NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump ended his mandatory interview Monday after less than 30 minutes of routine, uneventful questions and answers, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press. The person was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The former president was interviewed by a New York City probation officer for a legally required report that trial judge Juan M. Merchan can utilize to determine Trump’s sentence if he is convicted in his criminal trial on hush money charges on July 11.
Monday’s interview was conducted privately via video conference. Under state law, the resulting report – which may also include information about Trump’s conviction, social, family and work history, as well as his education and economic status – will remain confidential unless the judge authorizes its release.
Trump’s lawyers and prosecutors will receive copies, but that usually doesn’t happen until shortly before the verdict. Both sides can also submit their own documents to Merchan outlining how they think Trump should be punished.
Merchan faces a wide range of penalties, ranging from probation and fines to up to four years in prison, following Trump’s May 30 conviction for falsifying business records to cover up a possible sex scandal.
After refusing to testify at the trial, Trump was legally required to attend the court hearing on Monday. He did so via video from his residence at the Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida, accompanied by his lawyer, Todd Blanche.
That ruling sparked complaints about special treatment for a celebrated defendant, but city officials denied that was not the case and said such relief was available to anyone who had to undergo a pretrial hearing.
Normally, in New York, convicted individuals meet in person with parole officers for the required preliminary hearings and are not allowed to have attorneys present. After Blanche objected to Trump having to answer the questions alone, Merchan granted the defense attorney permission to be present at Trump’s questioning.
The city’s public defenders on Monday criticized what they said were “special provisions” for Trump and called on the probation service to “ensure that all New Yorkers, regardless of income, status or class, are given equal opportunities before sentencing.”
“All convicted felons should be allowed to have an attorney present at their parole interview, not just billionaires,” four of the city’s public defender organizations said in a statement. “This is just another example of our two-tiered justice system.”
“Pre-trial hearings with probation officers influence sentencing, and public defenders are barred from participating in these discussions with their clients. The opportunity to participate in these discussions virtually is also not typically offered to the individuals we represent,” said the statement from the Legal Aid Society, Bronx Defenders, New York County Defender Services and Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem.
A spokesperson for the city, which runs the probation department, said defendants had the option to have their preliminary hearings via video even before the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020. Ivette Dávila-Richards, deputy press secretary for Mayor Eric Adams, said all defendants can also request that their lawyers be present at hearings as long as the judge in their case signs off on it.
“Trump has not received any special treatment,” Dávila-Richards said. “He is being treated like any other defendant convicted of a crime. Just because he is so well known, everyone is making this bigger than it is.”
A message seeking comment was left with a spokesman for the state court system.
Pre-sentence reports are designed to assist a trial judge determine an appropriate sentence for a convicted person. Such reports are usually prepared by a probation officer, social worker or psychologist working for the probation department who interviews the defendant and possibly his or her family and friends, as well as people affected by the crime.
In addition to the defendant’s personal history and criminal record, they often include a recommended sentence. The interview is also an opportunity for the defendant to say why he or she believes he or she deserves a lighter sentence, and the city’s probation department encourages defendants to submit any documentation they believe might be helpful in the case.
A jury found Trump guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records. The charges stem from an attempt to cover up a hush money payment to porn star Stormy (*30*) shortly before the 2016 presidential election. She claims she had a sexual encounter with Trump ten years earlier, which he denies.
Trump, the likely Republican presidential nominee, has said he will appeal his conviction – although by law he must wait until his sentence is announced – saying he is innocent and that the case was brought to jeopardize his chances of winning another seat in the White House.
