Trump pushes to halt New York hush money sentencing

• Trump's team is also appealing two rulings from Judge Juan Merchan that dismissed the president-elect's attempts to toss out his historic conviction, per a filing dated Sunday.
• Though Merchan indicated he would not sentence Trump to jail time, he upheld his conviction on 34 felony counts.

Driving the news: Defense attorneys Todd Blanche, Trump's pick for deputy attorney general, and Emil Bove argued that Trump's sentencing must be paused while he appeals Merchan's dismissals of his immunity claims.

• "It is of no moment that the Court has suggested an intention to impose a sentence of unconditional discharge," the filing read.
• It continued, arguing that while "it is indisputable that the fabricated charges in this meritless case should have never been brought" and "could not possibly justify a sentence more onerous than that," no sentence would be appropriate "based on numerous legal errors."
• Prosecutors objected to delaying sentencing since Merchan plans to hand down "the lowest possible sentence authorized by law" and that presents no conflict with Trump taking office Jan. 20.

The big picture: Trump's appeal was unveiled the same day Congress is set to certify the results of the 2024 presidential election — and on the anniversary of the infamous Jan. 6 riot, when a pro-Trump mob stormed the U.S. Capitol.

What we're watching: Trump's team requested that the court notify the parties in the case by Monday afternoon whether it intends to proceed with sentencing on Friday.

Go deeper: Where Trump's cases stand as Inauguration Day nears

Editor's note: The story has been updated with a response from prosecutors.