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Public Favors Inquiry Into Attorney Firings But Divided on Gonzales' Fate

Public Favors Inquiry Into Attorney Firings But Divided on Gonzales' Fate

Most say White House should not invoke executive privilege

GALLUP NEWS SERVICE

PRINCETON, NJ -- A new USA Today/Gallup poll, conducted Mar. 23-25, 2007, finds the mounting political controversy over the dismissal of eight U.S. attorneys last fall is viewed as just that -- political -- by the American people.

Most Americans believe the attorneys were fired by the Department of Justice for political reasons (as opposed to reasons relating to poor performance). At the same time, most believe the outcry from congressional Democrats stems more from partisan politics than from real ethical concerns. Perhaps as a result of this cynical view of the matter, relatively few Americans are paying close attention to the news about it. Also, just 38% think Attorney General Alberto Gonzales should resign over the firings while an equal number say he should not; the remainder are uncertain.

Though the public may view this controversy as politics-as-usual, that doesn't prevent Americans from believing that a full investigation of the matter should be carried out. Nearly three-quarters say Congress should investigate the involvement of White House officials in the dismissals. Additionally, two-thirds believe that, if Congress does investigate, the White House should be completely forthcoming -- with the president's aides subject to congressional subpoenas and not shielded from investigators' questions by invoking executive privilege.

Naturally, Republicans and Democrats have different perspectives on the controversy. Republicans are much more likely than Democrats to defend Gonzales and are less likely to favor a congressional investigation. However, the partisan differences are not as stark as they might be. For instance, only a bare majority of Democrats believe Gonzales should resign, and a slightly larger share of Republicans believe Congress should investigate the White House's involvement in the matter.

Why the Dismissals?

By a roughly two-to-one margin, 53% vs. 26%, Americans believe the eight U.S. attorneys were fired by the Department of Justice primarily for political reasons rather than because they were not doing their jobs well. However, a substantial 21% are too uncertain about the firings to express a view about the motives involved. (As will be discussed below in more detail, a majority of Americans also feel the Democratic investigation is politically motivated.)

Only 14% of Americans say they are paying "very close" attention to the case, and another 32% are paying "somewhat close" attention. The combined 46% is fairly low relative to the average of 60% close attention Gallup has recorded for over 100 news stories over the past decade. This attentive group is highly likely to say the firings were done for political reasons. Those not following the case closely (comprising 53% of the public) are much more likely to say they have no opinion about the reasons.

A solid majority of Democrats (66%) ascribe political motives to those responsible for the firings. However, only 41% of Republicans take the pro-administration position that the firings were for just cause. One-third of Republicans believe the firings were for political reasons, while more than one-quarter say they are unsure of the reasons.

The views of political independents fall closer to Democrats than to Republicans on this question.

Should Gonzales Go?

Gonzales came under considerable fire from Democratic -- as well as Republican -- lawmakers who questioned his credibility over apparent inconsistencies between what he said regarding his lack of involvement in the dismissals and what his own schedule records show. Appearing on Sunday's Meet the Press, Republican Sen. Arlen Specter said that a finding that Gonzales had not been "candid and truthful" would be a "very compelling reason for him not to stay on." At least two Democratic senators, including Sen. Diane Feinstein, called directly for Gonzales to step down.

As of the time of this past weekend's poll, only 38% of Americans say they believed Gonzales should resign over the controversy; an equal number said he should not resign, while about a quarter (28%) are unsure.

Republicans and Democrats take opposite sides on this question, but the partisan differences are not as large as is the case for other high profile issues in today's politicized environment. Just a slim majority of Democrats think Gonzales should resign, while a similar proportion of Republicans say he should not. The views of independents break about evenly.

Major differences on this question are seen according to respondents' attention to the news story. Two-thirds of those following the story very closely (66%) think Gonzales should resign, compared with 42% of those following it somewhat closely, and only 28% of those not following it closely.

Should Congress Investigate?

Americans typically favor Congress launching an investigation in the case of government or political controversies, and the Gonzales matter is no exception. Americans (including 9 of 10 Democrats and the majority of Republicans) broadly agree that Congress should investigate the involvement of White House officials in the decision to fire the eight U.S. attorneys.

Similarly, only 40% of Americans think the Democrats in Congress are spending too much time on the matter; a combined 48% say they are spending either the right amount of time or not enough time.

Whither the President's Men?

Defenders of the administration say that should such an investigation happen, the White House should invoke executive privilege; at stake is a president's right to private counsel from his closest staff. However, two-thirds of Americans (68%) say President Bush and his aides should agree to answer all questions rather than invoke executive privilege.

