Public Opinion Largely Unchanged On Impeachment Following Robert Mueller’s Wednesday Testimony

While Democrats might have hoped that former Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s testimony before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday would have shifted public opinion in favor of impeaching the president, a new poll suggests that sentiments on impeachment remain unchanged.

A plurality of people surveyed did not support beginning impeachment hearings against the president, according to Politico. Just under half of those polled – 46 percent – said that Congress should not begin impeachment proceedings against Trump. However, 35 percent of voters surveyed said that lawmakers should begin the impeachment process.

The numbers are relatively the same as a poll conducted prior to the former special counsel’s Wednesday remarks before Congress. Prior to the testimony, 50 percent of voters did not think that Congress should begin impeachment proceedings while 38 percent thought that lawmakers should begin the process, per Politico.

The poll was conducted by Politico and Morning Consult.

Mueller’s testimony was viewed as largely unhelpful to both Democrats and Republicans, as The Inquisitr previously reported.

Some argued that media coverage of the testimony missed the mark. Despite the lack of theatrics that House Democrats hoped Mueller would bring to the testimony, the former special counsel reaffirmed several key points from his April report that could serve as a roadmap for Trump’s impeachment, per The New Republic.

Rep. Khanna on potential impeachment proceedings: "Chairman Nadler was very clear that you actually don't need a House vote to proceed with hearings. He actually has the ability to start these hearings, even without a Judiciary vote." https://t.co/ehirPlpPNC

— MSNBC (@MSNBC) July 26, 2019

The president claimed victory following the Wednesday testimony, per CNN.

Trump said that Mueller’s testimony made a “very good day” for himself and the Republican Party. Earlier in the day, the president sent a string of tweets about Mueller in an apparent attempt to diminish his credibility prior to his testimony.

Following the testimony, the president said he believed Mueller’s performance would hurt Democrats in 2020, and predicted that the party would lose House seats.

But Mueller’s testimony reaffirmed the calls of some Democrats for impeachment, which Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has continued to say she does not support. The House Judiciary Committee on Friday filed a lawsuit to obtain material from a secret grand jury proceeding conducted by Mueller during his investigation, which it claims is necessary in deciding whether to bring up impeachment proceedings against the president, per CNN.

According to CNN, more than 100 members of the House said they support beginning impeachment proceedings. Even so, to remove the president from office would require a supermajority vote from the Republican-controlled Senate following a trial.

While the committee is currently deciding whether to vote to impeach the president, that entity notes believes impeachment proceedings don’t need to formally begin due to House rules that changed since the impeachment of President Clinton, per CNN.