Poll: Nearly half of Americans say Trump did something illegal

As former President Donald Trump faces multiple investigations, nearly half of Americans believe Trump has done something illegal, according to a new poll released Monday.

An NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist national poll finds a plurality of Americans — 46% — say Trump has done something illegal, while 29% say Trump has done something "unethical but not illegal" and 23% say Trump has done nothing wrong. A majority of Americans — 56% — say the investigations into Trump are fair, while 41% describe them as a "witch hunt."

The survey was conducted from March 20-23, as Trump dominated the headlines after announcing he was about to be arrested as part of the Manhattan district attorney's hush money probe. District Attorney Alvin Bragg is investigating alleged payments during Trump's 2016 campaign to an adult film star who claims she had an affair with the former president. Trump has not been arrested or charged with a crime.

The former president is also facing multiple investigations into his efforts to overturn the 2020 election as well as his handling of classified documents.

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The question of whether Trump has done something illegal predictably split along party lines, with 78% of Democrats agreeing and just 10% of Republicans saying the same. Among independents, 41% say Trump did something illegal, while 33% say he did something wrong but not illegal.

The NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll surveyed 1,327 adults from March 20-23 via live telephone, text and online interviews. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

CORRECTION (March 29, 2023, 9:15 a.m. ET): A previous version of this article misstated the percentage of Americans who view the Trump investigations as fair. It is 56%, not 51%.