Politics
- A new poll from Fox News found that respondents trust special counsel Robert Mueller to tell the truth about the Russia investigation more than they trust President Donald Trump to do the same.
- The survey, which was conducted by Democratic pollsters Beacon Research and Republican pollsters Shaw & Company between May 11 and May 14, was wide in scope.
- Part of the survey touched on Mueller's investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. The investigation concluded in March and the redacted 448-page report was made public in April.
- The response from lawmakers about the report has been mainly partisan: Democrats want to keep digging, and Republicans are mainly saying "case closed."
- The survey gives limited insight into what respondents think: "On the Russia investigation, who do you trust more to tell the truth," reads one of the survey questions.
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A new poll from Fox News found that more respondents trust the special counsel Robert Mueller to tell the truth about the Russia investigation than they trust President Donald Trump to do the same.
The survey, which was conducted by Democratic pollsters Beacon Research and Republican pollsters Shaw & Company between May 11 and May 14, was wide in scope. Respondents were asked questions on topics ranging from the economy, the 2020 election, to Trump's handling of North Korea. (The document itself is 52 pages long, if you'd like to peruse.)
Part of the survey touched on Mueller's investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. The investigation concluded in March and the redacted 448-page report was made public in April.
It found that there wasn't evidence to prove a criminal conspiracy between Russia and the Trump campaign, but declined to make a determination on whether President Trump obstructed justice. Attorney General William Barr said the Department of Justice would decline to charge the president, however, Congressional Democrats, citing their prerogative for executive oversight are continuing the investigation.
Among lawmakers, the response to the report has been mostly partisan: Democrats want to keep digging, and Republicans are mainly saying "case closed."
The survey gives limited insight into what respondents think: "On the Russia investigation, who do you trust more to tell the truth," reads one of the survey questions. Three randomized comparisons were asked.
- When the special counsel was compared to the president, 45% said Mueller, 27% said Trump, 6% said both, 16% said neither, and 6% didn't know.
- When Mueller was stacked up against Barr in the same question, 40% said Mueller, 22% said Barr, 8% said both, 16% said neither and 14% didn't know.
- When congressional Democrats were pitted against the Trump administration, 44% trusted Democrats in Congress to tell the truth, 33% said the Trump administration, 3% said both, 15% said neither, and 5% didn't know.
In the Fox News poll, respondents were asked if they "approve or disapprove of the way Robert Mueller handled the Russia investigation": 46% approve, 32% disapprove, and 22% do not know.
Despite the fact that the investigation is over - and to the consternation of the Trump administration - the Mueller report is still being talked about. According to the poll, 21% said the topic "frequently" came up in conversation with friends and neighbors, 27% said "sometimes, 24% hardly ever and 27% said never.
Eighteen percent of respondents said they were "extremely" familiar with Mueller's findings, while 23% said they were "very" familiar, 39% said, somewhat, and only 16% said "not at all." (There were 4% who didn't know.)
In terms of impeachment however, 42% said Trump should be impeached and removed from office, while 50% said "no." That number skews drastically when broken down by party, highlighting the divisive nature of the potential proceedings: 72% of Democrats say Trump should be impeached and only 9% of Republicans agree.
Pollsters conducted interviews with 1,008 people who were chosen at random; 777 of them were reached by cellphone and 231 were reached by landline. The margin of error for this poll is plus or minus three percentage points.