Sri Lanka, Feb. 13 -- Donald Trump on Monday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to put on hold a judicial decision rejecting his claim that he is immune from being prosecuted for trying to overturn his 2020 election loss, arguing that without such a shield "the presidency as we know it will cease to exist."

Trump, seeking to regain the presidency in the Nov. 5 U.S. election, asked the justices to pause a Feb. 6 ruling by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejecting his claim of immunity from prosecution.

Trump's lawyers in a brief to the Supreme Court warned that "conducting a months-long criminal trial of President Trump at the height of election season will radically disrupt President Trump...