Juan Williams: Time for a special prosecutor
Source:
The Hill
That’s why I’m starting to feel like I’ve seen this movie before.
Spoiler Alert: This political thriller ends with the president’s top aides striking plea bargains with federal prosecutors to reduce prison sentences.
The dwindling trust in the GOP majority in Congress to conduct such a probe is due to the fading credibility of the Senate Intelligence Committee. The problem is that the Republican chairman of that panel, Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), is widely perceived as a Trump acolyte.
If history is a guide, all that is left now is for public pressure to build on the GOP and the special prosecutor to be named.
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: Juan Williams: Time for a special prosecutor
By Jennifer Agiesta, CNN Polling Director
Updated 7:39 AM ET, Mon March 6, 2017
Washington (CNN)About two-thirds of Americans say a special prosecutor should investigate contacts between Russians and Trump campaign associates, according to a new CNN/ORC poll, and 55% say they are at least somewhat concerned by reports that some connected to the Trump campaign had contact with suspected Russian operatives.
However, the steady stream of news about investigations into those contacts doesn't appear to have affected President Donald Trump's approval rating, which ticked up only one percentage point -- 44% to 45% -- from January.
Concerns about the reported contacts are closely tied to partisanship, with 71% of Democrats saying they are "very concerned" about it while 54% of Republicans say they have no concerns "at all" about the reports.
Among Republicans, a majority feel Congress can handle the investigation, but a sizable 43% support the call for a special prosecutor, as do majorities of Democrats (82%) and independents (67%). Overall, the poll finds that 65% would rather see a special prosecutor handle the investigation, while 32% think Congress is capable of handling it.
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CNN/ORC poll: Most back special prosecutor for Russia investigation - CNNPolitics.com