So far, the smear isn't working

The public by a broad 69-25 percent supports Mueller’s initial thrust, to investigate possible collusion between Trump campaign officials and Russian government attempts to influence the 2016 election. Support extends to half of conservatives and more than four in 10 Republicans.

Backing for Mueller’s work goes further: Americans by 2-1, 64-32 percent, also support his investigating Trump’s business activities. And by 58-35 percent, a 23-point margin, they support investigators’ latest apparent direction, looking at allegations that Trump’s associates paid hush money to women who say they had affairs with him.

Notably, women are a non-significant 5 points more apt than men to support the Russia investigation and 8 points more apt than men to support Mueller looking into Trump’s business dealings -- but 15 points more likely than men to support the hush-money investigation. Sixty-five percent of women support it, vs. 50 percent of men.

There’s a similar gap on the perceived importance of whether or not Trump has engaged in a pattern of sexual misconduct. The public overall divides, 51-46 percent, on whether this is or is not an important issue. Fifty-eight percent of women say it’s important, vs. 44 percent of men in this poll, produced for ABC News by Langer Research Associates.

Partisanship informs many of these views. Ninety percent of Democrats and 70 percent of independents support Mueller investigating possible campaign collusion with Russia, vs. 43 percent of Republicans. (That’s still a substantial number within the president’s own party, notable especially given the Republican National Committee’s criticisms of Comey, including a website titled “Lyin’ Comey.”) Forty-two percent of Trump’s own approvers also support the Russia investigation by Mueller.

Similarly, support for the Russia investigation ranges from 89 percent of liberals, 73 percent of moderates and 58 percent of “somewhat” conservatives to just 39 percent among Americans who call themselves “very” conservative (14 percent of all adults). [You have to love these people ...]

Compared to support for the Russia investigation, support for Mueller investigating Trump’s business dealings drops by 9 points among Republicans and 11 points among strong conservatives, while holding steadier in other groups. In the same comparison, support for investigating alleged hush money payments drops by 9 to 14 points across political and ideological spectrums, while maintaining majority backing overall. Support for investigating alleged hush money falls in particular among Trump approvers, by 18 points.