Poll: Majority says Russia probe is politically motivated

A majority of Americans say special counsel Robert MuellerRobert Swan MuellerSasse: US should applaud choice of Mueller to lead Russia probe MORE’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election is politically motivated, according to a new CBS News poll.

The poll, which comes nearly a year after Mueller’s investigation began, found that 53 percent of people think there are political motives to the investigation, while 44 percent think the investigation is justified.

Despite the perceived partisan motivations, 76 percent said President TrumpDonald John TrumpMcConnell trolls Blankenship on Twitter: 'Thanks for playing, Don' Pittenger loses GOP primary fight Blankenship concedes GOP Senate primary in W. Va. MORE should still cooperate with the investigation if he’s asked to be interviewed.

That is a drop, however, from January, when 84 percent of respondents said Trump should cooperate with the special counsel.

The drop in agreeing that Trump should cooperate was steepest among Republicans. In January, 73 percent of Republicans backed cooperation with Mueller, but in the latest poll, only 53 percent did so.

Although most Americans think the investigation should continue, the poll found that Republicans say they want their party in Congress to draw the investigation to a close. Most Democrats and independents still want Congress to allow the investigation to continue.

The poll randomly surveyed 1,101 adults via telephone between May 3-6. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.