Former President Donald Trump has requested a New York judge to postpone his sentencing in the hush money case until after the upcoming November election. He claims that the current timeline is intended to disrupt his campaign.

Trump is set to be sentenced on September 18 after being found guilty in May on 34 felony charges related to falsifying business records linked to a cover-up of a sex scandal during the 2016 presidential campaign.

Judge Juan Merchan stated he will decide on September 16 regarding Trump’s request to overturn the guilty verdict, citing a controversial Supreme Court ruling from July that provides former presidents with considerable immunity from prosecution. Sentencing will proceed if deemed necessary after this ruling.

In a letter submitted on Wednesday seeking a delay, Trump’s defense team contended that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg should not be permitted to submit a sentencing recommendation while the motion for Trump’s immunity is still under consideration. They argue that if Trump prevails in his appeal, sentencing would no longer be necessary, and any preemptive recommendation could adversely affect the Republican candidate. Thus, delaying sentencing would resolve the issue, they claimed.

The letter also mentioned that the prosecution’s sentencing recommendation would incorporate language from the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling about the “threat of punishment,” which the defense claims could be personally and politically damaging to Trump and his family, as well as detrimental to the office of the Presidency.

The defense further asserted that they should be allowed to fully contest Merchan’s anticipated ruling on immunity before any sentencing occurs—a move that could potentially delay sentencing by several months.

“To put it simply, unless the court fully resolves (Bragg’s) violations of presidential immunity, no adjudication, including sentencing, should proceed,” Trump’s lawyers stated.

They characterized the current arrangement as hurried, emphasizing there is no justification for sticking to this timeline besides a clear intent to interfere with the election.