Most Americans think Biden inappropriately handled classified docs but don't see criminality, poll

Sixty percent of  Americans think President Joe Biden inappropriately handled classified documents from his time as vice president, but  fewer people think he should face criminal charges in the matter, according to a new poll.

While 60% of U.S. adults said Biden acted "inappropriately in the way he handled classified documents after leaving the White House," 22% said he acted appropriately, a Quinnipiac University Poll released Wednesday shows.

The poll of 1,659 U.S. adults had an error margin of 2.4% and was conducted from Jan. 11-15. It was conducted after the White House confirmed on Jan. 9 that a batch of classified documents was found in Biden's former D.C. office at the Penn Biden Center. While the poll was being conducted, two more batches of classified documents were discovered in Biden's primary Delaware home.

The question about Biden's handling of classified documents was added on Jan. 12 and includes responses from 1,380 U.S. adults with a margin of error of 2.6%.

A plurality of respondents, 46%, said Biden should not face criminal charges over the documents while 37% said he should and 17% did not respond. When broken down by political party, Republicans are nearly nine times more likely than Democrats to support criminal charges at 62% to 7%.

When broken down by race, black Americans are the least likely to support criminal charges at 16%, while 38% of white Americans said they think Biden should face criminal charges. Hispanics are the most likely demographic to support criminal charges at 47%.