A new study by the Harvard-Harris Poll that was released exclusively to The Hill shows that a majority of registered voters in the US would prefer that Congress stop investigating possible Russian ties to the outcome of the November 2016 presidential election, and get to work on fixing problems in healthcare, infrastructure, and jobs.
In observing voter opinions about the many ongoing investigations currently overwhelming the White House, the new poll noted that 64 percent of participants agreed with the statement that the ongoing investigations into collusion between Trump and Russia are harmful to the US, The Hill reports.
Congress and the media must move onto more pressing issues, 56 percent of those polled said. Forty-four percent, however, agreed with a statement that the investigations into Russian influence of the election of Trump must continue.
Several surveys, however, observe significant support for continuing the investigations by the US special counsel into Russian election meddling.
In May, a Harvard-Harris survey observed that 75 percent of respondents were supportive of the investigation into Trump by former FBI Director Robert Mueller.
Many observe that Mueller's investigation must be taken seriously, and 58 percent agreed that allegations of obstruction of justice against Trump must be investigated. The same percentage also noted that they agreed that accusations of business and other dealings between Trump and the Kremlin must be answered, according to The Hill.
Nonetheless, 73 percent — including 81 percent of Republicans, 74 percent of independents and 68 percent of Democrats — claimed that investigations into Russia have resulted in lawmakers on Capitol Hill becoming distracted from the most important issues.
"While the voters have a keen interest in any Russian election interference, they are concerned that the investigations have become a distraction for the president and Congress that is hurting rather than helping the country," said a Harvard-Harris spokesperson, cited by The Hill.
"Most voters believe that the president's actions don't rise to the level of impeachable offenses, even if some of them were inappropriate," added the spokesperson.
The Harvard-Harris survey was conducted online between June 19 to 21 and involved 2,237 registered voters. The poll noted a partisan breakdown of 35 percent Democrat, 29 percent Republican, 30 percent independent and 6 percent other participating in the questionnaire.
A collaboration between the Harvard Center for American Political Studies and The Harris Poll, the The Harvard-Harris Poll is conducted in a novel way that does not observe any margin of error, according to The Hill.
