The vast majority of Americans believe that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has become a partisan weapon of the Washington D.C. establishment, a new poll has revealed.
A staggering two-thirds of U.S. voters say the FBI has been “weaponized, starting from the top in Washington,” according to the poll by Rasmussen Reports.
In a press release, Rasmussen said: “Former FBI Special Agent Nicole Parker testified to a House subcommittee last month that the FBI has become ‘politically weaponized, starting from the top in Washington.’
“Sixty-four percent of voters agree with that statement, including 44% who Strongly Agree that the FBI has been ‘politically weaponized.’
“Thirty percent disagree, including 17% who Strongly Disagree.”
POLITICAL TOOL?
Nearly 2/3 of voters say the @FBI is "politically weaponized."And about 10% of America is HAPPY ABOUT IT!
See all of our videos here:https://t.co/vyfzCyW7qm pic.twitter.com/Gr4Nz59qnl
— Rasmussen Reports (@Rasmussen_Poll) March 10, 2023
Of those polled, half said they have a favorable impression of the FBI.
Meanwhile, “45 percent now view the FBI unfavorably, including 24% who have a ‘very unfavorable’ impression of the bureau.”
The findings are similar to what Rasmussen reported last October.
Nevertheless, Rasmussen’s head pollster Mark Mitchell said the poll’s results are “down incredibly” from 2020.
In the 2020 poll, 60 percent of “likely voters” polled said they viewed the FBI favorably.
The poll also asked about the support of FBI Director Christopher Wray, a Republican appointee.
It found that strong supporters of Democrat President Joe Biden were the most likely to strongly back Wray.
Rasmussen tweeted: “Who rates @fbi Director Christopher Wray best?
“Voters who strongly approve of @JoeBiden.
“They are 4 times more likely to say Wray is better than his predecessors, than worse.”
Who rates @fbi Director Christopher Wray best?
Voters who strongly approve of @JoeBiden
They are 4 times more likely to say Wray is better than his predecessors, than worse. https://t.co/JluUpCXbFV
— Rasmussen Reports (@Rasmussen_Poll) March 10, 2023
Rasmussen tweeted: “18-39 year-olds think Chris Wray is pretty great. Older voters don’t.”
The results for whether Wray is Better/Worse than his predecessors are as follows:
- All – 20%/32%
- 18-39 – 44%/18%
- 40-64 – 10%/37%
- 65+ – 9%/39%”
In a previous Rasmussen poll in December, a majority of those surveyed agreed with the statement: “There is a group of politicized thugs at the top of the FBI who are using the FBI … as Joe Biden’s personal Gestapo.”
The survey reflects rising doubts, especially among conservatives and Trump supporters, about the agency’s professed neutrality.
These doubts were especially amplified following the FBI’s raid on President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in Florida.
There has also been continued outrage over the collusion between the FBI and Big Tech to censor reports on Hunter Biden’s “Laptop from Hell” and smear the story as “Russian disinformation”
Meanwhile, questions are mounting over whether the Bureau planted agents in the Jan. 6 protesters and actually helped instigate the melee.
In an exchange that went viral, Wray was grilled by Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), the chair of the House Republican Conference.
Wray testified before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
Stefanik even asked “if Wray was aware the FBI was in possession of Hunter Biden’s laptop since December 2019,” Fox News reported.
The poll of 950 likely voters between March 6 and March 8 has a margin of error of +/- 3 percent, according to Rasmussen.
