Now that he is President-elect Donald Trump, he should no longer be defendant Donald Trump. That’s according to former Attorney General Bill Barr, who served in Trump’s first administration.
Barr is urging both state and federal prosecutors to drop any pending legal cases against Trump before he returns to the White House on Jan. 20, Fox News reported.
Barr said the allegations against Trump did not deter voters from electing him president so prosecutors in those matters should yield to the will of the people.
“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. “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.”
Barr said once Trump takes office, the cases against him will not be able to proceed while he serves his term.
Whoever Trump appoints as attorney general could stop the federal cases — one in Washington, D.C., for allegedly attempting to overturn the outcome of the 2020 election, and the other in Florida on allegations concerning with Trump keeping classified documents after his first term.
The Florida case was dismissed by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon based on an issue with Special Counsel Jack Smith’s appointment.
The case in Washington was affected after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled about presidential immunity for certain official actions.
“We got immunity at the Supreme Court,” Trump told Hugh Hewitt, a conservative political commentator. “It’s so easy. I would fire [Smith] within two seconds. He’ll be one of the first things addressed.”
Trump doesn’t wield any power in the cases in New York and Georgia.
Trump faces a criminal charge in Georgia for allegedly trying to overturn the state’s results in the 2020 election, when he lost to President Joe Biden.
The president-elect has already been convicted — but not sentenced — for falsifying business records regarding a hush money payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election. His sentencing in that case is set for later this month.
Barr said prosecutors and judges need to step away from those cases.
“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 (Merrick) Garland and all the state prosecutors should do the right thing and help the country move forward by dismissing the cases,” he added.
