A newly-released Rasmussen poll revealed Thursday morning that 50 percent of likely U.S. voters “believe it’s at least Somewhat Likely senior federal law enforcement officials broke the law in an effort to prevent Donald Trump from winning the presidency.”
The survey results were released as Fox News is reporting that an FBI informant “involved in the controversial Uranium One deal has told congressional committees that Moscow paid millions to a U.S. lobbying firm in a bid to influence then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by helping former President Bill Clinton’s charities during the Obama administration.”
The back-to-back bombshells could translate to bad times on the horizon for the Clintons and some high-ranking federal law enforcement officials if Congressional Republicans act on the information.
These new developments have overshadowed Democrat delight at the outcome of a special election Tuesday in Missouri in which Democrat Mike Revis won a state House seat in a district that had gone strongly for Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential election. Democrats made hay with the win, although three other seats up for grabs in the special election all went to Republicans. According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “The Democrats were elated by their flash of success, saying the victory in Jefferson County signaled broader problems for the Republican brand going into the November elections.”
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The Rasmussen Reports poll shows that 32 percent of likely voters think it is “very likely” that senior federal law enforcement officials violated the law in an effort to derail the Trump presidential bid. Forty percent of survey respondents think it is not likely, however, once again showing a divide among American voters.
Whether officials broke the law or not, published reports about a 10-page statement given to the Senate Judiciary Committee and two House committees – Intelligence and Oversight and Government Reform – by informant Douglas Campbell could have devastating and far-reaching effect. The allegations, detailed in a report in The Hill, are that “Moscow was hiring APCO Worldwide in an effort to influence the Obama administration and Hillary Clinton.”
APCO has denied the allegation. The company told Fox News that, “APCO Worldwide undertook client work on behalf of Tenex in 2010 and 2011. It undertook work for the Clinton Global Initiative from 2008-2016. These projects were totally separate and unconnected in any way. All APCO’s actions on these two unconnected activities were publicly documented from the outset, legally proper and entirely ethical. Any assertion otherwise is false and unfounded.”
For more than a year, the dominant media has focused on allegations that Russia tried to influence the 2016 election outcome to favor Trump. The president has denied suggestions of “collusion.” But with Campbell’s statements to the three Capitol Hill committees, the Russian story has taken a remarkable turn.
Meanwhile, Rasmussen’s daily presidential tracking poll shows 48 percent of likely voters approve of Trump’s job performance and 50 percent disapprove.
