--- title: Poll: Americans Think DOJ Should Have Charged Clinton description: Majority of Americans surveyed in new poll disapprove of the FBI decision not to recommend charges canonical: https://time.com/4400757/hillary-clinton-fbi-james-comey-poll/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-07-11T12:55:39.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T23:09:40.014Z article:section: Politics og:title: Poll: Americans Think DOJ Should Have Charged Clinton og:description: Majority of Americans surveyed in new poll disapprove of the FBI decision not to recommend charges og:url: https://time.com/4400757/hillary-clinton-fbi-james-comey-poll/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3de4ae9b7f328ab7/69889b650a4a227d299ca677/gettyimages-545485028.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: ATLANTIC CITY, NJ - JULY 06: Democratic Presidential candidate og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Poll: Americans Think DOJ Should Have Charged Clinton twitter:description: Majority of Americans surveyed in new poll disapprove of the FBI decision not to recommend charges twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3de4ae9b7f328ab7/69889b650a4a227d299ca677/gettyimages-545485028.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Majority in U.S. Disagree with FBI Decision on Hillary Clinton Emails, Poll Finds by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Jul 11, 2016 12:55 PM UTC  Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks in front the shuttered Trump Plaza casino on the boardwalk of Atlantic City, NJ, on July 06, 2016\. The Washington Post—The Washington Post/Getty Images Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks in front the shuttered Trump Plaza casino on the boardwalk of Atlantic City, NJ, on July 06, 2016\. The Washington Post—The Washington Post/Getty ImagesThe Washington Post—The Washington Post/Getty Images by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Jul 11, 2016 12:55 PM UTC A slim majority of Americans disagree with the FBI’s decision[ not to recommend charges ](http://time.com/4393705/hillary-clinton-emails-fbi-james-comey/?iid=sr-link2)against Hillary Clinton for her [use of a private email server](http://time.com/3739541/transcript-hillary-clinton-email-press-conference/?iid=sr-link1) during her time as Secretary of State, according to a new poll. According to a [ABC News/Washington Post poll](http://www.langerresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/1144a58Clintonemails.pdf), 56% of those surveyed disapprove of the FBI’s recommendation, 35 percent of those surveyed approve. The results come just a week after FBI Director James Comey delivered a detailed explanation of the bureau’s decision not to bring charges. The pollsters surveyed only 519 people, a relatively miniscule sample size. The poll also finds that 57% of Americans are worried about how Clinton would govern if she were elected president in November in the wake of the Justice Department’s decision not to indict her; 39% say the two are not related. Throughout the campaign, polls have found [voters distrustful of Clinton](http://time.com/3904698/hillary-clinton-2016-presidential-race-poll/?iid=sr-link2), though Republicans are more likely to say they don’t trust her than Democrats. And the ABC/WaPo poll also shows political affiliation is a major factor. Republicans and Independents were most likely to say the FBI was wrong and that they are worried about her potential presidency. The groups were also more likely to be among the 28% who said the decision made them less likely to vote for Clinton in the election. For 58%, however, the FBI’s decision will have no impact on their vote. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 5 points. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4400757/hillary-clinton-fbi-james-comey-poll/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4400757/hillary-clinton-fbi-james-comey-poll/"},"headline":"Majority in U.S. Disagree with FBI Decision on Hillary Clinton Emails, Poll Finds","datePublished":"2016-07-11T12:55:39.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T23:09:40.014Z","description":"Majority of Americans surveyed in new poll disapprove of the FBI decision not to recommend charges","url":"https://time.com/4400757/hillary-clinton-fbi-james-comey-poll/","keywords":["Hillary Clinton","FBI","Clinton","Democrats 2016"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3de4ae9b7f328ab7/69889b650a4a227d299ca677/gettyimages-545485028.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Maya Rhodan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3de4ae9b7f328ab7/69889b650a4a227d299ca677/gettyimages-545485028.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"ATLANTIC CITY, NJ - JULY 06: Democratic Presidential candidate","caption":"ATLANTIC CITY, NJ - JULY 06: Democratic Presidential candidate","creditText":"The Washington Post—The Washington Post/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4400757/hillary-clinton-fbi-james-comey-poll/","name":"Majority in U.S. Disagree with FBI Decision on Hillary Clinton Emails, Poll Finds"}}]}] ```