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Sizable minorities of Americans think that President Trumps campaign colluded with the Russians to help him win the 2016 election and that President Barack Obama spied on the Trump campaign, according to a new Washington-Post ABC News poll.

Views of both claims being investigated by Congress are colored dramatically by party affiliation and how one voted in the election between Trump and Hillary Clinton, the poll found, with Democrats far more likely to see collusion and Republicans to see spying.

Half of the public, meanwhile, says they are not confident that Congress will conduct a fair investigation into Russias role in last years election, with significant doubts crossing party lines.

Questions about Russias meddling in the election have dogged Trump since he took office in January and last month FBI Director James B. Comey told Congress his agency is conducting an investigation into possible coordination between the Kremlin and the Trump campaign.

Trump sparked a new controversy in March with accusations on Twitter that Obama had wiretapped his phones in Trump Tower in New York. Intelligence and law enforcement officials have said there is no evidence to support Trumps claim.

[Read: Full poll results]

The poll underscores the extent to which a partisan lens can affect the way Americans view the same set of facts.

Overall, nearly 4 in 10 Americans think some members of Trumps campaign helped the Russian government influence the election.

The partisan divide on the question is stark: About 6 in 10 Democrats say Russia tried to sway the election with the help of the Trump campaign, while only about 1 in 10 Republicans say that is the case.

Meanwhile, about one-third of Americans think the Obama administration intentionally spied on Trump and members of his campaign during the 2016 election.

There is a sharp partisan divide here, too: Just over half of Republicans believe there was improper surveillance, while only about 1 in 10 Democrats say that was the case.

The differences in views on both issues are even more dramatic between Americans who voted for Clinton and those who voted for Trump. Clinton voters are 68 percentage points more likely than Trump voters to say the president colluded with Russians, while Trump voters are 54 points more likely than Clinton voters to say Obama spied.

Gary Phillips, 65, a Trump supporter who lives in Conneaut, Ohio, is among those who say Obama spied on the Trump campaign.

I wouldnt put it past the Obama bunch, said Phillips, a retiree who previously managed a private lake in his state, when asked why he believes the claim.

Phillips also expressed a general disdain for Obama and said he has often been untruthful.

I wouldnt believe him if he said today was sunny or today was cloudy, Phillips said.

Meanwhile, Sam Hassan, 27, a stay-at-home mom and registered Democrat in Dracut, Mass., is convinced Trump colluded with the Russians in last years election.

I find it very ironic that he asked them to do some sort of hacking into Hillary Clintons email and then WikiLeaks leaks out all sorts of her email, Hassan said.

She was referring to a July news conference at which Trump urged Russia to help find 30,000 emails he said were missing from a private server that Clinton used as secretary of state. WikiLeaks is the organization that published thousands of hacked emails of John Podesta, Clintons campaign chairman, that were kept on a different server.

Hassan said she has no confidence in the Republican-led probes in the House and the Senate to get to the bottom of alleged meddling in the U.S. election by the Russian government.

Its Trumps people who are working on the investigation, she said. Its clear nothing is going to be found.

Both the House and Senate investigations have drawn criticism in recent weeks.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) recused himself from the Russian probe following criticism that he was too friendly with a White House he was tasked with probing. Those accusations followed a Nunes briefing of Trump at the White House on documents Nunes had not shared with others on the committee, including its ranking Democrat.

The Senate Intelligence Committee has more recently drawn flak for the pace at which it is proceeding.

The Senate Judiciary Committee announced Tuesday it would hold a public hearing next month on Russian interference that will include as witnesses Sally Yates, the former acting attorney general, and James R. Clapper Jr., the former director of national intelligence.

The Post-ABC poll found 42 percent saying they are confident Congress will conduct a fair investigation while 50 percent are not. Four in 10 Republicans say they doubt the investigations fairness, rising to 51 percent among Democrats and 58 percent among political independents.

While no conclusive evidence has emerged that Trump colluded with the Russians, the FBI and U.S. intelligence agencies have stated emphatically that Russia sought to undermine the 2016 election and sway it in Trumps favor a finding most leading Republicans in Congress have accepted. Several have called for additional sanctions on Russia in retaliation.

A 56 percent majority of Americans believe the Russian government tried to influence the U.S. election, while 35 percent say it did not and 9 percent have no opinion.

