Almost 40 percent of Americans support criminal investigations into the Bush Administration’s use of harsh interrogations and warrantless wiretapping program, even after President George W. Bush left office, a USA Today/Gallup poll found Thursday. Forty-one percent favor a criminal investigation into the Bush Administration’s use of the Justice Department for political purposes; 38 percent favor an investigation for the Administration’s warrantless wiretapping and 38 percent favor a criminal probe for the possible use of torture in terrorism investigations. Close to two-thirds of respondents also said they’d like to see formal investigations of Bush policies, even if not criminal probes. These results are based on a Jan. 30-Feb. 1 USA Today/Gallup poll. Strikingly, Gallup and USA Today presented the polls in entirely different lights. USA Today headlined their article, ‘Poll: Most want inquiry into anti-terror tactics,’ while Gallup bannered theirs, ‘No Mandate for Criminal Probes of Bush Administration.’ Bush, meanwhile, claimed a mandate for his agenda in 2000 with just 48 percent of the popular vote. One third of respondents said they wanted nothing to be done. Another third favored an independent panel, with 25 percent favoring neither. House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers, […]