Half the public believes former President Donald Trump should be prosecuted for storing classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago residence after leaving office, according to a new survey.
The results of a national Quinnipiac University poll, published Wednesday, also found 41% of respondents saying no to the same question.
Further, the survey breaks down responses by party affiliation. Democrats overwhelmingly believe that Trump should face prosecution, with 86% saying so, while 83% of Republicans believe the opposite.
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Over three-quarters of adults are following the story of Trump and the classified documents very closely or somewhat closely, according to the poll.
Fifty-nine percent of respondents said Trump’s handling of the classified documents after exiting the White House was inappropriate. Only 26% believe he acted appropriately, per the survey.
“While the Justice Department weighs the evidence, Americans have been watching closely and have their own verdict: Former President Trump’s alleged hoarding of classified documents was very serious, very wrong, and half of Americans believe it was a criminal act,” said Quinnipiac polling analyst Tim Malloy.
Between Aug. 25-29, 1,584 adults were surveyed, 1,419 of whom were registered voters. The margin of error is plus or minus 2.6 percentage points.
On Sunday, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) predicted on Fox News that riots would occur were there to be criminal charges brought against the former president over the documents.
“If there is a prosecution of Donald Trump for mishandling the classified information after the Clinton debacle, which you presided over and did [a] hell of a good job, there will be riots in the streets,” he said, invoking Hillary Clinton’s controversial use of a private email server while she was secretary of state, for which was she criticized but not prosecuted.
Earlier this month, the FBI executed a search warrant at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence, and the government said it has found several classified documents. According to an affidavit, “The government is conducting a criminal investigation concerning the improper removal and storage of classified information in unauthorized spaces, as well as the unlawful concealment or removal of government records.”
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Trump claims he declassified all the documents stored at Mar-a-Lago and denied any wrongdoing. “The DOJ and FBI are practicing Election Interference at the highest and most dishonest level our Country has ever seen before, both in the Midterms, and the 2024 Presidential Election,” he said on Truth Social on Sunday.
There is currently a legal fight over Trump’s request for a special master to review the materials seized from his Florida resort.