The executive privilege claim is not one Americans have embraced in the past. When similar questions were asked about the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal in 1998 and the Iran-Contra Scandal in 1986, the public overwhelmingly believed White House aides should answer all questions posed to them by investigators.

In the current matter, Republicans tend to favor invoking executive privilege (50% vs. 37%, respectively), but the vast majority of Democrats (93%) say Bush should not make this claim.

Gallup tested public support for a full investigation of the firings a little differently with a question asking whether Congress should or should not issue subpoenas to force White House officials to testify about the matter. The results are nearly identical to those of the executive privilege question. Two-thirds of Americans think Congress should issue such subpoenas, while a quarter disagree.

Playing Politics

Despite their general support for an investigation, most Americans (59%) believe congressional Democrats are mainly motivated in this matter by the desire to gain some political advantage. This view is shared by most Republicans (85%) as well as by a substantial minority of Democrats (38%). Only a bare majority of Democrats (52%) maintain that their party leaders are primarily motivated by real ethical concerns.

Survey Methods

Results are based on telephone interviews with 1,007 national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted March 23-25, 2007. For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points. For results based on the 526 national adults in the Form A half-sample and 481 national adults in the Form B half-sample, the maximum margins of sampling error are ±5 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.

18. How closely have you been following the news about the U.S. Justice Department in Washington dismissing eight U.S. attorneys -- very closely, somewhat closely, not too closely, or not at all?

Very
closely

Somewhat
closely

Not too
closely

Not
at all

No
opinion

 

 

 

 

 

2007 Mar 23-25

14%

32

31

22

1

19. Based on what you have heard or read about the case, do you think the U.S. attorneys were dismissed -- [ROTATED: primarily for political reasons (or) primarily because they were not doing their jobs well]?

Political
reasons

Not doing
job well

No
opinion

 

 

 

2007 Mar 23-25

53%

26

21

20. Do you think Attorney General Alberto Gonzales should or should not resign over his handling of these dismissals?

Yes,
should

No,
should not

No
opinion

 

 

 

2007 Mar 23-25

38%

38

24

           

21. Do you think Congress should -- or should not -- investigate the involvement of White House officials in this matter?

Yes,|
should

No,
should not

No
opinion

 

 

 

2007 Mar 23-25

72%

21

7

           

22. If Congress investigates these dismissals, in your view, should President Bush and his aides -- [ROTATED: invoke "executive privilege" to protect the White House decision making process (or should they) drop the claim of executive privilege and answer all questions being investigated]?

BASED ON 526 NATIONAL ADULTS IN FORM A

Invoke
executive
privilege

Answer
all
questions

No
opinion

 

 

 

2007 Mar 23-25

26%

68

6

TREND FOR COMPARISON: (Bill Clinton and the Monica Lewinsky scandal): Thinking about these investigations, in your view should President Clinton and his aides -- invoke "executive privilege" to protect the White House decision making process or should they drop the claim of executive privilege and answer all questions being investigated?

Invoke
executive
privilege

Answer
all
questions

No
opinion

 

 

 

1998 Apr 17-19

29%

66

5

TREND FOR COMPARISON: (Ronald Reagan and the Iran-Contra scandal): Should President Reagan and his aides invoke "executive privilege" to protect national-security secrets and the White House decision-making process? Or should they drop the claim of executive privilege and answer all questions about the controversy (involving use of profits from weapons sales to Iran for military support of the Nicaraguan contras)?

Invoke
executive
privilege

Answer
all
questions

No
opinion

 

 

 

1986 Dec 4-5

36%

54

10

23. In this matter, do you think Congress should or should not issue subpoenas to force White House officials to testify under oath about this matter?

BASED ON 481 NATIONAL ADULTS IN FORM B

Yes,
should

No,
should not

No
opinion

 

 

 

2007 Mar 23-25

68%

24

7

24. Do you think congressional Democrats are investigating these dismissals -- [ROTATED: mostly because they have real ethical concerns about the way the matter was handled (or) mostly because they want to gain political advantage]?

Real
ethical
concerns

Gain
political
advantage

No
opinion

 

 

 

2007 Mar 23-25

30%

59

11

25. Do you think the Democrats in Congress are -- [ROTATED: spending too much time, spending the right amount of time, (or) not spending enough time] -- on this matter?

           

Too
much

Right
amount

Not
enough

No
opinion

 

 

 

 

2007 Mar 23-25

40%

33

15

12


Gallup https://news.gallup.com/poll/27004/Public-Favors-Inquiry-Into-Attorney-Firings-Divided-Gonzales-Fate.aspx
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