Donald Trump suffered significant backlash this week after he attended a pre-sentencing probation interview from a computer at his Florida residence, RadarOnline.com can report.
In the latest development to come after the former president was convicted of 34 felony counts in New York last month, Trump appeared for a probation interview on Monday in connection to his upcoming sentencing on July 11.
But while criminals are usually ordered to attend such pre-sentencing meetings in person, the convicted felon ex-president was allowed to attend his meeting virtually from his Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach.
Trump and his defense attorney, Todd Blanche, met with the New York Probation Office via Zoom on Monday, according to Daily Mail.
Trump was said to be “polite, respectful, and accommodating” during the pre-sentencing interview. He was also said to have answered all of the New York Probation Office’s questions.
“Earlier today, President Trump completed a routine interview with the New York Probation Office,” one insider familiar with Monday’s meeting said.
“The interview was uneventful and lasted less than thirty minutes,” the source added.
Still, the convicted ex-president’s critics spoke out this week and condemned the “special treatment” that Trump received in connection to his mandatory pre-sentencing probation hearing.
Attorney and political columnist Seth Abramson questioned why the ex-president was not forced to attend the meeting in person in New York City like most criminals.
“There's been no explanation whatsoever for why this convicted felon gets to do what would normally be mandatory in-person meetings over Zoom,” Abramson tweeted on Monday, “but we can already see the value in this special treatment for Trump.”
“There is no excuse for Trump not being in NYC,” Abramson continued. “He has a home there. He has a private jet. He's supposedly a billionaire. His private attorney will fly with him anywhere in the world.”
“Yet if this were you or me, we would have to go to NYC,” Abramson concluded, “whereas he is asked to do nothing.”
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Other critics also took to X to condemn the “special treatment” the former president has allegedly received in the wake of his criminal conviction last month.
“Can't wait to see how they spin this as not being special treatment,” another X user wrote this week. “He’s definitely getting special treatment.”
“Unfortunately, he still gets special treatment,” yet another critic opined. “There was no drug test and a Zoom meeting with his lawyer to hold his fragile hand. The American justice system is looking increasingly weak.”
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Trump’s pre-sentencing probation meeting on Monday came one month before the embattled ex-president is scheduled to be sentenced for his crimes on July 11.
While it was unclear why Trump was permitted to attend his pre-sentencing hearing via Zoom, insiders explained that allowing the ex-president to appear virtually “might be better” for Trump’s probation officer.
“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,” Martin Horn, who previously served as commissioner of the New York City Department of Corrections and Probation, explained on Monday.
“So in the end, this might be better for the probation officer,” Horn added – although he did acknowledge that it was “highly unusual for a pre-sentence investigation interview to be done over Zoom.”
