Just 35% of US adults say Trump broke the law in New York hush money case, poll finds

Many U.S. adults are not convinced that former President Trump committed a crime in the hush money case that began jury selection in New York City on Monday, according to a new poll.

Only 35% of U.S. adults say Trump did something illegal in the case that alleges he falsified business documents to cover up hush money payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels, who has said that she and Trump had a sexual encounter, an AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll found.

Trump has pleaded not guilty and denies any extramarital sexual encounter with Daniels.

The poll found that 31% of Americans believe Trump's actions were unethical, but not illegal. Another 14% of respondents said Trump did nothing wrong, while 19% said they did not know enough to be sure. 

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About half of respondents say that they are very or somewhat confident that state prosecutors in New York are treating Trump fairly, while 44% say they have little or no confidence that the prosecutors are unbiased.

If convicted, however, about half of the public says Trump would be unfit for office.

Respondents are more convinced that Trump did something illegal in the other three federal and state criminal cases pending against him.

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Regarding Trump’s alleged election interference in Georgia, 47% of U.S. adults say the former president acted illegally.

Another 47% say Trump committed a crime by keeping classified documents inside his Florida home, while 45% say his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election were illegal.

Despite this feeling, about 40% of Americans overall still have little or no confidence that the state and federal prosecutors are unbiased.

A verdict in the hush money trial is expected in roughly six weeks, well before the Republican National Convention, at which Trump is expected to formally accept the GOP nomination for November's presidential election.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.