The country is almost evenly split on the question of whether Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation is “legitimate,” a Quinnipiac University poll released Friday found.
48 percent of voters believe the probe of ties between Russia and the Trump campaign is “legitimate,” according to the poll. Around 44 percent call the investigation a “political witch hunt.” 50 percent, meanwhile, say investigators are conducting a “fair” inquiry, compared to 35 percent who disagree.
“That does not mean they believe there’s a case to be made for links between the Trump campaign and the Russians,” cautioned Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll.
That said, even many voters who are against the investigation want President Trump to let it play out, the poll found. By a margin of 70 percent to 13 percent, those surveyed said that Trump should not fire Mueller. Republican respondents were opposed to such a move by a margin of 50 percent to 23 percent.
Mueller has issued criminal charges against 19 people and three companies since the inquiry began. Thirteen of those charged are Russians accused of tampering with the 2016 presidential election. On Thursday, the special counsel, a former FBI director, filed new charges against former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort and his associate, accusing them of obstruction of justice in Manafort’s ongoing criminal trial.
The poll was conducted from May 31 to June 5, and surveyed 1,223 voters.