ANALYSIS/OPINION:

James B. Comey, former FBI director, is facing fire from the people, apparently, for his brazen attacks on President Donald Trump, for his outspoken criticisms of White House ways of doing business and — for leaking to the media.

Rasmussen Reports found in a recent survey 46 percent of those polled think Comey ought to be prosecuted for leaking to the press.

No wonder Comey’s out and about, doing as many pressers as possible to promote his new book. He’s trying to distract from his own offenses by pointing fingers Trump’s way, hoping his penned passages about the “small hands” of the president and other such notably petty observances might generate enough of a titter to tip the scales of public opinion his way.

Not so fast, said Rasmussen — which, by the way, was one of the more accurate polling places during the 2016 campaign and election season.

In a piece titled, “Few Praise Comey’s Tenure at FBI; More Want Him Prosecuted,” Rasmussen Reports wrote: “Former FBI Director James Comey has taken to print and the airwaves to angrily denounce President Trump, the man who fired him last year. But voters don’t rate Comey’s FBI performance too highly, and more think he should be legally punished for leaking to the media.”

Ouch.

By the numbers, Rasmussen, in a telephone and online survey of 1,000 likely voters, conducted on April 12 and April 15, found only 14 percent think Comey “was a better FBI director than most of those who held the job before him.”

Thirty-eight percent, meanwhile, said he did a worse job than his predecessors.

And these aren’t just pro-Trumpers who think this way.

“Even among voters who Strongly Disapprove of the job Trump is doing,” Rasmussen found, “only 21% see Comey as a better FBI director than most of those who came before him.”

Again — ouch.

But here’s the biggie; Congress, are you listening?

“Forty-six percent of all voters believe Comey should be prosecuted for leaking information to the media at the time he was director of the FBI,” Rasmussen reported.

That’s significant; that’s a plurality. And it’s up from the 41 percent who wanted him prosecuted last June, when he publicly admitted to a Senate committee that he leaked memos of his private chats with Trump to The New York Times.

Just something to chew on, as Comey makes more and more media rounds, as he appears on behalf of his “A Higher Loyalty” on more and more shows — as he talks up more and more negatives about Trump. He could be smarter; should be smarter. The polls aren’t trending in his favor, and putting himself out in the limelight like this is not the best move for a man the public, with a growing voice, want to see prosecuted. Just sayin’. The guy might be better off laying low.

• Cheryl Chumley can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter, @ckchumley.

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