Nearly half of Americans believe that President Donald Trump committed a crime “in connection with possible Russian attempts to influence the election,” according to a poll released Thursday.
The Washington Post/ABC poll also found that 58 percent of Americans approve of how Special Counsel Robert Mueller is conducting his probe into alleged Russian election interference. The investigation has so far charged three former Trump campaign aides.
Two of the aides, Paul Manafort and Rick Gates, were charged with financial crimes, while former foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos pleaded guilty to lying to federal officials about his ties to individuals with alleged connections to the Russian government.
The Post/ABC poll found that 53 percent of U.S. adults think these charges represent broader wrongdoing, and 29 percent believe that the cases are just limited to these three aides.
Thirty percent of Americans who believe Trump is a criminal base this belief on “suspicion only,” while 19 percent say there is “solid evidence.” Fourty-four percent say that it is unlikely the president committed any crime related to Russian election interference.
The poll showed a party divide in Americans’ beliefs. Eighty-two percent of Republicans think it is unlikely that Trump is a criminal, but 74 percent of Democrats say otherwise.
Trump continues to maintain that he himself is not under investigation.
The poll was conducted between Oct. 30 and Nov. 1 and is of 714 adults. It has a margin of error of 4.5 percent.