Almost half of Americans say Trump will likely be cleared in the Russia investigation this year
Special Counsel Robert Mueller is reportedly poised to request an interview with President Trump in the coming weeks or months, but a plurality of Americans think nothing will come of it. Overall, an entire 48 percent of voters say it is very or somewhat likely that Trump will be cleared of any wrongdoing in 2018, while 37 percent say it is not too likely or not likely at all that Trump will be cleared, a new poll by Politico/Morning Consult has found.
Mueller is reportedly interested in learning whether or not Trump tried to obstruct justice, and is less interested in "the broader question of possible collusion with Russia," The New York Times writes. Tellingly, fewer than a third of voters believe Trump will leave office in the next year, although more than half of Democrats think it is very or somewhat likely.
Mueller's probe has so far ensnared Trump's former campaign manager Paul Manafort and his business associate and Trump's former foreign policy adviser, George Papadopoulos. Four in 10 Americans say it is a distinct possibility that one of Trump's relatives such as Donald Trump Jr. or Jared Kushner will be indicted in the coming months too.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
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.
The poll reached 1,988 voters between Jan. 4-5 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2 points. Read the full results at Politico.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
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.
-
Nigel Farage: was he a teenage racist?Talking Point Farage’s denials have been ‘slippery’, but should claims from Reform leader’s schooldays be on the news agenda?
-
Pushing for peace: is Trump appeasing Moscow?In Depth European leaders succeeded in bringing themselves in from the cold and softening Moscow’s terms, but Kyiv still faces an unenviable choice
-
Sudoku medium: November 29, 2025The daily medium sudoku puzzle from The Week
-
Judge halts Trump’s DC Guard deploymentSpeed Read The Trump administration has ‘infringed upon the District’s right to govern itself,’ the judge ruled
-
Trump accuses Democrats of sedition meriting ‘death’Speed Read The president called for Democratic lawmakers to be arrested for urging the military to refuse illegal orders
-
Court strikes down Texas GOP gerrymanderSpeed Read The Texas congressional map ordered by Trump is likely an illegal racial gerrymander, the court ruled
-
Trump defends Saudi prince, shrugs off Khashoggi murderSpeed Read The president rebuked an ABC News reporter for asking Mohammed bin Salman about the death of a Washington Post journalist at the Saudi Consulate in 2018
-
Congress passes bill to force release of Epstein filesSpeed Read The Justice Department will release all files from its Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking investigation
-
Trump says he will sell F-35 jets to Saudi ArabiaSpeed Read The president plans to make several deals with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman this week
-
Judge blasts ‘profound’ errors in Comey caseSpeed Read ‘Government misconduct’ may necessitate dismissing the charges against the former FBI director altogether
-
Ecuador rejects push to allow US military basesSpeed Read Voters rejected a repeal of a constitutional ban on US and other foreign military bases in the country
