Donald Trump's lawyers told a judge that the Republican's conviction for illegally covering up hush money payments to a porn star should be dismissed because he won the US presidential election and sentencing would threaten government stability.

In a letter filed on Tuesday (Nov 19) and made public Wednesday, the Republican president-elect's lawyers asked New York State Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan for permission to file a formal motion laying out their arguments by Dec 20.

"Just as a sitting president is immune from any criminal process, so too is President Trump as President-elect," the lawyers wrote.

Trump, 78, had been scheduled to be sentenced on Nov 26, but Merchan last week put all proceedings in the case on pause at the request of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office.

Bragg's office has said it will oppose Trump's bid to dismiss the case and suggested it should be paused until Trump completes his four-year presidential term beginning on Jan 20, though it stopped short of explicitly endorsing that option.

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