More than 7 in 10 Democrats said they think there was meddling, while just over 3 in 10 Republicans said there was and 6 in 10 independents believe Russia interfered.

Among Trump voters, 28 percent say Russia attempted to influence the fall election compared with 83 percent of Clinton voters who say the same.

Among those with postgraduate degrees, 7 in 10 said Russia tried to interfere with the election, while just over half of those with a high school education or less said that was the case.

The poll also found that those who think Russia tried to influence the election are less confident in the ability of Congress to fairly investigate. Sixty-two percent of those who think Russia interfered are not confident Congress will investigate fairly. That compares to 50 percent of Americans overall.

The Post-ABC poll was conducted April 17-20 among a random national sample of 1,004 adults interviewed on cellular and landline phones. Overall results have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

Polling manager Scott Clement contributed to this report.

Read more:

Trump campaigns Russia ties: Whos involved

More:
Partisans embrace damning accusations about Trump helping Russians, Obama spying on Trump - Washington Post

And it became clear that there was a stark difference in the intimacy of Trumps photos compared with those from President Barack Obamas first 100 days, likely because of the wealth of images captured and shared by White House photographer Pete Souza. (You can revisit them all thanks to the archive on theObama White House Flickr.)

Souza captured many iconic images during Obamas first 100 days, ranging from private Super Bowl screenings with 3D glasses to quiet moments with first lady Michelle Obama.

Check out photos from Obamas first 100 days below. You might just see one of your favorites.

Pete Souza/The White House

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama share a private moment in a freight elevator at an inaugural ball in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20, 2009.

Pete Souza/The White House

Obama rides the elevator to the private residence of the White House after attending 10 inaugural balls and being sworn in as president on Jan. 20, 2009.

Pete Souza/The White House

Obama sits in the Oval Office on his first day in office, Jan. 21, 2009.

Pete Souza/The White House

Obama and Vice President Joe Biden laugh together in the Oval Office on Jan. 22, 2009.

Pete Souza/The White House

Obama watches Press Secretary Robert Gibbs' first press briefing on television, in his private study off the Oval Office on Jan. 22, 2009.

Pete Souza/The White House

Obama is briefed beforemaking phone calls to foreign leaders in the Oval Office on Jan. 26, 2009.

Pete Souza/The White House

Obama greets kitchen staff beforea lunch at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 27, 2009.

Pete Souza/The White House

Obama wipes his face with a cloth handed to him by White House butler Von Everett in the Blue Room of the White House following an event with business leaders in the East Room on Jan. 28, 2009.

Pete Souza/The White House

Obama and the first ladywear 3D glasses while watching a TV commercial during Super Bowl XLIII, Arizona Cardinals vs. Pittsburgh Steelers, in the family theater of the White House on Feb. 1, 2009. Guests included family, friends, Cabinet members, staff members and bipartisan members of Congress.

Pete Souza/The White House

Obama and Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas move a couch in the Oval Office on Feb. 2, 2009. Douglas met with the president about the economic recovery plan.

Pete Souza/The White House

Obama wears a Air Force Onejacket on his first flight aboard the planefrom Andrews Air Force Base to Newport News, Virginia, on Feb. 5. 2009.

Pete Souza/The White House

Obama looks at a portrait of President James Madison while waiting in the Blue Room of the White House beforehis press conference in the East Room on Feb. 9, 2009.

Pete Souza/The White House

Obama meets with senior advisors in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on Feb. 16, 2009.

Pete Souza/The White House

Obama takes aim with a photographer's camera backstage before deliveringremarks about providing mortgage payment relief for responsible homeowners at Dobson High School in Mesa, Arizona, on Feb. 18, 2009.

Pete Souza/The White House

Obama and the first ladydance while the band Earth, Wind and Fire performs at the Governors Ball in the East Room of the White House on Feb. 22, 2009.

Pete Souza/The White House

Obama waves to members of Congress beforeaddressing the joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol on Feb. 24, 2009.

Pete Souza/The White House

Obama plays with a football in the Outer Oval Office on March 4, 2009.

Pete Souza/The White House

The presidentand the first lady walk to Marine One on the South Lawn before heading to Camp David on March 7, 2009.

Pete Souza/The White House

Obama examines the Resolute Desk on March 3, 2009, while visiting with Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg in the Oval Office. In a famous photograph, her brother John F. Kennedy Jr., peeked through the FDR panel, while his father worked.

