The majority of respondents surveyed in a new INSIDER poll don't know what it means when an official is impeached. Roughly 30% of respondents correctly defined the term or its implications, saying impeachment means an official is essentially indicted by the House of Representatives, triggering a trial in the Senate. Nine percent said the outcome of impeachment is nonbinding and that the final outcome is up to the Senate. Five percent of respondents said impeachment means the House formally censures an official; 13% said it means an official is formally censured and removed from office; 7% said that criminal proceedings against a person begin once they are impeached; 28% said they didn't know, and 6% said none of the options define impeachment correctly. Fifty-four percent of respondents said they either generally or thoroughly understand how impeachment works, even though overall only 30% correctly defined the term. Indeed, specifically looking at that group of respondents who were most assured of their impeachment-process prowess — those who said they generally or thoroughly understood impeachment — 60% in fact did not know and got it wrong. The survey of American adults, conducted from June 8 to 9 through Surveymonkey Audience, comes as the Democrat-led House of Representatives grapples with whether to launch impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump following the release of the former special counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russia's interference in the 2016 election. As part of his investigation, Mueller examined whether members of the Trump campaign conspired with the Russian government to tilt the race in his favor, and whether Trump sought to obstruct justice after then FBI director James Comey publicly confirmed the investigation's existence in March 2017. Mueller did not find sufficient evidence to bring a criminal conspiracy charge against Trump or anyone associated with his campaign. On obstruction, the former special counsel declined to make a "traditional prosecutorial judgment," citing Justice Department guidelines that say a sitting president cannot be indicted. But prosecutors laid out an extensive roadmap of evidence against Trump and emphasized that their report did not exonerate him, adding that if they had confidence that the president did not commit a crime, they would have said so. Mueller's team also said he didn't believe he was authorized to charge Trump because the constitutional remedy for formally accusing a sitting president of wrongdoing lies with Congress, referring to impeachment proceedings. He added, moreover, that a president is not shielded from criminal prosecution once he leaves office. The report prompted significant infighting among Democrats, with more progressive lawmakers calling for impeachment proceedings, while senior leaders like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi say they want to investigate Trump fully and drum up public support for the move before considering impeachment. Pel
Most Americans say they understand what impeachment is, but fewer than a third can actually define i
The majority of respondents surveyed in a new INSIDER poll don't know what it means when an official is impeached. Roughly 30% of respondents correctly defined the term or its implications, saying impeachment means an official is essentially indicted by the House of Representatives, triggering a trial in the Senate. Nine percent said the outcome of impeachment is nonbinding and that the final outcome is up to the Senate. Five percent of respondents said impeachment means the House formally censures an official; 13% said it means an official is formally censured and removed from office; 7% said that criminal proceedings against a person begin once they are impeached; 28% said they didn't know, and 6% said none of the options define impeachment correctly. Fifty-four percent of respondents said they either generally or thoroughly understand how impeachment works, even though overall only 30% correctly defined the term. Indeed, specifically looking at that group of respondents who were most assured of their impeachment-process prowess — those who said they generally or thoroughly understood impeachment — 60% in fact did not know and got it wrong. The survey of American adults, conducted from June 8 to 9 through Surveymonkey Audience, comes as the Democrat-led House of Representatives grapples with whether to launch impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump following the release of the former special counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russia's interference in the 2016 election. As part of his investigation, Mueller examined whether members of the Trump campaign conspired with the Russian government to tilt the race in his favor, and whether Trump sought to obstruct justice after then FBI director James Comey publicly confirmed the investigation's existence in March 2017. Mueller did not find sufficient evidence to bring a criminal conspiracy charge against Trump or anyone associated with his campaign. On obstruction, the former special counsel declined to make a "traditional prosecutorial judgment," citing Justice Department guidelines that say a sitting president cannot be indicted. But prosecutors laid out an extensive roadmap of evidence against Trump and emphasized that their report did not exonerate him, adding that if they had confidence that the president did not commit a crime, they would have said so. Mueller's team also said he didn't believe he was authorized to charge Trump because the constitutional remedy for formally accusing a sitting president of wrongdoing lies with Congress, referring to impeachment proceedings. He added, moreover, that a president is not shielded from criminal prosecution once he leaves office. The report prompted significant infighting among Democrats, with more progressive lawmakers calling for impeachment proceedings, while senior leaders like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi say they want to investigate Trump fully and drum up public support for the move before considering impeachment. Pel
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