Most voters support the Justice Department’s decision to appoint a special counsel to lead the investigation into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election.
According to a new poll from Morning Consult and Politico, 63 percent of voters said they approved of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein’s move to appoint former FBI Director Robert Mueller as special counsel. Just 22 percent said they disagreed with the move.
Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill backed Rosenstein’s move. But President Trump called the appointment of a special counsel and the FBI’s investigation part of a “witch hunt.”
Trump fired former FBI director James Comey this month, and initially attributed his decision to get rid of the director to a memo Rosenstein wrote outlining Comey’s performance in the Hillary Clinton investigation. But Rosenstein denied that, and Trump said later in an interview with NBC News he was thinking of “this Russia thing” when he decided to fire Comey.
The New York Times reported Friday that Trump told Russian officials Comey was a “nut job” during a meeting in the Oval Office the day after firing him.
Morning Consult and Politico found that 47 percent of all voters believe that Trump fired Comey to hinder the investigation into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election.
Recent revelations about Trump and potential ties to Russia have led to some Democrats to call for the president’s impeachment. Last week, Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, said on the House floor that congressional leaders should start impeachment proceedings.
But a plurality of voters disagree. Forty-six percent of voters said they didn’t think Congress should begin impeachment proceedings, compared to 38 percent who said Congress should.
