Former President Donald Trump's legal team has requested a delay in his hush money trial until the Supreme Court makes a decision regarding his claims of presidential immunity in another criminal case. The Republican leader's lawyers made the request on Monday, asking Manhattan Judge Juan Manuel Merchan to indefinitely adjourn the New York criminal trial until the immunity claim in his Washington, D.C., election interference case is resolved.

Trump argues that he should be immune from prosecution for actions that allegedly took place during his tenure as president. His defense team asserts that some evidence and alleged acts in the hush money case overlap with his time in the White House, constituting official acts. The Manhattan district attorney's office has yet to comment, but prosecutors are expected to respond to Trump's delay request later this week.

Scheduled to begin jury selection a month prior to the Supreme Court hearing, Trump's hush money trial is the first of the four criminal cases he faces as he strives to secure the Republican presidential nomination in his bid to reclaim the White House. The case centers around allegations that Trump falsified his company's internal records to conceal payments to his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, who played a role in suppressing negative stories during the 2016 presidential campaign, including a $130,000 payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels to silence her claims of an extramarital encounter with Trump.

Trump's lawyers argue that certain evidence the Manhattan prosecutors plan to present in the hush money trial, such as social media posts regarding payments to Cohen, are from his time as president and should be considered official acts. However, in July of last year, U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein rejected Trump's claim that the allegations qualified as official duties, preventing the case from being moved to federal court. Hellerstein stated that hush money paid to an adult film star does not reflect a President's official acts.

Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records last year. He has consistently denied any sexual encounter with Daniels, while his lawyers argue that the payments to Cohen were legitimate legal expenses unrelated to a cover-up.

The question of whether a former president is immune from federal prosecution for actions taken while in office remains legally untested. Prosecutors in the Washington, D.C., case have argued that no such immunity exists, and even if it did, the actions alleged in the indictment, which accuses Trump of plotting to overturn the 2020 presidential election, do not qualify as official acts.

While both the trial judge in Washington and a federal appeals court ruled against Trump's claims of immunity, the Supreme Court's decision to review the matter last month has added uncertainty to the timeline for the federal case in Washington. The delay in the federal case, coupled with Trump's request for a postponement in the hush money trial, leaves the final verdicts in both cases up in the air.