Nearly half of Americans believe indictment against Trump is "politically motivated"

The Department of Justice formally charged Donald Trump in connection with classified documents found in his Florida residence. The case was added to the judicial burden that weighs on the back of the former president and has left no one indifferent. As for citizens themselves, a survey found that almost half perceived the accusation as "politically motivated."

The ABC/Ipsos poll was conducted in the days following special counsel Jack Smith's indictment. Jack Smith is also leading the investigation related to the January 6, 2021 incidents. Concerning the 37 charges, 61% of Americans perceive them as serious, an increase of 8 percentage points compared to Alvin Bragg's indictments in April. In the Republicans, that increase was 17 points.

On the other hand, 47% of the 910 respondents believe that the charges brought against Trump are "politically motivated." "These views are primarily driven by Republicans, while Democrats want to see Trump impeached and suspend his campaign. Interestingly, independents are split, with roughly half agreeing with all three sentiments," the pollster indicated.

According to the DOJ, Trump kept high-level material after leaving the White House, improperly shared it with those without authorization, and tried to block any attempt to retrieve the documents. Following the formal accusation, the former president decided to renew his legal team.

Jim Trusty and John Rowley will no longer be part of the team, having been replaced by Todd Blanche and "a firm to be named at a later date." A former partner at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, Blanche previously represented Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort and Igor Fruman, a former partner of Rudy Giuliani. He will join Joe Tacopina and Susan Necheles to, as reported by CNN, "add more legal firepower to Trump's defense."