The deputy director of the FBI, Dan Bongino, is considering leaving his job after a heated confrontation with Attorney General Pam Bondi about his frustration with the way in which the Department of Justice has managed the archives of Jeffrey Epstein, according to a person who has spoken with Bongino and a familiar source with the interactions that Bongino and the director of the FBI Kash Patel have had with Bondi.
“Bongino is out of furious control,” said the person who has spoken with the deputy director of the FBI. “This destroyed his career. He is threatening to quit smoking and torches to PAM unless they fired it.”
Bongino did not report to work on Friday in the midst of speculation about his whereabouts, said a source familiar with the perspectives of the leaders of the Department of Justice who also believes that Bongino is considering leaving.
This occurred after a confrontation on Wednesday at a meeting with Bondi and the Chief of Cabinet of the White House, Susie Wiles, during which Bongino and Patel were asked about news that suggests that they were not satisfied with the decision not to publish any additional EPStein file, according to the familiar source with the perspectives of the leaders of the Department of Justice and an additional source familiar with the meeting. The meeting was first reported by Axios.
The meeting “became quite heated,” said another source that was informed about the meeting.
“Bondi, [Deputy Attorney General] Todd Blanche, Patel and Bongino were on the same page on this all the time, until criticism began to enter, “said the source familiar with the perspectives of the leaders of the Department of Justice.” Bongino couldn’t take it. “
An FBI spokesman did not respond to comments requests, and the Department of Justice declined to comment. In a statement that responded to previous news reports about Bongino’s dissatisfaction, the White House spokesman Harrison Fields said: “President Trump has gathered a team of highly qualified and experienced laws and orders dedicated to protecting Americans, responsible for criminals and deliver justice to victims. This work is being carried out without problems and with unity. all.”
After the Fields statement was provided to NBC News, the White House Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, provided another statement in which he said: “President Trump is proud of the efforts of the Attorney General Bondi to execute his Make America Safe agenda again, restore the integrity of the Department of Justice and bring justice to the victims of the crime.
Two sources familiar with the thought of President Donald Trump said he has not lost confidence in anyone involved.
The source familiar with the perspective of the DOJ leaders said that the White House is supporting Bondi’s decision not to publish more files, which accompanied a statement from the Department of Justice on Monday that states that there is no secret list of Epstein clients and that no more charges against others are justified.
The source familiar with Patel and Bongino’s prospects says they have been frustrated more and more with Bondi about a variety of problems, not just Epstein’s archives. The two men, who have daily interactions with Bondi, have made clear their disgust, said the source.
Bongino has regularly published about the office and the criticisms he has received in X during his time at work.
The decision and declaration of the Department of Justice on Epstein have caused a uproar among many Trump supporters who believe there has been a cover -up that involves Epstein archives. Patel and Bongino have been among those who advanced that theory in recent years, with Bongino doing it in their popular podcast.
The researchers involved in the case have said for years that there is no list of Epstein clients and that there are no secrets buried in unpublished files.
Bondi herself has made statements that feed the theories of conspiracy. She said in Fox that she had a list of Epstein customers on her desk, although Bondi’s own White and Bondi said later that she referred to Epstein’s archives in general.
A statement from the Department of Justice on Monday said that his review “did not reveal not a” list of clients “incriminatory. Nor was credible evidence that Epstein blackmailed prominent people as part of their actions.
In the end, the source close to the leaders of the DOJ said that Bondi and the attached attorney general Todd Blanche accepted those findings, knowing what to free them would result in the criticisms of Trump’s supporters. They believed that Patel and Bongino were with them, but that can no longer be true.
In a publication about X Friday Morning, Blanche wrote: “I worked in close collaboration with @fididseectortkash and @fbiddbongino in the FBI set and the Memorandum of the Department of Justice on the Epstein archives. All of us signed the content of the Memo and the conclusions established in the note. The suggestion of any day that was any day between the FBI and the leadership of this Moment of the Memo and the launch of the Memo.
