By Anthony Salvanto, Jennifer De Pinto, Fred Backus and Kabir Khanna
More than 3 in 4 Americans, including majorities of both Republicans and Democrats, think the full Mueller report should be released to the public. But the partisan splits that have long marked the investigation remain even after it is done: Republicans say the report has cleared the president. Democrats are unconvinced and want their party in Congress to continue looking into the Russia matter, though most Americans overall feel they should drop it.
More (34 percent) feel the report has cleared the president of any illegal activity than explicitly feel it has not (23 percent) — but 36 percent think it’s still too soon to say whether it has or hasn’t. A large majority of Republicans say the report has cleared the president, yet few Democrats think so. Many feel it is too soon to say. These partisan splits look much like divisions that have existed throughout the investigation.
Two-thirds of Democrats think their party in Congress should continue to investigate the Russia matter. Most Americans overall, including nine in ten Republicans and most independents, think congressional Democrats should drop the matter and move on to other issues.
Asked about various ways the report’s findings made them feel, half of Democrats (50 percent) said they felt “disappointed,” and a quarter also said they felt “angered” (28 percent). Most Republicans said “pleased” (69 percent) and also “relieved” (63 percent). Respondents could pick any or all offered descriptors.
More Americans think Mueller’s investigation was conducted fairly than unfairly, but 4 in 10 are taking a wait-and-see approach.
Looking back on the investigation, most Americans say the investigation was politically motivated. Back in January, when asked about the investigation as it was ongoing, half at the time called it justified.
Asked about Trump advisers specifically, a majority of Americans (60 percent) continues to say it’s very or somewhat likely that Mr. Trump’s advisers had at least improper dealings with Russia. These views have not changed much from earlier this year. Most of those who say there were improper dealings still would like to see the report released.
Most Americans (66 percent) are following news about the Mueller report at least somewhat closely, including a third who are doing so very closely.
This poll was conducted by telephone March 25-26, 2019 among a random sample of 1,002 adults nationwide. Data collection was conducted on behalf of CBS News by SSRS of Glen Mills, Pennsylvania. Phone numbers were dialed from samples of both standard land-line and cellphones.
The poll employed a random digit dial methodology. For the landline sample, a respondent was randomly selected from all adults in the household. For the cell sample, interviews were conducted with the person who answered the phone.
Interviews were conducted in English and Spanish using live interviewers. The data have been weighted to reflect U.S. Census figures on demographic variables.
The error due to sampling for results based on the entire sample could be plus or minus four percentage points. The error for subgroups may be higher and is available by request. The margin of error includes the effects of standard weighting procedures which enlarge sampling error slightly. This poll release conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.
