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President Clinton: Scandals and Investigations

Presidential pardons
Impeachment aftermath

Impeachment polls: 1999
Impeachment polls: Nov.-Dec. 1998
Lewinsky scandal polls: through Oct. 1998
Juanita Broaddrick, Paula Jones, Chinagate, Whitewater

 

Presidential Pardons

ABC News/Washington Post Poll. Feb. 21-25, 2001. N=1,050 adults nationwide. MoE ± 3. Field work by TNS Intersearch.

.
"Thinking about the pardons Clinton granted just before he left office, do you think this is a very important issue, somewhat important, not too important or not important at all?"
%
Very important 35
Somewhat important 30
Not too important 15
Not important at all 16
No opinion 4

.
"Do you think Congress should or should not hold further hearings into how and why Clinton granted these pardons?"
%
Should 46
Should not 50
No opinion 4

.
"Do you think there should or should not be a criminal investigation into whether Clinton broke any laws in granting these pardons?"
%
Should 46
Should not 50
No opinion 4

 

Fox News/Opinion Dynamics Poll. Latest: Feb. 21-22, 2001. N=906 registered voters nationwide. MoE ± 3 (total sample).

.
"Have you heard or read about former President Clinton granting a presidential pardon to Marc Rich, a businessman who has been in exile in Switzerland since being accused of rigging oil prices and avoiding taxes?"
2/21-22 2/7-8
% %
Yes, have heard or read about 88 72
No, have not 12 26
Not sure - 2

.
Asked of those who have heard or read about Rich's pardon (N=792):
"In the case of the pardon granted to Marc Rich, do you think this represents justice done or justice denied?"
2/21-22 2/7-8
% %
Justice done 9 8
Justice denied 71 75
Not sure 20 17

.
Asked of those who have heard or read about Rich's pardon (N=792):
"Which of the following do you think is more likely to be the reason former President Clinton pardoned Marc Rich: the facts supported a pardon, or Clinton received contributions and favors from Rich’s friends and family?"
2/21-22 2/7-8
% %
The facts 13 9
Contributions and favors 65 68
Not sure 22 23

 

The Gallup Poll. Latest: Feb. 19-21, 2001. N=1,016 adults nationwide. MoE ± 3 (total sample).

.
"Thinking about Clinton's actions in his last week in office, which comes closer to your point of view about the controversy that it has caused: you agree with the people who criticize Clinton for what he did, or you think this is mainly Clinton's enemies trying to get him one more time?"
2/19-21 2/9-11
% %
Agree with critics 54 49
Mainly Clinton's enemies 39 47
No opinion 7 4

.
Split sample (N=483, MoE ± 4):
"Overall, do you approve or disapprove of Bill Clinton's presidential pardon of financier Marc Rich?"
%
Approve 20
Disapprove 62
No opinion 18

.
Split sample (N=533, MoE ± 4):
"Which of the following comes closer to your view of the reason why Bill Clinton pardoned financier Marc Rich: Clinton did it because he generally felt it was in the best interest of justice, OR, Clinton did it in return for financial contributions to his presidential library, the Democratic Party, and to Hillary Clinton's Senate campaign?"
%
Best interest of justice 22
For financial contributions 58
Both/Neither (vol.) 7
No opinion 13

.
"Currently, congressional committees are holding hearings into Bill Clinton's pardon of financier Marc Rich. Do you approve or disapprove of these hearings?"
%
Approve 50
Disapprove 41
No opinion 9

.
"All in all, would you say the media have been fair or unfair in the way they have handled news about former-President Clinton since he left office?"
%
Fair 59
Unfair 34
No opinion 7

 

Fox News/Opinion Dynamics Poll. Feb. 7-8, 2001. N=901 registered voters nationwide. MoE ± 3 (total sample).

.
"Do you think that some of the pardons former President Clinton issued on his last day in office were an abuse of the presidential pardon power or were they fairly typical of presidential pardons?"
%
Abuse of power 55
Fairly typical 32
Not sure 13

.
"Have you heard or read about former President Clinton granting a presidential pardon to Marc Rich, a businessman who has been in exile in Switzerland since being accused of rigging oil prices and avoiding taxes?"
%
Yes, have heard or read about 72
No, have not 26
Not sure 2

.
Asked of those who have heard or read about Rich's pardon (N=649):
"Which pardon do you think was more justified: Gerald Ford’s pardon of Richard Nixon or Bill Clinton’s pardon of Marc Rich?"
%
Ford's pardon of Nixon 64
Clinton's pardon of Rich 9
Not sure 27

 

Impeachment Aftermath

Fox News/Opinion Dynamics Poll. Jan. 24-25, 2001. N=902 registered voters nationwide. MoE +/- 3.

