Americans see Trump investigation as political, but also believable
-Reuters/Ipsos
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[March 22, 2023]
By Jason Lange
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - About half of Americans believe a New York
investigation into whether Donald Trump paid hush money to a porn star
is politically motivated, but a large majority find the allegations
believable, a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll found.
The two-day poll, concluded on Tuesday, found 54% of respondents -
including 80% of the former president's fellow Republicans and 32% of
Democrats - said politics was driving the criminal case being weighed by
a Manhattan grand jury.
Seventy percent of respondents, and half of Republicans, said it was
believable that Trump during his 2016 presidential campaign paid the
adult film actress Stormy Daniels for her silence about an alleged
sexual encounter.
Some 62% of respondents, including a third of Republicans, said it was
also believable that Trump falsified business records and committed
fraud.
The findings underscore the unprecedented nature of the criminal probes
surrounding Trump as he seeks the Republican nomination to run for the
White House again in 2024.
No U.S. president has ever faced criminal charges in court.
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Trump, who is facing potentially stiff competition in his third bid for
the Republican nomination, has denied ever having an extramarital affair
with Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford.
He said on Saturday he expected to be arrested on Tuesday and has asked
his supporters to respond by giving money to his presidential campaign.
A Manhattan grand jury is weighing whether to indict him.
Republican Party officials, strategists and analysts have said Trump's
prosecution would only harden the determination of his most loyal
supporters.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a potential rival for the Republican
nomination, has criticized what he called the politicization of the
Manhattan district attorney's office but has also taken a veiled swipe
at Trump.
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![](../images/032223PIX/news_n2.jpg)
People walk by the Trump Building at 40
Wall Street, after a message was posted on the Truth Social account
of former U.S. President Donald Trump stating that he expects to be
arrested on Tuesday, and called on his supporters to protest, in New
York City, U.S. March 21, 2023. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Mar/22/images/ads/current/debbies_lda_032222.png)
Trump responded aggressively with an innuendo-filled post on his
Truth Social platform.
About nine in 10 respondents said they had heard about the Manhattan
prosecutors' case against Trump, one of several probes dogging
Trump. A county prosecutor in Georgia is considering charges Trump
tried to overturn his 2020 election defeat.
Trump falsely claims his loss to Democratic President Joe Biden was
due to fraud and was recorded asking Georgia election officials to
find the votes Trump needed to win.
Trump also faces U.S. Justice Department probes into his retention
of classified documents after leaving the White House as well as his
efforts to overturn the 2020 election result.
Some 54% of respondents - including 85% of Democrats and 21% of
Republicans - said the accusation that Trump solicited election
fraud was believable.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll gathered responses from 1,003 adults
nationwide, including 415 self-described Democrats and 383
Republicans. The poll had a credibility interval, a measure of
precision, of about 4-6 percentage points in either direction.
(Reporting by Jason Lange, additional reporting by Nathan Layne and
Gram Slattery; Editing by Scott Malone and Howard Goller)
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