Majority of voters believe that Donald Trump should not be immune from prosecution
Nearly six in 10 voters believe that Donald Trump should not be granted immunity from prosecution ahead of this year's election.
The former president was charged in four criminal cases last year and his lawyers have argued that he should be granted immunity in the cases arising from his position in the White House.
However, a survey of a thousand likely voters found that only a third agreed.
The results showed strong partisan divides.
More than half of Republicans surveyed (58 percent) said Trump should receive immunity, while the vast majority of Democrats (81 percent) said this should not be the case.
And when asked whether Trump was guilty of the four sets of charges, more respondents said he was guilty than said he was innocent.
JL Partners surveyed 1,000 likely voters between December 15 and 20. The results have a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points. Most respondents said Trump should not be given immunity
More voters say former President Donald Trump is guilty than not in the four cases he faces. But he still managed to extend his lead over President Joe Biden to four points
Still, there was good news for the former president, who is trying to balance his legal troubles with campaigning for a second term. Our poll also showed that he had expanded his national lead over President Joe Biden to four points.
Pollster James Johnson, co-founder of JL Partners, said the allegations were a mixed blessing for Trump's election chances.
“Right now, voters don't seem to be swayed by Trump's accusations,” he said. “Indeed, independent voters really warmed to him after the mugshot moment in Georgia, because it made real what many of them see as a political overreach of the justice system.”
He added that the recent ruling in Colorado, in which the Supreme Court said his role in the Jan. 6 attack on Congress disqualified him from running for office, had entrenched that view.
“Other Trump voters — one in three of whom say Trump is likely guilty of a crime — consider his first-term record more important,” he added.
'But this can all change with a conviction. As egregious as such a moment may feel to many voters, if Trump is actually a felon or — worse — behind bars at the election, it will leave out a significant number of people in the middle of the political spectrum.
“A lifelong Republican from a recent focus group in New Hampshire summed it up: How can you be president from prison? It is that devastatingly simple view that will have more influence on voters than any outrage over the judicial process.”
Respondents were asked for their opinions on whether Trump was guilty in each of the four cases against him.
A majority believe he is guilty in all four cases. But it appears that voters are most forgiving on matters related to the 2020 election and his attempts to retain power.
A majority of voters also said they believed Trump was guilty of all four criminal counts. They were more forgiving on matters related to the 2020 election, but not by much
About 54 percent think he is definitely or probably guilty in the federal case in which he tried to overturn the election; and 53 percent believe he is guilty of the Georgia racketeering case linked to similar charges in the state.
The number rises to 59 percent who believe he is guilty of mishandling government documents, charges related to the 2022 raid on his Mar-a-Lago home.
The same percentage believe he is guilty in the New York case, in which he is accused of falsifying business documents to cover up hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels.
Trump's lawyers have tried to argue that he cannot be prosecuted in the election cases because his actions stem from his responsibilities as president.
On Saturday, they filed a complaint with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, claiming he is immune from charges.
In a 55-page brief, Trump's attorney John D. Sauer suggested that under the Constitution, courts cannot hold the president responsible for actions taken while in office.
'In our system of separated powers, the judiciary cannot judge the official actions of a president. That doctrine is not controversial,” Sauer wrote.
JL Partners surveyed 550 voters in Arizona, Georgia and Wisconsin last month. The results showed that Joe Biden was in danger of losing two states that helped him win in 2020
Biden has seen his slim lead in national polls disappear since the start of the year. Trump is also the frontrunner in a series of swing states that will likely determine the outcome
The judge in the case has already said that Trump does not have “a lifetime get-out-of-jail-free pass.”
Trump could face legal jeopardy if he pursues a series of lawsuits, but that won't stop him from expanding his lead over Biden.
The results show that the former president has won over independent voters, while Biden has seen his support within his own party and among women decline.
The numbers will revive the debate over whether or not 81-year-old Biden can generate enough excitement among Democrats to make good on his promise that he is the best candidate to defeat 77-year-old Trump.
And it comes after a separate DailyMail.com poll showed he was losing to Trump in two of the three key battleground states.
Biden has struggled with questions about his age and voters continue to say they are concerned about the economy under his leadership, despite a series of key indicators that are all moving in the right direction.
His overall approval rating remains well underwater.
In contrast, Trump appears not to have been bothered by charges in four criminal cases in the past year.
Whether a conviction would ultimately remove his non-stick coating remains to be seen.
Our new poll offers more insight into the race. JL Partners also asked respondents for one word to describe each candidate's plans for a second term.
The results suggest that voters expect a miserable choice at the ballot box next year: a candidate seeking “revenge” versus a candidate who has no real plans for his second term.