A majority of Americans think that President Trump has interfered with the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, according to a new poll conducted by the Associated Press and NORC, a research organization at the University of Chicago.

The results show that of those polled, six in 10 think that the president "has tried to obstruct the investigation into whether or not his campaign had ties to Russia" and 68 percent are concerned to some degree that Mr. Trump or his campaign "had inappropriate contact with members of the Russian government."

However, concern varies along party lines. Of those polled who are worried that Mr. Trump has attempted to impede the Russia investigation, the majority identify as Democrats or Independents-- only a quarter of Republicans agree.

The poll, which was released Thursday, comes in light of reports that the special counsel is gathering information on whether Mr. Trump or anyone in his administration tried to end the investigation into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.

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Mueller was appointed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to be special counsel, taking charge of the Russia investigation after Mr. Trump fired former FBI Director James Comey, who had previously been leading the FBI's investigation into the matter.

Polling began the day before Comey's public and closed testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee last week. Only 22 percent of Americans condone Mr. Trump's dismissal of Comey, according to the poll.

Americans are also less confident that the investigation surrounding these issues can be conducted impartially. Thirty-six percent of those polled are "not very or not confident at all" in the Justice Department's abilities to conduct a fair investigation. An additional 36 percent are only "moderately confident."