Rasmussen: Majority Wants Independent Prosecutor in Hillary Email Probe

A majority of voters think the Justice Department should name an independent prosecutor to decide if criminal charges ought to be brought against Hillary Clinton for using a private email server while serving as secretary of state, a new poll shows.

A Rasmussen Reports survey released Friday shows 54 percent of likely voters believe the appointment of a special prosecutor is the way to avoid any possible conflict of interest in the case. 

Top GOP lawmakers have already called for Attorney General Loretta Lynch to step aside, skeptical of her neutrality when it comes time to decide on criminal prosecution if an FBI probe finds Clinton broke the law.

The voter breakdown goes like this:

• 76 percent of Republicans and 59 percent of independents believe the Justice Department should hire an independent prosecutor to handle the Clinton issue; only 29 percent of Democrats agree.
• 54 percent of Democrats don't see the need for a special prosecutor, 29 percent think there should be such an appointment and 17 percent aren't sure.
• 76 percent of conservative voters, 49 percent of moderates and 25 percent of liberals think a special prosecutor is needed in the Clinton case.

The margin of error in the survey is plus or minus 3 percentage points.

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