U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to pause criminal proceedings in his New York hush money case after a New York appeals court denied his bid to halt sentencing scheduled for Friday.

In a filing released on Wednesday, Trump's lawyers asked the nation's top court to immediately order a stay in the case, as he seeks an appeal to resolve questions of presidential immunity following an earlier Supreme Court ruling.

That appeal effort could reach the Supreme Court as well, his lawyers noted. They also urged the court to issue a temporary "administrative stay" while it considers the request for a broader pause, the filing said.