A majority of likely voters believe the Obama administration carried out "an illegal high-level effort" to "stop the Trump presidency," according a poll.
Rasmussen Reports said 51% believe it's "likely senior law-enforcement officials broke the law in an effort to prevent Donald Trump from winning the presidency."
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The issue is the subject of an investigation by Attorney General William Barr, who told a stunned congressional committee earlier this year he believes the Obama administration spied on the Trump campaign in 2016.
.@SenatorShaheen asks Barr about reports he's launched an investigation into officials who investigated Trump
"I think spying on a political campaign is a big deal," he says, echoing baseless right-win conspiracy theories. "I think spying did occur."
Shaheen is left speechless pic.twitter.com/G1fcAF2Irh
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 10, 2019
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"I think spying on a political campaign is a big deal, a big deal," Barr told a Senate Appropriations subcommittee in April.
Rasmussen said the 51% includes 34% who say it's very likely Obama officials broke the law. The poll found 36% consider high-level illegality as unlikely, with 22% saying it’s not at all likely. Another 13% are not sure.
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The survey of 1,000 likely voters was done Oct. 9-10. It has a sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence.
The Gateway Pundit blog published a graphic of Obama administration who have come under scrutiny for possible involvement in actions against the Trump campaign.
They include former FBI director James Comey and deputy director Andrew McCabe, both of whom were fired.
The Justice Department review, led by U.S. Attorney John Durham, is said to be examining the origins of the anti-Trump dossier funded by Hillary Clinton's campaign and the Democratic National Committee. The document was used by Obama FBI and Justice Department officials to obtain warrants to surveil the Trump campaign.
The Gateway Pundit said, "Despite over three state years of nonstop mainstream media lies and bias a majority of American voters are not buying the Russia-collusion nonsense and see it for what it is."
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Steele testified under oath that his document's salacious claims were "unverified," and Mueller's report debunked its major claims and could not verify any of them, finding no evidence of collusion.
Of his review of the origins of the Obama administration investigation, Barr said earlier, "Things are just not jiving."
At Twitter new aggregator Twitchy was the headline Monday: "They're 'lawyering up'! John Durham has reportedly 'requested to talk to CIA analysts involved in the intelligence assessment of Russia's activities' (who's next?)"
It cited a tweet from NBC News saying the review "launched by AG William Barr into the origins of the Russia investigation has expanded significantly amid concerns about whether the probe as any legal or factual basis."
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A review launched by AG William Barr into the origins of the Russia investigation has expanded significantly amid concerns about whether the probe has any legal or factual basis. @KenDilanianNBC @Tom_Winter @JuliaEAinsley https://t.co/A00qZoPC0S
— NBC Investigations (@NBCInvestigates) October 19, 2019
A Twitter user commented: "Funny, I don't recall @NBCInvestigates expressing concerns about the legal or factual basis for Mueller's Russia investigation. I wonder what's different?"
Another Twitter user said "deep state" members in Washington have been tracking Durham's investigation.
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"Skeptics who have been trying to track Durham's movements say he has yet to interview key figures, including former deputy FBI director Andrew McCabe, former FBI agent Peter Strzok and former FBI general counsel James Baker," noted CommodoreBTC.
Wrote Twitchy: "Where will this lead next? One thing's for sure: The mainstream media will do its best to run cover for the Democrats, and NBC News showed how."