A New York judge has rejected a claim by Trump's lawyers that he is immune from impeachment as a former US president.

A United States judge has rejected a demand by Donald Trump's lawyers to throw out the president-elect's acquittal because the Supreme Court has ruled that former presidents are immune from impeachment.

On Monday, Judge Juan Merchan in New York said the US Supreme Court's decision to grant immunity for "official acts" did not apply to testimony at Trump's trial, which was "entirely related to non-official conduct entitled on no immunity protection”.

Merchan's ruling is the latest development in the long-running case against the president-elect, in which sentencing is still pending.

In May, a New York City jury convicted him on all 34 felony counts of falsifying business documents related to a $130,000 payment made to adult film actress. Stormy Daniels in the run up to the 2016 presidential election.

Prosecutors convinced a jury that Trump's payments were made to cover up a scandal that would have hurt his 2016 campaign against Democrat Hillary Clinton, whom he eventually beat.

Trump's sentencing was initially set for July 11, but it was later moved to November 26.

After Trump's victory on November 5, 2024 presidential electionTrump's lawyers pressed Merchan to throw out the case, "to facilitate the orderly transition of executive power - and in the interest of justice".

New York prosecutors said they were open to delaying sentencing until after Trump's second term as president, but pushed back against his lawyer's claims that the case should be dismissed entirely.

Trump could face up to four years in prison on each felony charge, though court observers say he is unlikely to face time behind bars as opposed to probation or community service.

Trump's second term as president will officially begin on January 20, 2025. He is the first US president, past or present, who charged and found guilty of a crime.

The hush money case is just one of several legal cases involving the former reality television star.

At the end of November, the US special counsel Jack Smith move to dismiss two criminal cases that Trump has accused of trying overturning his 2020 election defeat and of the mishandling of classified government documents, citing his pending return to the White House.

Also last month, Trump's lawyers separately asked New York Attorney General Letitia James to overturn a civil judgment against him for fraud and a $464 million fine "for the greater good of the country," while he prepares to return to power.

In a letter to Trump's lawyer John Sauer, published on social media, New York Deputy Attorney General Judith Vale denied the request.