Donald Trump undergoes probation interview during sentencing process for criminal conviction in New York hush money case.
The former US president actually conducted the interview with a Manhattan courthouse probation officer at his home in Mar-a-Lago, Florida.
A source told BBC News partner CBS News that Trump was accompanied by his attorney Todd Branch.
The probation officer will use the routine interview, which lasts less than 30 minutes, to write a pre-sentence report for Judge Juan Merchan.
Trump was convicted last month of 34 counts of falsifying business records and will be sentenced on July 11.
A spokesman for the New York City Mayor’s Office said defendants can choose to be interviewed in person or via video link.
One expert told the BBC that further exceptions may be made for Trump due to the high-profile nature of his case.
Former New York Supreme Court Justice Diane Kissel said coming to the New York probation office would be too disruptive for the former president.
“Media will be throughout the building and the Secret Service will have to be there,” she said. “It just makes more sense.”
Ms. Kissel added that offenders in the New York court system often do not have attorneys present during probation interviews.
However, Judge Melchan allowed Mr Branch to appear with his client on Monday.
Pre-sentence reports contain information on virtually every aspect of an offender’s life, including place and time of birth, marriage, criminal record, financial status, health and overall living arrangements.
Ms. Kissel said the probation officer may ask Mr. Trump to talk about the crimes for which he was convicted.
She said most of the defendants would only say they planned to appeal the verdicts — as Trump has said — or declined to comment.
Judges use these reports to inform what punishment should be given.
Interviews are often an opportunity for offenders to argue for a lenient sentence.
Ms Kissel said the interview reports were confidential and would only be provided to the judge, defendants and lawyers in the case.
Jurors found Trump guilty of falsifying business records to conceal hush money payments to former porn star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign.
Most legal commentators believe it is unlikely that Trump will face any prison time, given his lack of a criminal record and his age.
Trump is the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.
He has repeatedly argued that New York prosecutors are politically motivated and seeking to prevent him from returning to the White House in the November election.
