Most Americans think former President Donald Trump should be forced to testify to a House committee investigating last year’s assault on the US Capitol, and they want the questioning to be conducted in public view, a new poll showed.
The Monmouth University survey also found that opinions about Trump’s involvement in the attack on the Capitol have not been significantly impacted by the televised public hearings the committee held from June 9 to July 21.
It also found the country is evenly split on whether they believe Trump’s continued presence in political life poses a danger to democracy: 47% say it does, while 50% it doesn’t.
“If anything, the House hearings seem to have driven Republicans further into the Trump camp,” said Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute, in a statement accompanying the poll.
The poll’s release Wednesday comes after the House panel voted unanimously Thursday to subpoena Trump for documents and testimony. The Monmouth survey was conducted from October 13 to 17, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.
The polls shows 60% of those surveyed believe Trump should have to testify to the committee, while 34% do not. If Trump does, 77% said that should occur in a public hearing — not a private hearing or setting.
The committee’s subpoena is expected to be issued to Trump “shortly,” said committee vice-chair Liz Cheney on Tuesday night, during remarks at a Harvard Institute of Politics forum. As of Wednesday morning, the exact timing still had not been decided.
Most of the hundreds of witnesses interviewed by the committee, whether under subpoena or voluntarily, were questioned privately, at least initially. Some of that testimony was videotaped and segments aired during the hearings. There also have been live witnesses, but most of them were previously questioned privately.
Trump responded to the committee’s subpoena vote on Friday with a 14-page statement by denouncing the committee as partisan and for failing to investigate claims of election fraud, which were proven to be false. He did not address the summons directly.
The new Monmouth poll findings Wednesday also show that 36% of those surveyed now say Trump is directly responsible for what happened at the Capitol; 27% feel Trump encouraged those involved but is not directly responsible, and 33% feel he has done nothing wrong regarding the Jan. 6 attack.
A June poll done by Monmouth found that 42% believed Trump was responsible for the attack, 25% felt he encouraged the attack; and 30% felt he had done nothing wrong.
Four in 10 Americans now favour charging Trump with crimes related to his involvement in the incident but Another 38% are opposed. More Republicans have moved to opposing criminal charges — 79% now, up from 66% in August.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
Trump should be forced to testify in public on January 6, poll shows
Image: Bloomberg
Most Americans think former President Donald Trump should be forced to testify to a House committee investigating last year’s assault on the US Capitol, and they want the questioning to be conducted in public view, a new poll showed.
The Monmouth University survey also found that opinions about Trump’s involvement in the attack on the Capitol have not been significantly impacted by the televised public hearings the committee held from June 9 to July 21.
It also found the country is evenly split on whether they believe Trump’s continued presence in political life poses a danger to democracy: 47% say it does, while 50% it doesn’t.
“If anything, the House hearings seem to have driven Republicans further into the Trump camp,” said Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute, in a statement accompanying the poll.
The poll’s release Wednesday comes after the House panel voted unanimously Thursday to subpoena Trump for documents and testimony. The Monmouth survey was conducted from October 13 to 17, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.
The polls shows 60% of those surveyed believe Trump should have to testify to the committee, while 34% do not. If Trump does, 77% said that should occur in a public hearing — not a private hearing or setting.
The committee’s subpoena is expected to be issued to Trump “shortly,” said committee vice-chair Liz Cheney on Tuesday night, during remarks at a Harvard Institute of Politics forum. As of Wednesday morning, the exact timing still had not been decided.
Most of the hundreds of witnesses interviewed by the committee, whether under subpoena or voluntarily, were questioned privately, at least initially. Some of that testimony was videotaped and segments aired during the hearings. There also have been live witnesses, but most of them were previously questioned privately.
Trump responded to the committee’s subpoena vote on Friday with a 14-page statement by denouncing the committee as partisan and for failing to investigate claims of election fraud, which were proven to be false. He did not address the summons directly.
The new Monmouth poll findings Wednesday also show that 36% of those surveyed now say Trump is directly responsible for what happened at the Capitol; 27% feel Trump encouraged those involved but is not directly responsible, and 33% feel he has done nothing wrong regarding the Jan. 6 attack.
A June poll done by Monmouth found that 42% believed Trump was responsible for the attack, 25% felt he encouraged the attack; and 30% felt he had done nothing wrong.
Four in 10 Americans now favour charging Trump with crimes related to his involvement in the incident but Another 38% are opposed. More Republicans have moved to opposing criminal charges — 79% now, up from 66% in August.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Most read
Latest Videos