The whole world is waiting to see if a judge in New York City’s Manhattan borough will be the first to jail a former president.
NBC News reported that former President Donald Trump is set to participate in a virtual interview with a New York City probation officer on Monday. This comes after he was found guilty of all 34 felony counts in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s “hush money” case last month, which some believe to be politically motivated.
The probation interview is required by the court as part of the former president’s pre-sentencing report. NBC News reported that it will take place via live stream from Trump’s Mar-A-Lago estate with his lead attorney Todd Blanche by his side.
Judge Juan Merchan, who is presiding over the hush money case and has numerous connections to Democrat causes, allowed Blanche to participate in the meeting since Bragg’s office did not object. MSNBC legal analyst Andrew Weissman was ecstatic over the news. He explained to former Biden press secretary Jen Psaki that Trump will be asked if he associates with “known criminals,” which is how the Russian collusion hoax point man described Steve Bannon, Paul Manafort, and Roger Stone.
Trump will also be questioned about his finances, mental health, physical health, potential addiction issues, and current living situation, the report said. Martin Horn, former commissioner of the New York City Department of Corrections and Probation, told NBC News, “It is highly unusual for a pre-sentence investigation interview to be done over Zoom,” though he acknowledged that it would be “disruptive” for the former president to be forced to make a trip to a probation office.
“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,” he said. “So in the end, this might be better for the probation officer.”
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Trump is scheduled to be sentenced on July 11, just days before he is set to receive the presidential nomination at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. The former president is facing a potential sentence ranging from probation to a maximum of four years in prison.