In an interview that aired Thursday, former President Donald Trump says that he will announce his running mate at the Republican National Convention next month.

When asked by television host Dr. Phil McGraw about his choice, Trump said that he “can’t” say yet who it will be, “but we have some very good people.”

“I’m going to do it in the convention,” Trump added.

He made similar comments in a Fox News interview that also aired on Thursday, saying: “I think I’ll announce who that person’s going to be during the convention.”

“I think that’s pretty normal, during the convention,” he added. “It’ll be an interesting period of time.”

Trump previously told Spectrum News in April that he would announce his running mate “sometime around” the convention, which is set to take place in Milwaukee from July 15-18. In 2016, Trump announced his choice of then-Indiana Gov. Mike Pence to be his running mate just days before that year’s convention.

The news comes as Trump’s campaign has stepped up efforts to vet potential running mates in recent days, requesting information from a number of top contenders, including North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, a source told The Associated Press.

Trump’s campaign dismissed knowledge of any potential running mate picks, with a senior adviser telling Spectrum News on Thursday: “Anyone claiming to know who or when President Trump will choose his VP is lying, unless the person is named Donald J. Trump.”

It also comes as questions swirl about whether or not Trump will actually be able to attend the convention at all after he was found guilty of 34 felony counts of business fraud last week in New York. His sentencing is set for July 11, just days before the convention.

Fines, probation, house arrest and even prison time are all a possibility, though most experts say that given the nature of the crimes, a 78-year-old with no prior felony convictions is unlikely to be sent to jail. But it’s not out of the realm of possibility, especially since Trump violated his gag order multiple times and showed no remorse during or after the trial.

Chapin Fay, a Republican strategist, told Spectrum News NY1 he believes Trump will continue to reference the guilty verdict in his New York City trial to increase support.

“He’s going to continue to sort of double down on the persecution story, the political witch hunt, that certainly will energize his base. I think they’re hoping it will energize the moderates or independents who may be still deciding,” Fay said.

“If Mr. Trump were to come in and flout the respect of the judge and the court and the administration of justice, that might push the judge in a certain direction that Mr. Trump would not find conducive to his participation in the Republican National Convention,” David Shapiro, a Distinguished Lecturer and Coordinator of the Fraud Examination and Financial Forensics program at New York's John Jay College of Criminal Justice, told Spectrum News. 

“It’s within the judge’s discretion to allow [Trump] to travel to the RNC,” added John Acevedo, a law professor at Emory University. “It’s also in the judge’s discretion, even if he doesn’t get prison time, to say, ‘Probation starting immediately. You can’t travel out of the state of New York,’ which would then cause havoc on his RNC appearance.”

Trump said last week in an interview with Fox News that he would be “OK” with house arrest or jail, but warned that "it’d be tough for the public to take," adding: "At a certain point there’s a breaking point.”

Trump told Spectrum News last month that the "most important thing" in a potential running mate pick is if they'll be "a good president.”

Because if something should happen, you know, it's such an important, such an important position," Trump said, adding: "If something should happen to me, when something happens to me, which can happen, you have to make sure that somebody really good is in there to take your place, so that's always got to be the number one criteria.”

The second most important factor, Trump noted, is if they can help him win votes.

"Traditionally, however, and you know this probably better than I do, VPs have never really helped in the election process," Trump added. "It's a one-day story, it's a big story, and then it's back to work. They want to really know who's No. 1 on the ticket. The VP, I don't know if any time where VP has greatly enhanced, greatly helped somebody get elected. They just don't. It surprises me actually, because you would think they would, but they just don't."

Spectrum News' Charlotte Scott, Anthony DaBruzzi and Joseph Konig contributed to this report.