Story highlights Views on the meeting are sharply divided by party

Concern for contacts between Trump's campaign and suspected Russian operatives is down

(CNN) Almost 6 in 10 Americans say President Donald Trump's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and then-campaign chairman Paul Manafort should not have taken a meeting last summer with a Russian lawyer who they thought would be providing negative information about Hillary Clinton, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS.

The public is split along party lines on this question, however, with Democrats overwhelmingly saying the group shouldn't have taken the meeting (83% say so), which took place at Trump Tower in New York City in June 2016, while Republicans, though less unified, tilt the opposite way (48% say they should have taken the meeting, 36% that they should not have done so). Independents lean against the move by more than 2-to-1, with 55% saying the group shouldn't have taken the meeting and 22% saying they should have.

Interviewing for the survey began July 14, a few days after Trump Jr. tweeted images of an email chain showing him setting up the meeting with a "Russian government attorney" who he was told could "provide the Trump campaign with some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary (Clinton) and her dealings with Russia." As the survey was being conducted, news reports about other meeting participants who had ties to Trump and his family emerged.

Views on whether these members of Trump's family and campaign ought to have met with the Russian lawyer vary based on how concerned Americans are about Trump campaign contacts with Russians overall. Those who say they are concerned about those contacts broadly say the group shouldn't have taken the meeting (81%), but those who are less concerned split about evenly (39% in that group say they should have taken the meeting, 36% say they should not have, and almost a quarter say they are unsure).

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