A clear majority of Americans believe President Donald Trump has tried to interfere with the investigation into Russia’s alleged election meddling and possible Trump campaign collusion, a new poll shows. Just one in five support his decision to oust James Comey from the FBI.

Following Mr. Comey’s blockbuster appearance before Congress, an Associated Press—NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll shows 68 per cent of Americans are at least moderately concerned about the possibility that Mr. Trump or his campaign associates had inappropriate ties to Russia. Almost half of Americans saying they’re very concerned. Only 3 in 10 say they’re not that concerned.

Americans largely view the issue along partisan lines. Sixty-two percent of Republicans say they’re not very concerned or not at all concerned about any Russia ties. Though just over half of Americans say they disapprove of Mr. Trump’s firing of Mr. Comey, the number grows to 79 per cent among Democrats. Overall, only 22 per cent of Americans support Mr. Comey’s dismissal.

For Sandra Younger, a 50-year-old from San Diego, Mr. Comey’s exit reinforced her suspicion “something fishy” was going on with the president and Russia. She said it was inappropriate to fire Mr. Comey given that he was overseeing the Russia investigation.

“If I had nothing to hide and someone wanted to investigate, I would say, ‘Go ahead, do your thing, I don’t care, because you won’t find anything,’” said Ms. Younger, a Democrat who imports jewelry supplies. She added of Trump- “He seems to be buddy-buddy with these epic creeps.”

But William Shepherd, a maintenance worker from Anderson, Indiana, felt it was the President’s prerogative to choose his FBI director. He said he was untroubled by claims Mr. Trump tried to persuade Mr. Comey to back off the investigation, saying those revelations only emerged after Mr. Comey was fired and wanted to defend himself.

“These headlines don’t really concern me, although they are attention-grabbers,” said Mr. Shepherd, a 40-year-old Republican.

Of the six in 10 Americans who think Mr. Trump tried to obstruct or impede the investigation, most are Democrats and independents. Only a quarter of Republicans feel Mr. Trump meddled in the probe.

The poll began the day before Mr. Comey testified publicly before the Senate intelligence committee and continued through Sunday. Three percent of interviews were conducted before the hearing.

For many Democrats, there’s some irony in coming to Mr. Comey’s defense and embracing his concerns about Mr. Trump. Last year, Democrats aggressively attacked Mr. Comey for his handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation, with many calling for his firing.

Now that Mr. Trump is President and Mr. Comey has emerged as a top Trump antagonist, some former Comey critics see his willingness to go after the leaders of both political parties as proof of his independence.

“I’ve not ever been a particular fan of Mr. Comey’s,” said James Shaw (53), of Olney, Illinois, pointing to the Clinton saga as a key reason. “But he’s an honest broker. I don’t think he’s politically motivated. I don’t think he’s partisan.”

Mr. Trump’s reference to the Russia probe as a reason for firing Mr. Comey bothers Linda Richardson (62), but not enough to second-guess his decision. Ms. Richardson, who said she’s a registered Democrat but has voted Republican for years, said Mr. Trump might have had other reasons, too.

“I guess you feel like you just need to trust your president,” said Richardson, a retiree from Meade County, Kentucky. “He just knows more about it than I do.”

Americans are mixed on whether the Justice Department investigation, now led by Robert Mueller, can be fair and impartial. Twenty-six per cent are very or extremely confident it can be. Thirty-six percent are moderately confident and an equal share of Americans aren’t very confident or are not at all so.

Mr. Mueller, the former FBI director, was put in charge of the investigation after Mr. Trump fired Mr. Comey and public pressure mounted for a special counsel to take over. Mr. Comey later testified that he’d authorised a friend to disclose to the media his notes on conversations with Mr. Trump about the investigation, in hopes that it would lead the Justice Department to name a special counsel.

The poll shows the public relatively unsympathetic to those leaking information about the investigation. Fifty-four percent say they’re doing more harm than good by potentially damaging national security. Forty-two percent think they’re doing more good by giving the public necessary information.

In general, 29 per cent of Americans say they have a great deal of confidence in the people running the FBI. Fifty-two percent have a moderate amount of confidence and 18 per cent have hardly any confidence. Democrats are more likely than Republicans to say they have a great deal of confidence in the FBI, 38 per cent to 24 per cent.

A joint investigation team (JIT), comprising financial experts and representatives of military intelligence agencies, grilled Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for three hours on Thursday in connection with the Panama papers probe into his family’s assets. The JIT, constituted by the Supreme Court, has already questioned the Prime Minister’s two sons. His brother and son-in-law will appear before the panel on June 17 and 24.

Mr. Sharif told reporters after the interrogation that no one had proved any charges on him. In an apparent bid to challenge the military establishment, the Prime Minister said the days of puppet regimes are over.

The investigators are probing allegations that Mr. Sharif’s family bought four expensive flats in London through an offshore company using unaccounted money. Mr. Sharif had told Parliament last year that his late father set up steel mills in the Gulf and the proceeds from selling those mills were used to purchase the flats.

In his defence in the Supreme Court, Mr. Sharif’s counsel presented a letter from a Qatari prince who testified that the flats were purchased by his company which were later sold to the Prime Minister’s son. Last year, Panama papers revealed names of people and families who have hidden money from authorities and purchased assets outside their countries, including Mr. Sharif’s family members.

The JIT has been given two months by the Supreme Court to complete the probe of which 40 days have already passed.

Mr. Sharif’s government has accused some of the JIT members of having sympathies for the opposition parties. The Supreme Court had rejected the objections and asked the JIT to continue its work.

The case was first highlighted in 1996 by a U.K. newspaper, which alleged that Mr. Sharif laundered money to buy the apartments in London’s expensive Park Lane area. A case was registered against him but was shelved when he came back to power in 1997.

“Details of my assets are already available with all relevant institutions, including the Supreme Court. Today, I submitted them to the JIT as well. I have been the Prime Minister for the third time. But not a single allegation of financial corruption could be brought against me. Yet, I have put myself and my family up for trial and provided the details of financial transactions made even before my own birth,” Mr. Sharif said about the case. Opposition leader Imran Khan has criticised Mr. Sharif’s remarks after appearing before the JIT. “Since he (PM) has not anything concrete to say before the JIT, he has chosen to point fingers towards two institutions, army and judiciary by terming the case as a conspiracy,” Mr. Khan said in a statement.

A deal between the United States and Qatar for F-15 fighter jets and a visit by two American warships to Doha are showing the vital military links Washington maintains to the country now at the center of a dispute with Arab nations.

Qatar said it had signed a $12 billion deal for the fighter jets. In November, the U.S. military announced a similar fighter jet deal for $21.1 billion. It’s unclear if they are the same deal.

Meanwhile, Cmdr. Bill Urban of the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet told The Associated Press that the USS Chinook, a coastal patrol ship, and U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Baranof were in Doha for “a routine port visit” on Thursday.

Qatar is home to 10,000 American troops and a major U.S. military base.