Public Remains Divided About Wiretapping Controversy

GALLUP NEWS SERVICE

PRINCETON, NJ -- Politicians and media pundits, among others, continue to question the legality of a Bush administration practice of conducting warrantless surveillance of telephone conversations between U.S. citizens living in the United States and suspected terrorists living in other countries. Last week, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales defended the practice before the Senate Judiciary committee, but his answers failed to satisfy many members of the committee. Public attention on the wiretapping controversy remains high, and opinion on the matter remains divided and has not changed in recent weeks.

The latest CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll, conducted Feb. 9-12, finds 73% of Americans saying they are following the matter closely, including 32% who report following it "very closely." Those percentages have been fairly consistent since early January.

The poll also finds essentially no change in the public's views about the matter. Forty-seven percent believe the Bush administration was right in wiretapping the telephone conversations without getting a court order, while 50% say it was wrong to do so. In late January, 46% said the administration was right and 51% wrong. In early January, Americans were slightly more inclined to say the Bush administration was right (50%) than wrong (46%).

Those who are following the controversy most closely tend to believe the Bush administration was wrong to authorize the wiretaps, but their opinions have not differed dramatically from the rest of the population in the last two polls.

Last week's hearings show that most Republican senators on the judiciary committee support the administration on the wiretapping program, while most Democratic senators oppose. That same dynamic holds in the general population -- 80% of Republicans currently believe the Bush administration was right to engage in the wiretapping program, while just 43% of independents and 25% of Democrats agree. Sixty-four percent of self-identified conservatives believe the administration was right, as do 47% of moderates and 16% of liberals.

Did Bush Break the Law?

A separate question asking specifically whether President George W. Bush himself broke the law also shows a divided public. Forty-nine percent of Americans believe Bush definitely (23%) or probably (26%) broke the law, while 47% say he definitely (23%) or probably (24%) did not.

Based on what you have heard or read, do you think George W. Bush -- [ROTATED: definitely broke the law, probably broke the law, probably did not break the law, (or) definitely did not break the law]?

BASED ON 508 NATIONAL ADULTS IN FORM B

Opinion about the legality of Bush's actions varies widely by political affiliation. Seventy-seven percent of Democrats believe Bush broke the law, compared with 58% of independents and 16% of Republicans.

Similarly, 80% of liberals believe Bush broke the law, compared with 55% of moderates and just 26% of conservatives.

How Widespread Is Wiretapping?

The program is controversial mainly because it involves the wiretapping of phone calls involving U.S. residents and because the wiretaps were done without court orders. To get a sense of whether the program might affect them personally, the poll asked Americans how likely it is that any of their telephone conversations were ever wiretapped. Twenty-one percent say it is very (8%) or somewhat likely (13%) that this has happened to them, while 24% say it is not too likely and 52% say it is not at all likely.

Liberals (30%) are nearly twice as likely as conservatives (16%) to believe this has happened to them. Democrats (24%) and independents (25%) are more likely than Republicans (13%) to think that they have been wiretapped.

Americans who are paying more attention to the controversy are no more or less likely to believe they have been wiretapped than those not paying much attention to it.

Survey Methods

These results are based on telephone interviews with a randomly selected national sample of 1,000 adults, aged 18 and older, conducted Feb. 9-12, 2006. For results based on this sample, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum error attributable to sampling and other random effects is ±3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.

10. Just your best guess, how likely is it that the federal government has ever wiretapped any of your telephone conversations -- very likely, somewhat likely, not too likely, or not at all likely?

19. As you may know, the Bush administration has been wiretapping telephone conversations between U.S. citizens living in the United States and suspected terrorists living in other countries without getting a court order allowing it to do so. How closely have you been following the news about this -- very closely, somewhat closely, not too closely, or not at all?

20. Do you think the Bush administration was right or wrong in wiretapping these conversations without obtaining a court order?

BASED ON 492 NATIONAL ADULTS IN FORM A

21. Based on what you have heard or read, do you think George W. Bush -- [ROTATED: definitely broke the law, probably broke the law, probably did not break the law, (or) definitely did not break the law]?

BASED ON 508 NATIONAL ADULTS IN FORM B