A majority of Likely U.S. Voters believe “senior federal law enforcement officials” turned criminal in their effort to attack then-candidate Donald Trump and prevent him from winning the presidency, a poll reveals.
But a bigger majority say those same officials are among the elite in society and will not be punished.
It is Rasmussen Reports that released the results:
Voters Favor Jail, Firing for Rogue Officials Who Targeted Trump… https://t.co/Y6S9uLzFvT pic.twitter.com/noBMQ6g3yM
— Rasmussen Reports (@Rasmussen_Poll) December 22, 2019
“Voters are ready to jail or fire senior law enforcement officials who illegally targeted President Trump, but most think they are unlikely to be punished,” the polling company said.
“The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone and online survey finds that 52% of Likely U.S. Voters consider it likely that senior federal law enforcement officials broke the law in an effort to prevent Trump from winning the presidency. Thirty-nine percent (39%) say that’s unlikely. This includes 36% who say it’s Very Likely they broke the law to get Trump and 24% who say it’s Not At All Likely.”
The report continued, “A plurality (43%) thinks these officials should be jailed if they are found guilty of breaking the law to prevent a Trump presidency, up dramatically from 25% early this year, while another 22% say they should just be fired. Fifteen percent (15%) favor a formal reprimand. Just 11% say no disciplinary action should be taken.
“But only 34% of voters believe the officials in question are likely to face criminal charges for their anti-Trump activity, with just 16% who say it’s Very Likely. Fifty-five percent (55%) see criminal prosecution of these rogue officials as unlikely, including 24% who feel it’s Not At All Likely.”
Rasmussen said the survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted December 12 and 15, 2019. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence.
Another conclusion: Voters by a 47% to 35% margin think James Comey should be criminally prosecuted for improperly leaking information to the media.
Also, 77% say they have been closely following news reports about the inspector general’s investigation of the FBI, with 41% who have been following Very Closely. Among those following the news Very Closely, 55% think it’s Very Likely that senior law enforcement officials broke the law in an effort to get Trump.
“Fifty-six percent of Republicans think convicted offenders should be jailed, a view shared by 35% of Democrats and 38% of unaffiliateds,” the report said.
Nearly two out of three “of all voters said in April that it is likely President Obama or his top aides were aware that U.S. intelligence agencies were spying on the Trump campaign and the Trump transition team,” the report said.
