Half of the American electorate now agree with President Trump about special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia collusion investigation.

The results from a USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll released Monday show 50 percent of registered voters agree with Trump's claim that he is the target of a "witch hunt" and that he has been subject to more investigations than his predecessors due to politics.

Forty-seven percent of respondents disagreed, while 3 percent had no opinion.

The poll was conducted following reports in recent weeks indicating Mueller was winding down after 34 people and three companies have been indicted or taken guilty pleas as part of the investigation, none having to do with Russian collusion. However, the special counsel's office said Friday former Trump campaign official Rick Gates is still helping "several ongoing investigations," indicating the probe still has a ways to go.

The poll also took place after former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort got sentenced to roughly seven and a half years in prison for conspiracy and fraud, far less time than what Mueller's prosecutors recommended.

The newly released phone survey of 1,000 voters was conducted Wednesday through Sunday as Trump tweeted more barbs at Mueller, including one on Friday that asserted Mueller should not have been appointed and there should be no report from the special counsel. "This was an illegal & conflicted investigation in search of a crime," Trump said.

The poll, which has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points, showed a stark partisan divide, with 86 Republicans agreeing Trump is the victim of a "witch hunt." Among Democrats, the number was significantly lower, 14 percent, but among independents 54 percent agreed, while 42 percent did not.

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