54% of Minnesotans Say Clinton Not Telling Truth About Her Emails

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A poll by the Minneapolis Star Tribune shows that 54 percent of Minnesotans do not believe Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has been honest with the American people about the extent of her use of her private email while she served as Secretary of State.

This poll was taken between October 20-22, after the third presidential debate and before today’s news that the FBI informed Congress that it is investigating whether there is classified information in new emails that have emerged in its investigation of the Democratic presidential nominee’s private server.

The poll indicated that in Hennepin and Ramsey counties, 49 percent of voters say that Mrs. Clinton has not been truthful while 41 percent say that she has been telling the truth. Voters in greater Minnesota and the Twin Cities outer suburbs have less confidence in Clinton’s honesty.

Clinton faces voter concerns about the State Department emails found on her private server along with recent revelations about her paid speeches and private campaign emails that were released by Wikileaks less than two week before the election.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has been saying that Clinton should serve jail time for using her email for personal use during her tenure as Secretary of State. 60 percent of those in the Star Trib poll said Trump’s comments about sending Clinton to jail are inappropriate while 33 percent agreed with Trump.

Among people earning $50K+, 62 percent of those polled said that Clinton is not being honest when it comes to her emails.  25 percent of those in this group say that she has been upfront with her disclosures.

Among those earning less than $50K, only 48 percent said they think Clinton is being honest while 38 percent believe she is not.

Between the genders, 41 percent of men said that Trump’s comments about jailing Clinton were appropriate, but only 26 percent of women felt the same way.

Clinton sent and received thousands of emails during her time as secretary of state. Hundreds of these emails were classified.  Earlier this year, FBI Director James Comey had recommended that no criminal charges be filed against Clinton, but he did say that her use of private email accounts was extremely careless.  But today, Comey said that new emails prompted investigators to take another look.  In a letter written to Congress, Comey said, “In connection with an unrelated case, the FBI has learned of the existence of emails that appear to be pertinent to the investigation.  I agreed that the FBI should take appropriate investigative steps designed to allow investigators to review these emails to determine whether they contain classified information as well as to assess their importance to our investigation.”

Minnesota DFL Party Chair Ken Martin told the Star Tribune the poll results are a reflection of an overwhelmingly negative and bruising campaign causing voters to sour on both candidates.

“This campaign has been very negative all around and I think there has been a huge focus on each on what’s wrong with the other candidates and not enough on what a candidate stands for and the vision,” Martin said to the Star Tribune.

Minnesota State Director for the Trump Campaign, Andy Post told the Star Tribune that he wasn’t surprised that most voters don’t trust Clinton and are troubled by her paid speeches.

“Every day, we see another example of how the Clintons used their offices for personal profit,” Post said.

Clinton’s lucrative speeches she made in the time between her service as Secretary of State and her presidential campaign has elicited sharp criticism from Republicans and even leaders of her own party.  According to the poll, 45 percent of DFLers claim the recent revelations of Clinton’s speeches “somewhat damaging” while  71 percent of Republicans feel that the news is damaging.

 

Donna Azarian