The majority of registered voters in a new poll believe the indictment of former President Donald Trump by special counsel Jack Smith is "politically motivated" and can be characterized as election interference.
The Harvard/Harris poll also found that Trump is dominating the Republican primary field and holds a six-point advantage over Joe Biden in a hypothetical general election matchup.
The poll, which was conducted after Trump’s arraignment, gauged public perception of the 37-count indictment relating to classified documents Trump allegedly took to Mar-a-Lago at the end of his presidency.
Of the registered voter respondents, 55 percent believe the indictment is “politically motivated” versus 45 percent who find it “valid.”
Similarly, 56 percent of the participants categorize the indictment as “interference by the Department of Justice in the 2024 elections,” and only 44 percent see it as “the fair application of the law.”
The majority of respondents, 57 percent, believe Trump will be acquitted on the charges.
The poll also asked voters about Biden’s documents case – where classified materials from his time as vice president have been located at his personal residence and the Penn Biden Center in Washington, D.C. The poll also asked respondents about Hillary Clinton’s email scandal.
A majority of 65 percent of respondents believe Biden “mishandled” classified material, while 72 percent think Clinton did, with 69 percent saying she “obstructed justice” by acid-washing her emails.
The poll also asked, “Do you think indicting a former president for taking classified documents after leaving office, something done by Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, and other senior officials, is a fair application justice or selective prosecution?”
More than half of the participants, 53 percent, say that it is a “selective prosecution,” while a minority of 47 percent think the law is being applied evenly.
While a plurality of 44 percent in the poll say they think Trump is “probably guilty … and should be convicted,” 30 percent think he “is probably innocent,” while another 26 percent say he may be guilty, but the indictment should never have been pursued “because it is too political and interferes with the 2024 election.”
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