Poll: Two-thirds of voters oppose impeachment proceedings

Nearly two out of three voters say Democrats should not initiate impeachment proceedings against President Trump and a majority say it’s time to turn the page on the Russia investigation, according to a new poll.

The latest Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll survey found that 65 percent of respondents oppose impeachment proceedings. A majority of Democrats polled, 56 percent, support impeachment, however, only 32 percent of independents and 14 percent of Republicans are in favor.

A majority of respondents, 58 percent, said it’s time to turn the page on the Russia investigations, including 60 percent of independents, although two-thirds of Democrats want to see further investigations.{mosads}

Impeachment ranks fourth on the list of priorities voters have for the Democratic-controlled House, behind addressing the status of immigrants in the country illegally, stimulating the economy and strengthening ObamaCare.

“It seems that impeachment is over as a real threat to the Trump presidency though the base of the Democratic Party remains energized on the issue,” said Harvard CAPS/Harris polling director Mark Penn. “Overall though, the voters want Democrats to get back to issues over investigations and they may pay a price for not listening to them.”

The poll findings also illustrate how the country remains deeply divided on special counsel Robert Mueller’s report into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Mueller did not establish any criminal conspiracy between Trump campaign officials and Russia, and he also did not offer a determination on obstruction of justice in the report.

Forty-five percent of voters in the poll released Friday said they agree with the finding that there is no evidence of collusion, while 35 percent said they believe Mueller did find evidence on the collusion front.

On the question of obstruction of justice, 41 percent believe Mueller found evidence and 41 percent said he didn’t. Respondents cut largely along partisan lines, with 41 percent of independents saying there was no obstruction and 37 percent saying there was.

Overall, about three-quarters of respondents, 76 percent, said Mueller’s finding did not change their opinion on the Russia investigation.

The poll also found some support for a review into the origins of the FBI’s probe into the Trump campaign, something allies of Trump have advocated for in recent weeks.

Sixty-four percent of voters said Democrats should accept Mueller’s findings and move on without launching any new Russia probes, though 61 percent said they support a special counsel being appointed to investigate the origins of the FBI’s probe into the Trump campaign. Fifty-five percent said they believe bias played a role in the FBI launching its investigation into contacts between the Trump campaign and Russian officials.

Congressional Democrats, who maintain oversight power in the House, have largely turned their focus to investigating Trump’s personal business empire.

Fifty-five percent of voters said congressional subpoenas for Trump’s bank records are an appropriate part of the oversight function. Forty-one percent said Democrats are overreaching in their investigations of Trump, while 29 percent said they were doing too little and another 29 percent said the level of investigations is just right.

The Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll online survey of 1,536 registered voters was conducted from April 30 to May 1. The sample size is made up of 37 percent Democrats, 32 percent Republicans and 29 percent independents.

The Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll is a collaboration of the Center for American Political Studies at Harvard University and The Harris Poll. The Hill will be working with Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll throughout 2019.

Full poll results will be posted online later today. The Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll survey is an online sample drawn from the Harris Panel and weighted to reflect known demographics. As a representative online sample, it does not report a probability confidence interval.