Barr says prosecutors should drop Trump cases: 'Do the right thing'

(The Hill) -- Former Trump Attorney General Bill Barr encouraged prosecutors to drop pending charges against President-elect Donald Trump, saying the public “have rendered their verdict.”

"The American people have rendered their verdict on President Trump, and decisively chosen him to lead the country for the next four years," Barr said in an interview with Fox News.

"They did that with full knowledge of the claims against him by prosecutors around the country and I think Attorney General Garland and the state prosecutors should respect the people’s decision and dismiss the cases against President Trump now," he added.

Trump was convicted in New York on 34 felony charges related to his hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels and still faces indictments in three other trials. His actions to block the peaceful transfer of power after his 2020 loss sparked federal charges as well as a case in Georgia, while the former president also faced federal counts for retaining classified documents at his Florida estate before the case was indefinitely postponed by the judge.

Trump is set to face sentencing in the New York case later this month but has also sought to toss the case after the Supreme Court ruled that former presidents retain broad immunity after leaving office.

The Justice Department (DOJ) under a second Trump administration is widely expected to move to drop both federal cases against the president-elect.

The GOP presidential nominee also pledged to fire special counsel Jack Smith, who is overseeing the election interference cases, “within two seconds."

“He'll be one of the first things addressed,” Trump said last month.

Barr added that Smith and the DOJ should drop the cases before Trump even takes office.

"Further maneuvering on these cases in the weeks ahead would serve no legitimate purpose and only distract the country and the incoming administration from the task at hand," he said.

"The public interest now demands that the country unite and focus on the challenges we face at home and abroad. Attorney General Garland and all the state prosecutors should do the right thing and help the country move forward by dismissing the cases," the former attorney general added.