Majority favors new impeachment evidence be allowed in Senate trial: poll

A majority of Americans support the Senate allowing new evidence in the upcoming impeachment trial for President Trump, according to a new poll.

In a Monmouth University survey released Tuesday, 57 percent of Americans said that new information such as witness testimony should be considered by members of the Senate before they vote whether to remove Trump from office. Thirty-seven percent of respondents said the Senate should consider only what testimony the House previously gathered before voting to impeach.

Respondents were nearly evenly split on whether Trump should be removed from office, with 49 percent of those surveyed saying they think he should, while 48 percent said otherwise. That divide was consistent with a previous Monmouth poll in December, which showed 45 percent in favor of removal and 44 percent against it.

A wide majority, about 75 percent, say that Trump and his officials who wish to testify should be allowed by senators to do so, while 51 percent say that those who refused to testify to the House should be compelled to do so before the Senate.

Whether officials should be compelled to testify is split heavily along party lines with 83 percent of Democrats and 21 percent of Republicans saying officials in the Trump administration should be compelled to comply with the impeachment inquiry, while 48 percent of independents agreed.

The Monmouth survey was conducted between Jan. 16-20 and surveyed 903 U.S. adults. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.3 percentage points.