A majority of Democrats and Republicans alike say they’d like to see the investigative findings related to former President Donald Trump released as soon as they are available, rather than held until after the midterms, when reports that might influence an election might traditionally be released.
That includes more than half of Republicans, according to a new YouGov/LX News poll, and more than 80% of Democrats. Sixty-three percent of independents also favored a quick release of any completed investigation into the former president’s actions around Jan. 6 or his handling of classified documents after leaving the White House.
While Trump is not officially on any ballot this fall and there is no official policy at the Department of Justice prohibiting the release of information within 60 days of an election — the agency actually prohibits selective timing that could affect an election — many observers have suggested the agency, as well as the other investigative bodies investigating the former president, avoid any public disclosures that might appear political.
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“I find it striking that Republicans back immediate release of the investigative findings,” said Carl Bialik, YouGov’s vice president of data science and U.S. politics editor. “Given that Republicans overwhelmingly think each investigation is politically motivated, presumably many expect the result to be slanted against Trump.”
The poll also found a majority of Republicans — and a plurality of independents — believe investigations into the former president’s business dealings and his actions surrounding Jan. 6, 2021, are politically motivated.
“Perhaps [Republicans] think... the investigations’ results will expose them as politically motivated, and thereby boost Republican candidates,” Bialik said.
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The YouGov/LX News poll surveyed 1,000 U.S. adults between Sept. 13 and 15, with questions that asked about some of the different investigations related to Trump.
While five out of six Americans said they were familiar with the investigations into Trump’s actions surrounding Jan. 6, as well as his potential mishandling of classified documents after leaving the White House, there was much less familiarity among respondents regarding the multiple investigations into Trump’s New York business dealings.
About one in five adults said they knew nothing about the New York investigation, while 49% of adults said they only knew “a little” about it. Democrats were far more likely than Republicans or independents to say they had read or heard about each of the investigations polled.
Noah Pransky is LX News’ National Political Editor, covering Washington and state politics, with a special focus on young voters. His political and investigative work has been honored with national Murrow, Polk, duPont and Cronkite awards, and you can contact him confidentially at noah.pransky@nbcuni.com, or on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.
