{"id":10495,"date":"2019-07-23T13:00:43","date_gmt":"2019-07-23T18:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/%year%\/%monthnum%\/%day%\/majority-republicans-express-confidence-fairness-mueller-investigation\/"},"modified":"2024-04-14T01:40:39","modified_gmt":"2024-04-14T06:40:39","slug":"majority-republicans-express-confidence-fairness-mueller-investigation","status":"publish","type":"short-read","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2019\/07\/23\/majority-republicans-express-confidence-fairness-mueller-investigation\/","title":{"rendered":"For the first time, majority of Republicans express confidence in the fairness of Mueller\u2019s investigation"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Americans<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"
Street art of former special counsel Robert Mueller at a Washington, D.C., construction site. Most Republicans now say they’re confident Mueller conducted a fair investigation into Russia’s role in the 2016 election. (Brendan Smialowski\/AFP\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>\n\n

As former Justice Department special counsel Robert Mueller prepares to testify before Congress, nearly two-thirds of Americans \u2013 including, for the first time, a majority of Republicans \u2013 say they are confident he conducted a fair investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.<\/p>\n\n

The public is far less confident that the Trump administration is taking action to prevent Russia from influencing future U.S. elections. About half of Americans (46%) are very or somewhat confident that the administration is making a serious effort to block future Russian influence, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.<\/p>\n\n

\"With<\/figure>\n\n

Republicans\u2019 views of Mueller\u2019s investigation, which were generally negative over the probe\u2019s two-year course, are much more positive now that it has been completed. Six-in-ten Republicans and Republican-leaning independents now say they are confident in the fairness of the investigation. In January, just 39% of Republicans said they were confident Mueller was conducting a fair inquiry.<\/p>\n\n

<\/p>\n\n

Democrats\u2019 attitudes about Mueller\u2019s fairness have remained generally consistent throughout the course of his investigation. In the new survey conducted July 10-15 among 1,502 adults, about seven-in-ten Democrats and Democratic leaners (71%) say they are very or somewhat confident that Mueller conducted a fair investigation.<\/p>\n\n

\"Icon<\/div>\n\t\t

Sign up for our weekly newsletter<\/h2>

Our latest data, delivered Saturdays<\/p><\/div><\/div>

<\/div><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

Overall, public confidence in Mueller\u2019s investigation has increased 10 percentage points \u2013 from 55% to 65% \u2013 since January. Today, only about a third of Americans say they are not too (14%) or not at all (17%) confident that Mueller conducted a fair investigation.<\/p>\n\n

\"Confidence<\/figure>\n\n

Views of Mueller\u2019s investigation have changed dramatically among the Republicans who have been most attentive to the probe.<\/p>\n\n

Currently, 62% of Republicans who say they have heard \u201ca lot\u201d about Mueller\u2019s investigation also say they are confident it was conducted fairly. This figure has more than doubled since September 2018, when only 29% of Republicans who said they had heard a lot about the investigation were confident in Mueller.<\/p>\n\n

Republicans who have paid little or no attention to the investigation are also more confident in Mueller\u2019s fairness than they were last September, but the change has been less pronounced. A majority of Republicans who have heard a little or nothing about the investigation (58%) say they are confident Mueller conducted a fair inquiry \u2013 a 17-point increase since September 2018.<\/p>\n\n

There has been little change in Democrats\u2019 confidence in Mueller, regardless of how much they have heard about the investigation.<\/p>\n\n

\"Sharp<\/figure>\n\n

The new survey finds that partisans are starkly divided in their perceptions of how seriously the Trump administration is trying to prevent Russian interference in future U.S. elections.<\/p>\n\n

A large majority of Republicans (81%) say they are very or somewhat confident the administration is making a serious effort to prevent future Russian interference, with 49% saying they are very<\/em> confident \u2013 an 11-point increase since March 2018. Only 17% say they are not too or not at all confident.<\/p>\n\n

In contrast, 83% of Democrats say they are not too or not at all confident that the administration is making a serious effort to prevent Russian interference. Only 15% say they are very or somewhat confident.<\/p>\n\n

Note: See full topline results<\/a> and methodology<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Republicans\u2019 views of the investigation, which were generally negative over the probe\u2019s duration, are much more positive now that it is complete.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":386,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"sub_headline":"","sub_title":"","_prc_public_revisions":[],"_ppp_expiration_hours":0,"_ppp_enabled":false,"ai_generated_summary":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"apple_news_api_pending":"1713063549","relatedPosts":[],"datacite_doi":"","datacite_doi_citation":"","_prc_seo_qr_attachment_id":0,"spoken_article_player_enabled":true,"displayBylines":true,"footnotes":"","prc_watchers":[],"_prc_fork_parent":0,"_prc_fork_status":"","_prc_active_fork":0},"categories":[],"bylines":[769],"collection":[],"datasets":[],"_post_visibility":[],"formats":[467],"_fund_pool":[],"languages":[],"regions-countries":[515],"research-teams":[520],"workflow-status":[],"class_list":["post-10495","short-read","type-short-read","status-publish","hentry","bylines-hannah-gilberstadt","formats-short-read","regions-countries-united-states","research-teams-politics"],"label":"Short 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