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Majority of US citizens want an “independent investigation” into Trump-Russia links, shows Reuters/Ipsos poll

According to the poll, 59% of adults, including 41% of Republicans and 79% of Democrats, agreed that “Congress should launch an independent investigation”

A majority of US citizens including a growing number of Republicans, want to see an “independent investigation” sort out any connections between Russia and President Donald Trump during the 2016 election campaign, according to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll released on Monday.

 The May 10-14 poll, which was conducted after Trump fired FBI Director James Comey, suggests the public is increasingly uneasy with allegations of meddling by the Russians in the U.S. election. Trump's dismissal of Comey, who was leading the Federal Bureau of Investigation's probe into ties between the White House and Russia, intensified calls by Democrats for an independent probe.

According to the poll, 59% of adults, including 41% of Republicans and 79% of Democrats, agreed that “Congress should launch an independent investigation into communications between the Russian government and the Trump campaign during the 2016 election.”

That compares with 54% of all adults, including 30% of Republicans and 81% of Democrats, who felt that way when the poll last asked the question in February.

The Reuters/Ipsos poll also found that public confidence in the executive branch and in Congress has eroded since the Nov. 8 election. Thirty-six percent of Americans said they had “hardly any confidence at all” in the executive branch and 43% said they felt that way about Congress. That is up from 30% and 37%, respectively, who answered that way in a November poll.

When asked who should replace Comey, 48% wanted an FBI outsider with “credible” experience in law or law enforcement. Thirty-seven percent said they wanted “someone from within the FBI” while 5% wanted an FBI outsider who is “close to the Trump administration.”

The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted online in English in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. It included responses from 1,541 adults, including 515 Republicans and 686 Democrats. The poll has a credibility interval, a measure of accuracy, of 3 percentage points for the entire group, 5 percentage points for Republicans and 4 percentage points for Democrats.