Former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino erupted in a heated internal clash with Attorney General Pam Bondi over the handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files, according to a new report.
Before entering government, Bongino had built a sizable conservative media following by accusing the so-called “deep state” of concealing information about Epstein and demanding the full, unredacted release of investigative materials
On The Dan Bongino Show, he frequently cast doubt on official accounts, asking, “What the hell are they hiding with Jeffrey Epstein?” and predicting that disclosure of a so-called client list would “rock the political world,” while describing the “Washington swamp” as “not telling you the truth.”
But after joining the Trump administration, he was blamed for doing the very thing he had railed against.
It began when Bondi publicly suggested that a client list existed and later invited conservative influencers to review Epstein-related materials at the White House.
According to The New York Times, those materials had not been fully vetted by the White House, and reports that they referenced Trump only intensified scrutiny and political blowback among MAGA supporters, which was in part targeted at the FBI.
As frustration grew within the movement, Bongino and FBI Director Kash Patel pushed for the rapid release of surveillance footage from the federal detention facility where Epstein died, believing it could help defuse accusations of a cover-up. But senior White House aides, including chief of staff Susie Wiles, regarded the controversy as overstated and unlikely to gain traction beyond online outrage.
But Bongino strongly disagreed, warning colleagues that the situation was far more serious than they appreciated and insisting, “It’s not an online story,” while stressing that officials were underestimating the scale of public reaction.
The dispute reached a breaking point after the Justice Department and FBI jointly issued a memo concluding there was no evidence of an Epstein “client list” and reaffirming the official finding that Epstein’s 2019 death was a suicide.
The statement was accompanied by surveillance footage of Epstein in his Manhattan jail cell, which officials said supported that conclusion, and indicated there would be no further disclosures or investigations into uncharged individuals.
But the memo turned out to be a disaster for the Trump administration after MAGA supporters discovered the surveillance footage appeared to contain a missing minute, adding to accusations of a possible cover-up.
On the day it was made public, Bongino arrived at a routine Justice Department meeting alongside FBI staff and Bondi, already visibly agitated.
According to The New York Times, he wasted no time confronting Bondi, immediately launching into an angry outburst as soon as he entered the room.
“You f---ed this thing up from the start,” Bongino yelled. “The way you’ve been talking about this—that dumb f---ing charade with the Epstein files, the ‘They’re on my desk’ nonsense, all the promises to the folks out there,” he reportedly said.
He and Patel later expressed to a White House intermediary that Bondi should step down, according to the New York Times report, which added that later, Bongino was summoned to a high-level meeting in the Situation Room complex, where he was confronted with allegations that he had leaked sensitive information related to the Epstein matter.
He forcefully denied the claim, dismissing it in blunt terms and offering to publicly prove his innocence, insisting the accusation was baseless.
“I’ll give you $100,000 cash right now. I’m not kidding. Walk out to West Exec, put that reporter on speaker and get him to admit I leaked it. A hundred thousand dollars,” he reportedly told White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.
“Going forward we’re all in. We’re all going to agree to move forward. Are you in or not?” Wiles responded.
“No, I’m not,” Bongino replied. “This is not my plan. I’m not part of this going forward. Forget it. I’m out of here.”
He then stormed out of the meeting and left for FBI headquarters.
Although some allies encouraged him to resign publicly, which would have made him a symbolic figure within the MAGA movement, he ultimately stayed on after being urged by White House advisers not to escalate the conflict. He privately told associates he would remain for the sake of the president, even as tensions inside the Justice Department continued to mount.
But behind the scenes, Bongino grew increasingly bitter, lamenting the personal and professional cost of the role, including lost income from his media career and the erosion of his public platform, according to the New York Times.
His frustrations extended to Bondi, whom he accused in private conversations of contributing to the controversy through earlier public statements that he believed overstated what information the government possessed about the Epstein files.
“Blondie f---ed this whole thing up,” Bongino told a confidant, according to the New York Times.
“She was the one on TV saying over and over they had all this stuff. There was never anything. We were always clear about that. But now everyone thinks we did something wrong. And I gave up everything,” he said, adding that the controversy had damaged him professionally. “And I gave up everything.”
At one point, Bongino also reportedly said, “This is going to be President Trump’s Iran-contra.”
Bongino, a former NYPD officer and Secret Service agent, ultimately left his post as FBI deputy director in January, less than a year after being appointed.
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told The Daily Beast: “Just as President Trump has said, he’s been totally exonerated on anything relating to Epstein. And by releasing thousands of pages of documents, cooperating with the House Oversight Committee’s subpoena request, signing the Epstein Files Transparency Act, and calling for more investigations into Epstein’s Democrat friends, President Trump has done more for Epstein’s victims than anyone before him.”
