Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) “cannot imagine” why former FBI Director James Comey is seeking “to essentially cash in on a book” while special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian collusion “is very much alive,” she said Sunday on NBC News’ “Meet the Press.”

Collins, a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, said Comey is embarked on a book tour touting “A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership.” President Donald Trump fired Comey in May 2017 amid the FBI’s investigation of allegations of collusion between Russians and the chief executive’s 2016 campaign.

Comey also asked a friend of his to leak memos detailing Comey’s early conversations with Trump to help spur the special counsel’s appointment.

When “Meet the Press” host Chuck Todd asked Collins “what do you make of James Comey” and “what advice you would give a future FBI director by watching James Comey, and this book tour, and how he’s handled all this,” Collins said she’d urge all future directors to not follow in Comey’s footsteps.

“Well, if I were advising a future FBI director, I would say two things,” Collins replied. “One: Always follow the Department of Justice’s protocols and guidelines, which unfortunately James Comey did not do in the Hillary Clinton investigation. And he did not do when he leaked documents that were FBI work documents to a friend of his, knowing that they would go to the press.”

“The second would be, don’t write a book in the middle of an investigation that’s ongoing,” Collins added.

When Todd asked Collins whether she believed Comey’s book tour “is potentially disruptive to the Mueller probe,” Collins replied, “That’s what worries me.”

Related: Mukasey: Comey Is ‘Always the Hero of Every Story He Tells’

“I cannot imagine why an FBI director would seek to essentially cash in on a book when the investigation is very much alive,” Collins said. “He should have waited to do his memoir.”

Comey’s conduct during the highly politicized investigations have come under intense scrutiny over the past several days. The Department of Justice’s Office of Inspector General is now investigating whether Comey knew his memos contained classified information when he asked his friend to leak them to the press, multiple outlets reported Friday.

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PoliZette writer Kathryn Blackhurst can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter.