Poll: Only 36 percent say Mueller report clears Trump of any wrongdoing


A majority of Americans aren't buying President Trump's claim that he's already been totally exonerated by the Mueller report.
In a new poll from NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist on Friday, only 36 percent of adults said that the findings of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report into 2016 election interference clears Trump "of any wrongdoing." Rather, 56 percent said questions still exist. This is mainly split along partisan lines, with 86 percent of Democrats saying there are still questions and 74 percent of Republicans saying Mueller did clear Trump. Among independents, though, 53 percent said there are still questions.
The full Mueller report has yet to be made public, but Attorney General William Barr on Sunday released his summary of its findings, saying Mueller "did not find that the Trump campaign or anyone associated with it conspired or coordinated with Russia in its efforts to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election." However, Mueller did not reach a conclusion about whether Trump obstructed justice, saying the report "does not exonerate" Trump. Barr says Mueller left it up to him and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to make a conclusion based on the evidence he found, and Barr and Rosenstein determined there was insufficient evidence to bring an obstruction of justice charge against Trump.
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Most adults in Friday's survey said they're satisfied with the investigation, except for Democrats, only 35 percent of whom expressed satisfaction. As previous polls have found, just about everyone wants to see the full report, with a mere 18 percent saying Barr's summary is enough. That result, too, split along predictable partisan lines, with 90 percent of Democrats and 54 percent of Republicans saying the full report must be made public.
NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist conducted this poll by speaking with 938 adults over the phone from March 25-27. The margin of error is 3.9 percentage points. Read more results at NPR.
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Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
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