7 in 10 say Trump should allow top aides to testify in Senate impeachment trial: poll

Roughly 7 in 10 Americans said in a new poll that President Trump should allow top administration aides to testify in a Senate impeachment trial.

The survey, conducted by ABC News and The Washington Post, found that 71 percent of respondents said Trump should allow his aides to testify while 22 percent disagreed.

Almost 8 in 10 Democrats — 79 percent — said that Trump should allow aides to testify in a Senate trial, compared to 72 percent of independents and 64 percent of Republicans.

The new poll also found that 62 percent of Americans expect Trump to have a fair trial in the Senate. Sixty-one percent of Republicans, 62 percent of Democrats and 64 percent of independents agreed.

Several Trump administration aides and officials have defied subpoenas for documents and testimony throughout the ongoing impeachment inquiry, which House Democrats launched against Trump earlier this year.

Late last week, the House Judiciary Committee approved on a party-line vote two articles of impeachment against Trump that charge him with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The full House is expected to approve the articles this week. Senators would then decide in a trial whether to remove Trump from office, which is unlikely in the Republican-held upper chamber.

Overall, 55 percent said they believed Trump was treated fairly in in the impeachment process, including 87 percent of Democrats, 58 percent of independents and 17 percent of Republicans. 

Roughly half of respondents — 49 percent — said they are in favor of Trump being removed from office, compared to 46 percent who are opposed. Those results are virtually identical to those from a survey in October, pollsters noted. The results show a partisan divide, with 85 percent of Democrats saying Trump should be impeached and removed from office, compared to 47 percent of independents and 12 percent of Republicans.

The ABC News–Washington Post poll was conducted on landlines and cellphones from Dec. 10 to Dec. 15 in English and Spanish among 1,003 adult Americans. The results have a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.