Dislike of Mueller grows as more people learn about him

Peter Strzok, Robert Mueller

The job, responsibilities and duties of a special counsel appointed by the FBI likely weren't at the top of the conversation list for many Americans when Robert Mueller was handed the job of looking into claims of "collusion" with the Russians by the Trump campaign.

So not many people had a strong opinion.

Now we know the information that triggered that appointment likely came from a political opposition research operation funded by Hillary Clinton. And a new poll shows the more people find out, the less they like Mueller.

The Marist poll reveals at this point, "Americans' attitudes about Special Counsel Robert Mueller are mixed, and a growing proportion of Americans have an unfavorable opinion of the special counsel."

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It shows 30 percent of Americans now "have an unfavorable view of Mueller."

That's up by half, from 20 percent, from late March.

"The change is in part due to more Americans now having formed an opinion of the special counsel. While 38 percent of residents still say they have either never heard of Mueller or are unsure how to rate him, this is down from 47 percent previously. Thirty-two percent of Americans have a favorable view of Mueller, little changed from the 33 percent he received in late March."

With an almost static total for those who have a favorable view, the results show as more people find out what's going on, more people dislike him.

"The most striking shift is among Republicans. Forty-nine percent of the GOP now have a negative impression of Mueller, up from 30 percent when this question was last reported in March. This is the largest proportion of Republicans with this view since this question was first tracked in January. At that time, 40 percent of Republicans had a negative opinion of Mueller. The special counsel's negative rating has also increased, but to a lesser degree, among Democrats and independents since March," the report said.

"Although a plurality of Americans are still on the sidelines about Special Counsel Mueller, there's been a decided increase in those who have a negative view of him as greater attention has been focused on him," explained Lee M. Miringoff, director of The Marist College Institute for Public Opinion. "Mueller hasn't worn well under the barrage of debate about the investigation."

Further, the percentage who believe Mueller's investigation into the 2016 election is "unfair" is up.

Thirty percent of U.S. residents compared with 26 percent previously have this view. Even tho"ugh a plurality of residents (45 percent) still believe the investigation has been conducted fairly, 48 percent had this view in March."

The number who are unsure hasn't really changed, the poll said.

And about one-third of Americans say he shouldn't be allowed to finish or are unsure.

The poll said 65 percent say he would be permitted to finish, and 15 percent said he could be fired.

Now, 31 percent believe the FBI is biased against the Trump administration, including a shift among independents from 20 percent with that opinion to 30 percent, the poll said.

"A primary focus of Mueller’s investigation is Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. But, do Americans think Russian interference is likely to happen during the 2018 midterm elections? Fifty-five percent say it is either very likely or likely that Russia will meddle in the elections. Forty percent of U.S. residents report it is not very likely or not likely at all that they will interfere. Since it was first asked, attitudes have reversed on this question. In early February, 53 percent of residents nationally had little or no concern about Russian interference this election cycle while 41 percent were worried about the possibility.

"Americans are unable to a find a silver lining on this issue. Not only are more Americans worried about Russian tampering in this November's election, but they also think Congress and social media sites are asleep at the switch over the threat this poses," Miringoff said.