Rick Scutelli/AP
Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Phoenix on June 6, 2024.
CNN
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Former President Donald Trump completed a pre-sentence interview with the New York City Probation Department on Monday after being convicted in a hush money trial last month, a source familiar with the hearing told CNN.
“Today, President Trump [the] “New York Probation Office. The interview was uneventful and lasted less than 30 minutes,” the source said, adding that “the president and his team will continue to fight the lawless Manhattan District Attorney’s witch hunt.”
A second source told CNN the interview took place on Monday around 3:30 p.m.
Trump answered all questions in the online interview and was described as polite, respectful and friendly to his probation officer, according to a New York City official familiar with the interview.
The New York City Probation Department’s director, Juanita Holmes, the department’s general counsel and the police officer working on Trump’s case were also present, according to people familiar with the matter. Trump’s lawyer, Todd Blanche, was also in attendance. It is unusual for pre-sentence interviews to be attended by anyone other than the police officer and the defendant.
At the end of the interview, Trump told the officers to stay safe, according to the source.
The probation department did not rule out the possibility of additional interviews, the official added.
The meeting will be part of a report the probation department will submit to Judge Juan Marchan ahead of Trump’s sentencing, scheduled for 10 a.m. on July 11. Marchan could sentence the presumptive Republican presidential nominee to up to four years on probation or up to 20 years in state prison on each count.
During the pre-sentence interview, the defendant is typically asked about any convictions and basic background information, such as employment history, criminal history, etc. Defendants are not required to cooperate with the routine pre-sentence investigation, but the judge may draw adverse inferences from a defendant’s lack of cooperation.
As part of the process, Trump’s legal team will be able to submit letters of support from friends and family to Marchant. A source familiar with the planning said the former president’s legal team is expected to submit a sentencing recommendation on Thursday.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office is also expected to submit a memo informing the judge of the sentence it believes is appropriate for Trump.
A Manhattan jury last month found Trump guilty of all 34 charges in his hush-money trial, making him the first former president to be convicted of a felony. Trump was accused in 2016 of falsifying business records related to hush-money payments to adult film stars.
This story has been updated with additional details.
CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, Alaina Turine and Lauren Del Valle contributed to this report.
