Nearly 80 percent of Americans want a special prosecutor to investigate Trump's Russia ties

Vladimir Putin.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

When President Trump fired FBI Director James Comey last week, many people, regardless of political ideology, agreed that the probe into possible connections between the Trump campaign and Russia needs a special prosecutor. As a new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll has found, the number of people who approve of a special prosecutor is actually overwhelming: 78 percent of Americans called for a special prosecutor while just 15 percent supported an investigation led by Congress.

On Friday, Democratic Sens. Dianne Feinstein (Calif.) and Dick Durbin (Ill.) demanded that if Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein does not name a special prosecutor to the case, he should resign. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has pushed back on such calls, claiming a new investigation "could only serve to impede the current work being done."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Explore More
Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.