More Republicans in new poll say Trump committed ‘serious’ crimes

More Republicans in a new poll released Tuesday said former President Trump has committed “serious” federal crimes, as he faces down another potential indictment in the Justice Department’s Jan. 6 probe.

The New York Times/Siena College poll found that 13 percent of Republicans said they believe the former president has committed serious crimes, up from 6 percent last September. The portion of Republicans who said they remain unsure whether Trump committed serious crimes also ticked upward in Tuesday’s poll, rising from 10 percent to 13 percent.

However, the vast majority of Republicans — 74 percent — still said that they do not believe the former president committed serious crimes, the poll found. 

Trump said Monday that he is expecting to be indicted in special counsel Jack Smith’s Jan. 6 probe “any day now,” having received a letter last month notifying him that he is a target of the investigation. His attorneys also met with members of Smith’s office last week — an event that similarly preceded his last federal indictment.

The former president pleaded not guilty in June to a 37-count indictment over his alleged mishandling of classified documents and efforts to block the government from recovering them. However, the Justice Department brought new charges against Trump in the case last week, accusing him of attempting to delete surveillance footage at his Mar-a-Lago property.

Trump was also indicted on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in Manhattan earlier this year over a hush money payment that his former fixer Michael Cohen made to porn actress Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election. He also pleaded not guilty to those charges.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) also said Saturday that her team has wrapped up its investigation into Trump’s alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia and is “ready to go.” She said she plans to announce charging decisions by Sept. 1.

The New York Times/Siena College poll was conducted July 23-27 with 1,329 registered voters and had a margin of error of 3.67 percentage points.