Trump to sit for N.Y. probation interview from Mar-a-Lago

Former President Donald Trump will speak to a New York probation officer Monday from his Florida home at Mar-a-Lago, his campaign said.

Defense lawyer Todd Blanche will be at his side for the interview. It will be conducted over a secure line by a female probation officer, according to NBC News, which first reported on the interview.

Probation officials must conduct the interview and prepare a report before state Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan sentences Mr. Trump on July 11 for his conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records.

A Manhattan jury convicted Mr. Trump after a six-week trial in which prosecutors alleged Mr. Trump, using his lawyer Michael Cohen, paid hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels near the 2016 election and criminally concealed the payment through a series of mis-logged checks to Mr. Cohen.

Sitting for a probation interview virtually is somewhat unusual, though forcing Mr. Trump to return to New York would require a Secret Service presence and be disruptive.

The interview will focus on Mr. Trump’s living situation, finances and criminal history. It is unclear if the probation officer will divine anything that isn’t already known about the former president, but the interview is a routine part of the sentencing process.

“It will ask about family support networks, assets, job skills and employment history. It will try to determine whether an offender is a threat to the community and what type of sentence makes the most sense for the offender given the law,” said David Schultz, a professor of politics and legal studies at Hamline University in Minnesota. “It will seek to determine if probation is a good tool to control the defendant or if prison is needed.”

He said the reports are “generally very critical” to a judge’s decision.

Mr. Trump will face sentencing four days before the start of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.

Some Democrats are rubbing it in.

“I’m guessing you didn’t have to meet with your FELONY probation officer today. Donald Trump can’t say the same,” Rep. Eric Swalwell, California Democrat, said on X.

Mr. Trump has no prior convictions and is the presumptive GOP nominee against President Biden this year, so Judge Merchan might decline to send the former president to prison.

The Secret Service would have to accompany Mr. Trump to prison, posing logistical issues.

Judge Merchan did, however, threaten to put Mr. Trump in jail for repeated violation of a gag order that prevented the former president from commenting on witnesses, jurors and court staff during the trial.

Mr. Trump says he did nothing wrong and plans to appeal his conviction.

“President Trump and his legal team are already taking necessary steps to challenge and defeat the lawless Manhattan DA case,” campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said. “The American People will not fall for the Biden-directed Hoaxes and will hold Crooked Joe and his comrades to account this fall.”