Poll: 58% of Voters Think Congressional Dems Should Drop Further Trump-Russia Probe

Holly Kellum
By Holly Kellum
March 31, 2019Politics
share
Poll: 58% of Voters Think Congressional Dems Should Drop Further Trump-Russia Probe
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), after a meeting with President Donald Trump on border security at the White House in Washington on Jan. 2, 2019. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

According to a CBS/SSRS poll, 38 percent of voters think Democrats should keep digging into Russian collusion allegations, while 58 percent said they should “drop [it] and move on to other issues.” Four percent said they didn’t know.

According to a Rasmussen poll of 1,000 respondents done March 25-26, 61 percent said congressional Democrats should move on to other issues, while 29 percent said they should keep investigating.

Americans were divided on whether the Mueller report, which looked into potential collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, as well as obstruction of justice by President Donald Trump, had cleared Trump, according to the CBS/SSRS poll. Some 34 percent said it cleared him, 23 percent said it did not, and another 34 percent said it was too early to say.

In a March 23-27 NBC News/ Wall Street Journal poll of 1,000 adults, 29 percent said the Mueller report cleared Trump, while 40 percent said it did not. Another 31 percent said they were unsure.

The same poll found 47 percent of Americans thought Trump should be allowed to serve out his full term while 33 percent said Congress should continue investigating to see if there is grounds for impeachment. Sixteen percent said they believed there is already grounds for impeachment.

Mueller’s report, according to a letter by Attorney General William Barr, did not find collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, but it did not take a position on whether Trump obstructed justice. Based on the evidence that was provided by Mueller, Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein concluded he did not.

More Americans think the report was done fairly (44 percent) than unfairly (10 percent) but many (40 percent) said it’s too soon to say.

“It’s a shame that our country had to go through this,” Trump said on March 24 in Palm Beach, Florida. “And it began illegally. And hopefully, somebody is going to look at the other side. This was an illegal takedown that failed.”

A majority of Americans agree with him, according to the CBS/SSRS poll, with 54 percent saying they believe the probe was politically motivated, while 37 percent said it was justified.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has called for a special counsel to investigate the FISA warrant process that let the FBI spy on former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has also called for such an investigation.

Meanwhile, Congressional Democrats have called for not only the full report to be released to the public but all the underlying documents associated with the investigation as well.

“The Special Counsel’s investigation focused on questions that go to the integrity of our democracy itself: whether foreign powers corruptly interfered in our elections, and whether unlawful means were used to hinder that investigation.  The American people have a right to the truth,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (R-N.Y.) said in a joint statement on March 22.

One thing most Americans, 77 percent, agree on, according to the CBS/SSRS poll, is that the full report should be released.

That number goes to 90 percent among Democrats and 60 percent among Republicans. Independents were in the middle at 76 percent.

Trump has also said he wouldn’t mind if the full report is released but that it is up to Attorney General Barr as to how much of it should be.

Barr has said that anything related to grand jury testimony, ongoing investigations, U.S. intelligence, or the reputation of peripheral third parties will be redacted.

He expects to make the report public by mid April, and said it will not be previewed by the White House before it is released.

“Although the president would have the right to assert privilege over certain parts of the report, he has stated publicly that he intends to defer to me,” Barr wrote.

The CBS/SSRS poll was conducted March 25-26 by a sample of 1,002 people via telephone, and has a 4 percent margin of error.

ntd newsletter icon
Sign up for NTD Daily
What you need to know, summarized in one email.
Stay informed with accurate news you can trust.
By registering for the newsletter, you agree to the Privacy Policy.
Comments