Trump’s legal team filed an emergency appeal Wednesday morning with the Supreme Court to halt his sentencing in the New York court case. Hours before the petition was filed, the president-elect spoke with Alito on Tuesday. The justice clarified that the impending appeal was not mentioned during the call. 

Alito said he was not “even aware at the time of our conversation that such an application would be filed,” explaining during a Fox News interview that Trump asked him for his opinion about someone he was considering for a position in the incoming administration who formerly worked for the Supreme Court justice. 

“William Levi, one of my former law clerks, asked me to take a call from President-elect Trump regarding his qualifications to serve in a government position,” Alito said. “I agreed to discuss this matter with President-elect Trump, and he called me yesterday afternoon.”

“We also did not discuss any other matter that is pending or might in the future come before the Supreme Court or any past Supreme Court decisions involving the president-elect,” Alito added. 

Trump’s emergency petition before the Supreme Court on Wednesday came a day after a New York judge denied his request to postpone his sentencing in the hush money case involving former porn actress Stormy Daniels.

The president-elect’s legal team urged the courts to delay sentencing on the basis of presidential immunity and the effect on his ability to govern ahead of the inauguration. 

The Washington Examiner reached out to the Supreme Court for comment.