In the current flurry of administration controversies, the Department of Justice subpoenaing phone records is the story which the most Americans find worrying
Recent weeks have seen three scandals engulf the Obama administration—the ongoing investigations into the attack on the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya, the announcement that the IRS had unfairly targeted conservative groups which were applying for tax-exempt status and the disclosure that the Department of Justice had subpoenaed the phone records of around 20 Associated Press reporters as part of an ongoing investigation into government leaks.
New research from YouGov shows that, of these scandals, Americans are most troubled by the AP story. 60% of Americans said they were bothered by it, as opposed to 58% who were bothered by the IRS scandal and 55% by the continued Benghazi investigations.
These numbers climb higher when looking only at those who had heard of the scandals. 75% of those who had heard of the AP scandal were bothered by it, versus 68% for the IRS scandal and 66% for the Benghazi one.
Republicans were much more bothered by the scandals than Democrats. However, offense over the AP scandal was also the most bi-partisan.
50% of Democrats and 77% of Republicans were bothered by it, while 44% of Democrats and 81% of Republicans were bothered by the IRS scandal and 40% of Democrats and 75% of Republicans for Benghazi.
While the AP scandal might be bothering the most Americans, it is also the one that least people have heard of. Overall, 63% of Americans had heard of it, versus 77% who had heard of the IRS scandal and 70% who had heard about the continued investigations in the Benghazi attacks.
Complete results can be found here.
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