Pete Souza/The White House

Obama runs down the East Colonnade with family dog Bo on the dog's initial visit to the White House on March 15, 2009.

Pete Souza/The White House

Obama practices his golf swing at an outdoor hold prior to an event at the Miguel Contreras Learning Center in Los Angeles on March 19, 2009.

Pete Souza/The White House

Obama walks to a podium in the Cross Hall, Grand Foyer of the White House, before making a statement regarding the American auto industry, on March 30, 2009.

Pete Souza/The White House

Obama confers with U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner during the G-20 Summit on April 2, 2009, at the ExCel Centre in London.

Pete Souza/The White House

Obama lifts up a baby on April 4, 2009, during the U.S. Embassy greeting at a Prague hotel.

Pete Souza/The White House

Obama receives a fist-bump from a U.S. soldier as he greets hundreds of U.S. troops during his visit to Camp Victory, Iraq, on April 7, 2009.

Pete Souza/The White House

Obama makes his way down the stairs of Air Force One on April 8, 2009, upon his arrival to Andrews Air Force Base returning from Baghdad, Iraq.

Pete Souza/The White House

Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speak together sitting at a picnic table on April 9, 2009, on the South Lawn of the White House.

Pete Souza/The White House

Obama cheers on a young child as she rolls her egg toward the finish line April 13, 2009, during the White House Easter Egg Roll.

Pete Souza/The White House

Obama and Biden walk back to the Oval Office after putting on the White House putting green on April 24, 2009.

Excerpt from:
It's Hard To Forget The Best Photos From Obama's First 100 Days - Huffington Post

Voxs Ezra Klein says Elizabeth Warren is one of the Democrats most capable of defining the Democratic Partys soul and message in a post-Trump era. But, as she wrote in her new book The Fight is Our Fight, that doesnt mean shes always on the same page as the partys top dog.

She mentioned a speech President Obama gave in the summer of 2016 in which he said, the system isnt as rigged as you think.

Warren said he got it wrong. No, President Obama, the system is as rigged as we think, she said. In fact, its worse than most Americans realize.

Klein, in an interview posted on Wednesday, asked her what people miss about rigging. The senior senator from Massachusetts and founder of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, of course, had plenty to say on the topic.

She explained that there are the obvious ways that we are well aware of, like the campaign contributions and the armies of lobbyists.

But its so much more, she said.

Its bought-and-paid-for experts who testify before Congress and are quoted in the press, Warren continued. Its think tanks that are funded by shadowy money and always have a particular point of view that just seems to help the rich and the powerful get richer and more powerful.

She wrote of the revolving door of executives who work on Wall Street for 20 years, then work in the Treasury for a bit, and then head right back to Wall Street.

The giant payouts that they give to people to go work in government are just stunning. I mean, millions of dollars, Warren said.

She wasnt finished. Not by a long shot.

Money pervades. Its whose phone calls do you take. Its who you see in the evenings. Its who are your old friends, Warren told Klein. Its every part of it, so that the rich and the powerful are incredibly well-represented, not just at the top in the White House but all the way through government in this town.

You can listen to the full interview on Ezra Kleins podcast.

Continue reading here:
Elizabeth Warren says Obama got it wrong: It's worse than Americans realize - MarketWatch

Former US president Obama wade[d] into the French election fight on Thursday with a highly publicized phone call to French presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron.

Obama stopped short of a formal endorsement, but it was made clear to everyone that he supports Macron, a former investment banker.

Macrons main competition at the head of what has become a four-way race includes two right-wing candidates, and the leftist Jean-Luc Mlenchon.

In a reflection of the division within the Democratic Party of the US, a group of people who led Bernie SandersBernie SandersSanders: Trump tax plan makes 'rigged' system 'worse' Planned Parenthood Action Fund launches GOTV effort in Montana special election Obama plants himself on the wrong side of French elections MORE campaign has endorsed Mlenchon and likened his struggle to that of Sanders, including similar spurious charges against both of them.

It is difficult to gauge the effect of Obamas intervention. While he is popular in France, it is worth noting that he intervened against Brexit before the vote, even going to the UK to campaign against it, and it still passed. So it is possible that Obamas endorsement will have the unintended effect of boosting right-wing, xenophobic nationalist candidate Marine Le Pen, who has some similarity to the leaders of the Brexit movement in the UK.

Macron was previously finance minister in the current government of President Franois Hollande, who is deeply unpopular.

