Daniels. A spokesman for the politician's transition team and new White House communications director Stephen Cheung said on January 8.

"President Trump's legal team has filed an emergency petition with the U.S. Supreme Court, asking to correct the unjust actions of the New York courts and stop the illegal sentencing as part of the Manhattan district attorney's 'witch hunt,'" he shared in a conversation with Fox News TV channel.

According to a spokesperson for the U.S. leader-elect, the citizens of the state elected him "with an overwhelming mandate that demands an immediate end to the political weaponization of our justice system."

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Earlier in the day, The Washington Post reported that a US court had temporarily blocked the publication of a report on the investigations into the country's president-elect by special prosecutor Jack Smith.

The day before, Judge Juan Merchan refused to postpone Trump's sentencing in the case, scheduled for January 10. It is reported that the defendant's motion to stay the proceedings, including sentencing, has been canceled.

Before this, on January 3, Trump called the judge's decision to schedule his sentencing for January 10 a farce. He also clarified that the judge's decision violated the statute of limitations and the U.S. Constitution.

On December 4, Trump urged a New York court to dismiss his case about the connection with Daniels, referring to the decision of White House President Joe Biden to pardon his son Hunter Biden.

According to the prosecution's version, Trump became intimate with porn actress Stormy Daniels in 2006, and in 2016 his lawyer Michael Cohen paid $130 thousand in exchange for a nondisclosure agreement. After his election to the presidency, Trump reimbursed Cohen's financial spending by disguising the payments as legal fees. The checks totaled $420,000.

In May, a jury found Trump guilty in the case of forgery of financial documents. The President-elect himself said after the meeting that it was nothing more than falsification, behind which is the current head of state Joe Biden, who wants in this way to get rid of the main rival in the now past elections. Later, Trump called the jury's decision on the first case a scam and pointed out that now every American is at risk of criminal prosecution.