Poll: Majority says Trump’s ‘spygate’ claims not accurate

A majority of Americans disagree with President Trump’s claim that the FBI used a “spy” to investigate his 2016 presidential campaign, according to a new Quinnipiac poll.

Fifty-six percent of Americans say the FBI’s use of a confidential informant in its probe of Russian meddling in the 2016 election was “routine procedure.” Thirty-three percent agree with Trump’s allegation that a “spy” was embedded in his presidential campaign. 

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Republicans are the only listed political group where a majority believe Trump’s claim. 

In addition, 48 percent of voters say special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe is “legitimate,” while 44 percent say it’s a political “witch hunt.”

There is a wide split on party lines in regards to Mueller’s investigation. Eighty-one percent of Republican respondents said the investigation is a witch hunt, while 82 percent of Democrats said it is legitimate. Forty-eight percent of independent voters say the probe is legitimate. 

The survey comes as Trump’s attacks against the FBI divide Democratic and Republican lawmakers. Trump has repeatedly dubbed the FBI’s use of an informant spying.

House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) defended the FBI on Thursday, saying that Rep. Trey Gowdy’s (R-S.C.) initial assessment that the FBI acted properly with its use of an informant was accurate. 

The Quinnipiac University Poll was conducted among 1,223 voters between May 31 and June 5. It has a margin of error of 3.4 percentage points.