Hollande, of the Socialist Party, is disliked partly because of the state of the economy, which has had almost no growth in income per person over the last decade, and 10 percent unemployment. He is also unpopular because of the reforms that the prevailing political interests backed by the IMF and European Union authorities have proposed and implemented, ostensibly to solve Frances economic problems. (I have written more about this here and here.)

These reforms focus on cutting Frances budget deficit, as a well as reducing rigidities in the labor market. These include reducing eligibility for unemployment insurance, means-testing social benefits, and legal changes that reduce the bargaining power of labor unions. Macron himself can claim credit for the Macron law, which made it easier for employers to dismiss workers.

Macron also supports the enormously unpopular cuts to the pension system that have already been made, including raising the retirement age for full benefits from 65 to 67 (and early retirement from 60 to 62).

This was particularly harsh, even as compared to when the US made the same increase in the age for full benefits in our Social Security system in 1983. US workers affected by that reform were given decades of advance notice, while in France it hit workers who were much closer to retirement.

Fortunately for the US, Obama did not follow this kind of program in response to the Great Recession here, when we had 10 percent unemployment. He could have pushed for much more to stimulate a faster recovery and more employment, and he supported some deficit reduction when he shouldnt have, but he clearly did not attempt the kind of counterproductive policies that people like Macron are promoting in France.

In other words, Macron represents a neoliberal program that offers regressive solutions for Frances problems of mass unemployment and economic stagnation. It is also worth noting that Frances annual interest payments on its public debt are just 1.7 percent of GDP, so the public debt problem is being overhyped.

For his part, Mlenchon proposes a progressive economic program that includes additional spending of 275 billion euros (294 billion dollars), or about 2.3 percent of GDP over the next five years.

Like many economists, he is operating under the idea that the problem facing the French economy is inadequate demand, not a rigid labor market or the public debt. Spending priorities include public investment in renewable energy and reducing carbon emissions, antipoverty programs, public housing, and lowering the retirement age.

One of the criticisms that was leveled at Bernie Sanders during his campaign, that is is being reenacted in France, is that he was promising too much and would not get things done. But part of the job of a political leader is to provide a vision of what is feasible and desired by the majority, mobilize people behind it, and fight for it. Then, he or she accepts a compromise that is the best possible deal at the moment, while continuing to fight for their program.

Like Bernie Sanders in the US, Mlenchon is a politician with 30 years experience in the legislative and executive branches of government, and electoral politics. He is not some young anarchist hurling tear gas canisters back at the police. He will know when to compromise for something that moves the ball down the field, and keep pushing for more.

It is sad to see Obama, as ex-president, throwing his weight against progress in France, and also in the US, where he intervened to preserve the status quo in the struggle for leadership of the Democratic Party in February.

Dont get me wrong. Obama was one of the best U.S. presidents in the past century, which unfortunately also says something about how low the bar for that contest is. The bar is especially low if we count, as human, the lives of non-US victims of US foreign policy, which is not often done in the Western mass media.

But Obama promised that as ex-president he would help reverse the Republican control of state governments that has allowed them to win national elections through gerrymandering US congressional districts and further disenfranchising Democratic voters. Without this gerrymandering and voter suppression, it isquestionable whether the Republicans could ever have national power in US. This is a worthy cause, and he could be a great ex-president by working on it, rather than trying to thwart progressive change in France and Europe.

Mark Weisbrot is Co-Director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, DC, and the president of Just Foreign Policy. He is also the author of Failed: What the Experts Got Wrong About the Global Economy (2015, Oxford University Press).

The views expressed by contributors are their own and are not the views of The Hill.

Continued here:
Obama plants himself on the wrong side of French elections - The Hill (blog)

Washington Post

Obama urges next generation to 'knock down barriers' BBC News Former President Barack Obama embraced a warm homecoming at University of Chicago, where he stepped back into the public eye while hosting a youth forum on civic engagement. "What's been going on while I've been gone?" he quipped as he entered ... In Chicago, Obama tells young leaders that 'special interests dominate the debates in Washington'Washington Post Obama Steps Back Into Public Life, Trying to Avoid One Word: TrumpNew York Times Obama re-emerges in public after avoiding political spotlightCNN NBCNews.com -TIME -Chicago Tribune -New York Times all 755 news articles »

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Obama urges next generation to 'knock down barriers' - BBC News