New York officials will interview former President Donald Trump about his felony convictions, family and personal life during a virtual probation interview Monday, as Judge Juan Merchan prepares to sentence Trump for his historic criminal conviction next month.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump appears in court during his trial for allegedly covering up hush ... [+]
Trump, who was convicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records in a Manhattan court almost two weeks ago, will start what's called a "pre-sentence investigation," the same way anyone who was convicted of a felony or certain misdemeanors would.
An officer with New York City’s Department of Probation will gather information on Trump's personal life, family, community ties, education and employment history, health, history of substance abuse and finances, according to the city’s website.
Pre-sentence investigations often also include interviews with victims of the crime, law enforcement agents, the prosecutor, family members and others, and the officer also reviews all relevant court documents like trial transcripts and indictments.
The process also often includes a home visit, but not always, and whether or not an officer plans to visit Trump's place of residence is unclear.
After gathering all of the relevant information, the probation officer prepares a report to be submitted to the sentencing judge, in this case Merchan, who then uses it to help reach a sentencing decision (the report is also disclosed to the defense and prosecution).
A former commissioner of the New York City Department of Corrections and Probation, Martin Horn, told NBC News Trump’s interview process will be slightly different than that of the average convicted felon because his probation interview is being held over video conference, while most people’s take place at the Criminal Court Building in Manhattan.
Trump's attorney, Todd Blanche, will be present, after the judge presiding over the case agreed to a request from Trump's team and prosecutors did not object.
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"It is highly unusual for a pre-sentence investigation interview to be done over Zoom," Horn told NBC. “But you can argue that Trump’s appearance at the probation office on the 10th floor of the Criminal Court Building in Manhattan where his trial took place, with Secret Service and press following him, would be very disruptive to the probation office and unfair to other defendants who might not want to be identified."
Trump’s sentencing. It’s scheduled for July 11, days before the Republican National Convention. His sentence could range from a fine of up to $5,000 to house arrest to four years in prison for each of his felony convictions. Because he is a first-time offender of a non-violent crime, and because doing so would pose significant logistical challenges, it is unlikely Trump will be sentenced to prison for the crimes.
A jury in Manhattan found Trump guilty of falsifying documents to cover up his reimbursement of lawyer Michel Cohen for hush money payments Cohen made to adult film star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election. The payments were to keep Daniels from going public about a sexual encounter she says she had with the would-be president a decade earlier, in 2006. Trump was convicted on all 34 felony counts and became the first president to ever be convicted of a crime.