.
"Last week, the independent counsel agreed not to prosecute Bill Clinton in exchange for Clinton’s admission that he gave false testimony about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky. In a statement about the agreement, Clinton said, quote: 'I tried to walk a fine line between acting lawfully and testifying falsely, but I now recognize that I did not fully accomplish this goal and that certain of my responses to questions about Ms. Lewinsky were false.' In his statement, do you think Clinton admits to lying under oath?"
ALL Demo-
crats		 Repub-
licans		 Indepen-
dents
% % % %
Yes, admits lying 67 60 71 70
No, does not admit 23 26 23 20
Not sure 10 14 6 10

 

Fox News/Opinion Dynamics Poll. Aug. 23-24, 2000. N=900 registered voters nationwide. MoE +/- 3.

.
"Independent Counsel Robert Ray has convened a new grand jury to determine if President Clinton should be charged with a crime in connection with the Monica Lewinsky scandal.  Should the Independent Counsel bring charges in court against President Clinton after he leaves office?"
%
Yes 34
No 59
Not sure 7

.
"Do you think President Clinton should be pardoned if the special prosecutor tries to put him on trial after he leaves office?"
%
Yes 39
No 50
Not sure 11

 

ABC News/Washington Post Poll. Aug. 18-20, 2000. N=896 registered voters nationwide. MoE +/- 3.5.

.
"As you may know, a federal judge ruled last year that Clinton gave intentionally false testimony about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky. Do you think Clinton should or should not be charged with a crime and put on trial for this, after he leaves office?"
%
Should be 46
Should not be 51
No opinion 3

.
"As you may know, it was reported Thursday that a grand jury is considering whether Clinton should be charged with a crime after he leaves office. Do you think this is part of an impartial investigation, or do you think it's part of a political effort to hurt Al Gore's chances in the upcoming election?"
%
Impartial investigation 45
Political effort 47
No opinion 8

 

CBS News Poll. Aug. 18-20, 2000. N=1,111 adults nationwide.

.
"As you may know, the Independent Counsel investigating President Clinton has convened a grand jury to consider evidence on whether President Clinton should be indicted on criminal charges arising from the Lewinsky investigation. Do you approve or disapprove of convening a new grand jury?"
%
Approve 31
Disapprove 63
Don't know 6

.
"Do you think federal prosecutors should charge and prosecute Bill Clinton for perjury and obstruction of justice after he leaves office, or not?"
%
Should 38
Should not 56
Depends (vol.) 1
Don't know 5

.
"As you may remember, President Clinton was impeached by the House of Representatives and tried by the Senate for his actions during the Lewinsky scandal. Do you agree or disagree that being impeached was punishment enough and the matter should now be dropped?"
%
Agree 64
Disagree 31
Don't know 6

 

ABC News.com Poll. May 10-14, 2000. N=1,006 adults nationwide. MoE +/- 3. Field work by ICR.

.
"As a result of his actions in the Monica Lewinsky investigation, do you think Bill Clinton should lose his license to practice law, or should he keep his license to practice law?"
%
Lose license 38
Keep license 58
No opinion 4

 

NBC News/Wall Street Journal Poll conducted by the polling organizations of Peter Hart (D) and Robert Teeter (R). April 29-May 1, 2000. N=500 registered voters nationwide.

.

"Do you think that criminal charges should or should not be brought against President Clinton after he leaves office for his testimony in the Paula Jones lawsuit relating to Monica Lewinsky?"
%
Should be 37
Should not be 58
Not sure 5

.

"If Al Gore is elected president, do you think that he should or should not pardon Bill Clinton if Clinton faced criminal charges related to the Whitewater or Monica Lewinsky cases after he leaves office?"
%
Should 37
Should not 53
Not sure 10

 

Fox News/Opinion Dynamics Poll. July 28-29, 1999. N=905 registered voters nationwide. MoE +/- 3.

.
"It’s been about a year since Monica Lewinsky and President Clinton testified about their relationship. Do you think the country has forgiven the President and forgotten the scandal, forgiven the President but not forgotten the scandal, or neither forgiven the President nor forgotten the scandal?"
%
Forgiven and forgotten 18
Forgiven but not forgotten 37
Neither forgiven nor forgotten 35
Not sure 10

.
"Do you think the country has fully recovered from the Lewinsky scandal?"
%
Yes 52
No 41
Not sure 7

.
"Who do you think was the most to blame for the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal: [rotate] Bill Clinton, Monica Lewinsky, or Ken Starr?"
7/99 9/98
% %
Bill Clinton 49 54
Ken Starr 26 17
Monica Lewinsky 13 19
Not sure 12 10

.
"Do you think Bill Clinton has learned his lesson and won't lie to the country again, or do you think, if it were in his interest, he would lie to the country?"
7/99 10/98
% %
Won't lie again 20 31
Would lie 72 60
Both/Neither (vol.) 1 2
Not sure 7 7

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