The Justice Department wants to drop two federal criminal cases against President-elect Trump as he prepares for his second term in the White House – a decision that upholds a longstanding policy that bars Justice Department lawyers from criminally prosecuting a sitting president.

In making this argument, Justice Department officials cited a 2000 Office of Legal Counsel memo that maintains a Watergate-era argument that it is a violation of the separation of powers doctrine for the Justice Department to investigate a sitting president.

It goes on to note that such a procedure would “improperly interfere, directly or formally, with the conduct of the President.”

“Given the impact that impeachment would have on the operation of the executive branch, 'impeachment is the only appropriate way to deal with a president while in office,'” the memo concludes.

Former Attorney General Bill Barr also supported that claim in an interview with Fox News Digital on Wednesday, pointing out that after Trump took office in January, prosecutors will not be able to continue cases while he is in office.

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Attorney General Bill Barr holds a press conference at the Department of Justice in Washington, DC on December 21, 2020. (Michael Reynolds Pool/Getty Images)

Barr told Fox News Digital that a Trump-appointed attorney general could immediately drop all federal cases brought by current special counsel Jack Smith in Washington, DC and Florida.

The allegations in Washington stem from Trump's alleged attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. In Florida, they are focusing on Trump's handling of classified documents after he left the White House in 2020.

And although Trump would be unable to stop two state cases filed in Georgia and New York, Barr said local prosecutors and judges must move on from the “spectacle” of prosecuting the president-elect.

“Further maneuvering in these cases in the coming weeks would serve no legitimate purpose and would only distract the country and the new administration from the task at hand,” Barr said.

Attorney General Merrick Garland speaks to employees on his first day at the Justice Department in Washington, DC, March 11, 2021. (Kevin Dietsch/AFP via Getty Images)

He also pointed out that voters were well aware of the criminal allegations against Trump when they voted to re-elect him to a second term.

“The American people have made their judgment on President Trump and decisively selected him to lead the country for the next four years,” Barr said.

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“They did so with full knowledge of the cases filed against him by prosecutors across the country, and I believe Attorney General (Merrick) Garland and the prosecutors should respect the people’s decision and dismiss the cases against President Trump now.”

This is breaking news. Check back soon for further developments.