Trump was in Palm Beach, Florida, with special permission to hold the conference virtually and was also allowed to bring one of his lawyers into the room under an exception granted by Judge Juan Marchan, who is overseeing the trial.
The Trump campaign declined to comment on further details of the call.
Interviews are a routine process for convicted defendants: The Probation Department, located on the 10th floor of Manhattan Criminal Court, prepares pre-sentence reports for judges and interviews convicted felons about their backgrounds, mental health and the circumstances that led to their convictions.
Trump, now a convicted felon, has vowed to appeal the sentence. He still had to give the interview before his sentencing, scheduled for July 11.
The former president was convicted in late May of paying porn actress Stormy Daniels $130,000 to keep quiet about an alleged sexual encounter he had with her before the 2016 presidential election. The conviction does not disqualify him from running for president.
Some legal experts told The Washington Post that it’s unlikely Trump, 77, will be jailed. It will be up to Marchand to decide whether Trump should be jailed. His decision will be informed by both the prosecution and defense. Alternative penalties for Trump include probation or house arrest.
Trump’s defense team is expected to file a charging document by Thursday. The Manhattan district attorney’s office, which is prosecuting the case, must submit a recommendation by June 27. Probation officer reports are not typically public documents, but parts of them may be made public in court.
Legal groups and public defenders complained that having defendants’ lawyers present at the meetings and allowing them to meet virtually with the probation office amounted to special treatment.
In a statement, public defender groups including the Legal Aid Society and the Bronx Defenders said the exception made for Trump “is not typically available to low-income defendants.”
“Everyone convicted of a crime, not just billionaires, should have the right to have an attorney present at their probation interview,” the group said in a statement. “This is just another example of the dual nature of our justice system: interviews with probation officers affect sentencing, public defenders cannot attend these interviews with their clients, and the option to participate in these interviews virtually is not typically available to the people we represent.”
City spokeswoman Yvette Davila Richards said virtual interviews have been available for defendants since during the pandemic.
“[Trump] “He’s being treated just like any other defendant,” Davila-Richards said.
Marianne Levine and David Nakamura contributed reporting.
