Donald Trump was interviewed by New York probation officials ahead of his sentencing next month for concealing secret payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels.
The Republican presidential candidate, who held a rally with supporters in Las Vegas on Sunday, was interviewed in less than 30 minutes, a source close to the matter said.
Probation interviews are a routine process for defendants that usually include questions about criminal history, family and employment status, mental and physical health, and a pre-sentence report is sent to the judge.
“President Trump and his legal team are already taking the necessary steps to challenge and defeat the illegal case of the Manhattan prosecutor”, – said Trump’s director of public relations, Stephen Chung.
According to the American media, Trump – the first former president of the United States to be convicted of a crime – was not in person in a New York court, but passed a probationary interview by video link while staying at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.
In May, Trump was found guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up an alleged scandal with Daniels before the 2016 US election.
He should be sentenced on July 11, a few days before the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, where he will be officially announced as the presidential candidate.
Falsifying business records carries a prison sentence of up to four years, but experts say a judge is unlikely to hand down a prison sentence given that this is Trump’s first conviction.
Trump faces three other criminal charges, including charges related to his unprecedented bid to overturn his 2020 election loss, but those cases are unlikely to be heard before the presidential election in November.
