Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said Sunday he would block the nominee for deputy attorney general, Rod Rosenstein, unless he committed to appointing a special prosecutor. (Photo: Getty)
Mar 06, 2017
A majority of Americans want a special prosecutor to investigate the Trump campaign's alleged ties to Russia, according to a new poll (pdf) out Monday.
The poll by CNN/ORC finds that about two-thirds of Americans support that call, and 55 percent say they are at least somewhat concerned by reports that President Donald Trump's team communicated with the Russian government during the 2016 election.
Only 32 percent said Congress would be capable of handling the investigation itself.
The results are closely tied to political party, with 71 percent of Democrats saying they are "very concerned" about the reports of the Trump team's communication with the Russians, and 54 percent of Republicans saying they have no concerns "at all" on that subject.
The poll comes as congressional lawmakers intensify their calls for an independent investigation into Russia's alleged involvement in the election.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said Sunday he would block the nominee for deputy attorney general, Rod Rosenstein, unless he committed to appointing a special prosecutor.
"I'll use every possible tool to block DOJ deputy AG nominee unless he commits to appoint independent special prosecutor," Blumenthal, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, tweeted Sunday.
\u201cI'll use every possible tool to block DOJ Deputy AG nominee unless he commits to appoint independent special prosecutor\u201d— Richard Blumenthal (@Richard Blumenthal) 1488754700
Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from the investigation last week after it was revealed he had lied to Congress about his own communication with the Russian government, opening up the possibility that other members of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) would operate the probe.
With Rosenstein being at the top of the list, the increased scrutiny comes just in time for his confirmation hearing, scheduled for Tuesday morning at 10:00am, where he is likely to face questions on the Russia investigation from Blumenthal and fellow Democratic Sens. Dianne Feinstein (Calif.), Al Franken (Minn.), and Dick Durbin (Ill.).
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Nadia Prupis
Nadia Prupis is a former Common Dreams staff writer. She wrote on media policy for Truthout.org and has been published in New America Media and AlterNet. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in English in 2008.
A majority of Americans want a special prosecutor to investigate the Trump campaign's alleged ties to Russia, according to a new poll (pdf) out Monday.
The poll by CNN/ORC finds that about two-thirds of Americans support that call, and 55 percent say they are at least somewhat concerned by reports that President Donald Trump's team communicated with the Russian government during the 2016 election.
Only 32 percent said Congress would be capable of handling the investigation itself.
The results are closely tied to political party, with 71 percent of Democrats saying they are "very concerned" about the reports of the Trump team's communication with the Russians, and 54 percent of Republicans saying they have no concerns "at all" on that subject.
The poll comes as congressional lawmakers intensify their calls for an independent investigation into Russia's alleged involvement in the election.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said Sunday he would block the nominee for deputy attorney general, Rod Rosenstein, unless he committed to appointing a special prosecutor.
"I'll use every possible tool to block DOJ deputy AG nominee unless he commits to appoint independent special prosecutor," Blumenthal, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, tweeted Sunday.
\u201cI'll use every possible tool to block DOJ Deputy AG nominee unless he commits to appoint independent special prosecutor\u201d— Richard Blumenthal (@Richard Blumenthal) 1488754700
Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from the investigation last week after it was revealed he had lied to Congress about his own communication with the Russian government, opening up the possibility that other members of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) would operate the probe.
With Rosenstein being at the top of the list, the increased scrutiny comes just in time for his confirmation hearing, scheduled for Tuesday morning at 10:00am, where he is likely to face questions on the Russia investigation from Blumenthal and fellow Democratic Sens. Dianne Feinstein (Calif.), Al Franken (Minn.), and Dick Durbin (Ill.).
Nadia Prupis
Nadia Prupis is a former Common Dreams staff writer. She wrote on media policy for Truthout.org and has been published in New America Media and AlterNet. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in English in 2008.
A majority of Americans want a special prosecutor to investigate the Trump campaign's alleged ties to Russia, according to a new poll (pdf) out Monday.
The poll by CNN/ORC finds that about two-thirds of Americans support that call, and 55 percent say they are at least somewhat concerned by reports that President Donald Trump's team communicated with the Russian government during the 2016 election.
Only 32 percent said Congress would be capable of handling the investigation itself.
The results are closely tied to political party, with 71 percent of Democrats saying they are "very concerned" about the reports of the Trump team's communication with the Russians, and 54 percent of Republicans saying they have no concerns "at all" on that subject.
The poll comes as congressional lawmakers intensify their calls for an independent investigation into Russia's alleged involvement in the election.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said Sunday he would block the nominee for deputy attorney general, Rod Rosenstein, unless he committed to appointing a special prosecutor.
"I'll use every possible tool to block DOJ deputy AG nominee unless he commits to appoint independent special prosecutor," Blumenthal, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, tweeted Sunday.
\u201cI'll use every possible tool to block DOJ Deputy AG nominee unless he commits to appoint independent special prosecutor\u201d— Richard Blumenthal (@Richard Blumenthal) 1488754700
Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from the investigation last week after it was revealed he had lied to Congress about his own communication with the Russian government, opening up the possibility that other members of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) would operate the probe.
With Rosenstein being at the top of the list, the increased scrutiny comes just in time for his confirmation hearing, scheduled for Tuesday morning at 10:00am, where he is likely to face questions on the Russia investigation from Blumenthal and fellow Democratic Sens. Dianne Feinstein (Calif.), Al Franken (Minn.), and Dick Durbin (Ill.).
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.