A new Washington Post/Schar School poll released on Tuesday details how more Americans say they trust special counsel Robert Mueller's credibility over President Donald Trump's.
The poll conducted by The Washington Post also found 56 percent of Americans surveyed said Mueller was more credible, while only 33 percent said they trusted Trump's version of the facts.
The poll also found 57 percent of those surveyed believed Mueller was more interested in "finding out the truth" than "hurting Trump politically."
Mueller has charged 34 people in his investigation so far, while also securing guilty pleas from several of the President's closest advisers, including his longtime personal lawyer Michael Cohen, his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, and his ex-national security adviser Michael Flynn.
Mueller's investigation has alleged 25 Russians, including several military officers, participated in a conspiracy to hack Democrats' emails during the 2016 presidential election while also leading a social media influence campaign to influence the vote.
Mueller has not filed any criminal charges against members of the Trump campaign for coordinating in that effort so far, but has charged a number of Trump allies with lying to his investigators or Congress, with the House and Senate leading their own investigations.
The report from the special counsel could reveal if there was coordination between the Trump campaign and Russian officials, but both Democrats and Republicans agree the report should be made public in its entirety.
The poll also revealed 86 percent of Democrats said they were likely to believe Mueller's report, while 74 percent of Republicans said they trusted Trump's version of the facts.
“On the face of it, partisans have lined up predictably in their respective camps,” said Mark Rozell, dean of the Schar School.
But Rozell also said that opinion could shift if Mueller's report reveals obstruction or collusion: “There are a significant number of people keeping an open mind about what the report will ultimately conclude.”
Fifty-seven percent of independents surveyed said they trusted Mueller's credibility over Trump's, while 29 percent said they trusted Trump.
More than 6 in 10 surveyed said if Mueller finds Trump authorized his campaign to coordinate with Russians during the 2016 election or obstructed justice, Congress should begin impeachment hearings to have Trump remov3ed from office.
Slightly more than 4 in 10 Americans said Mueller proved members of Trump's presidential campaign lied about their own contacts with Russia, with that question split even more along partisan lines since 6 in 10 Democrats believe Mueller proved Trump's campaign members lied, while 7 in 10 Republicans believe he has not.
The poll reveals the sharp division between the political parties, but also shows how Mueller still has maintained his integrity with the public before he issued his report.
Overall, the poll found 51 percent of Americans approving of Mueller's handling of the investigation, with 34 percent disapproving and 15 percent having no opinion.
While Americans had a 52 percent disapproval rate of Trump's handling of the investigation, with only 35 percent approving of his behavior.
-WN.com, Maureen Foody
Photo:
AP / J. Scott Applewhite
