Americans on both sides of the political aisle disapprove of FBI Director James Comey, according to a new poll first released to the Hill newspaper.

A new Harvard-Harris Poll shows that only 17 percent of registered voters have a favorable view of Comey, while another 35 percent view him negatively.

'Even in 1953, the height of McCarthyism, Gallup had 78 percent saying J. Edgar Hoover, Jr. was doing a good job and only 2 percent a poor job,' Harvard-Harris Poll co-director Mark Penn told the Hill.

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FBI Director James Comey, testifying before the House Intelligence Committee Monday, is unpopular with Americans on both sides of the aisle

FBI Director James Comey is liked less by Democrats, who likely view his late-in-the-campaign announcement that the bureau was looking at more of Hillary Clinton's emails, as something that hurt their candidate in the general election

'Comey's rating, which are two-to-one negative, suggest a crisis of confidence in his leadership as top law enforcement officer,' Penn added.

Another 48 percent of registered voters have no opinion of Comey, despite his name frequently appearing in the news over the past year.

Comey is currently more unpopular with Democrats, though the poll was taken before the FBI director confirmed Monday that the bureau was indeed investigating any ties that may exist between the Trump campaign and Russia, in the aftermath of the election year hacks that disproportionally hurt Hillary Clinton and Democrats.

Earlier this week Comey also snuffed out President Trump's claims that he was wire-tapped by his predecessor, President Obama.

Sixty-six percent of registered voters said they also didn't believe Trump's wire-tapping claim, the poll showed.

The survey shows that Comey is disliked by 41 percent of Democrats, while 12 percent say they view him positively.

Fans of the Democratic nominee likely begrudge the top FBI official for alerting members of Congress several weeks before the election that more of Clinton's State Department emails had been found, heightening speculation that she could still be charged with mishandling classified materials.

The emails were found on a laptop handed over to authorities by Anthony Weiner, who was being investigated for a separate matter.

Weiner, a disgraced congressman and former New York City mayoral candidate, is married to top Clinton aide, Huma Abedin, who has since announced their split.

On November 7, just two days before the election, the FBI announced that Clinton had been cleared, again, but many Democrats believe the political damage had been done.

Among Republicans, 26 percent said they viewed Comey favorably, while another 27 percent viewed the FBI director negatively.

When asked about Russian meddling in the presidential election and Trump's wire-tapping claims, a majority of registered voters – 60 percent – said they'd prefer an independent special prosecutor investigate.

Another 40 percent said they were OK with these probes being handled by bipartisan congressional committees, the FBI and the Justice Department.