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Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino is at the center of internal fighting in the Trump administration about the handling of files related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, leading to questions about Bongino’s future in his role.
A source familiar with the matter confirmed to The Hill that Bongino is furious over the handling of the Epstein documents and has clashed with Justice Department leaders over the issue this week.
The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The White House, meanwhile, called any indications of divisions "baseless."
“President Trump has assembled a highly qualified and experienced law and order team dedicated to protecting Americans, holding criminals accountable, and delivering justice to victims," White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said in a statement. "This work is being carried out seamlessly and with unity. Any attempt to sow division within this team is baseless and distracts from the real progress being made in restoring public safety and pursuing justice for all.”
Multiple news outlets, including CNN and Semafor, reported Bongino was not at work Friday and was mulling whether to resign from his position. Axios first reported that Bongino had fought with Attorney General Pam Bondi earlier in the week.
Laura Loomer, a far-right activist and staunch Trump supporter, was first to raise the possibility that Bongino was considering resigning. Loomer, who has met with Trump at the White House, called for Bondi to be ousted.
The Justice Department and FBI issued a joint memo earlier this week that stated Epstein did not have a client list and confirmed he died by suicide in his New York City jail cell in 2019. The findings incensed members of the MAGA movement, who have for years pushed conspiracy theories about Epstein’s death and claims that prominent Democrats would be named on a client list.
The files and evidence under court-ordered seal, the FBI memo released Monday said, “served only to protect victims and did not expose any additional third-parties to allegations of illegal wrongdoing.”
Bondi in particular has faced intense backlash given her comments earlier this year pledging transparency around the Epstein files. The attorney general on Tuesday defended the DOJ's handling of the evidence.
She also addressed an interview she did in February in which she said an Epstein client list was "sitting on" her "desk" to be reviewed. She asserted she was referring to a variety of files related to the Epstein case.
The Hill’s sister network, NewsNation, reported earlier this week that FBI leaders would have unsealed evidence related to the Epstein case if they had been able to do so, a thinly veiled swipe at DOJ leadership.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche earlier Friday sought to tamp down speculation about a rift among senior leaders over the Epstein case.
“All of us signed off on the contents of the memo and the conclusions stated in the memo,” Blanche posted on social platform X. “The suggestion by anyone that there was any daylight between the FBI and DOJ leadership on this memo’s composition and release is patently false.”
Both Bongino and FBI Director Kash Patel were celebrated picks to lead the bureau among Trump’s base and the MAGA faithful.
“A lot of the grassroots know Dan Bongino. So they may not trust the FBI, they may not trust the DOJ, but they trust Dan Bongino,” one source close to the White House told The Hill.
Bongino is a former police officer and Secret Service agent. Prior to joining the government, he hosted a radio show and podcast where he pushed, among other things, conspiracy theories about the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol and the Epstein case.
"Listen, that Jeffrey Epstein story is a big deal, please do not let that story go. Keep your eye on this," Bongino told his listeners in 2023.
Epstein, accused in several cases of sex trafficking young girls, ran in high-powered circles with figures that included Trump, former President Clinton, Britain’s Prince Andrew and a number of other celebrities and ultrawealthy individuals. Epstein's associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, has been convicted of sex trafficking.
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