Former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino went on a furious tirade against those outraged by his admission that he was “paid” to push conspiracy theories.
Speaking to Sean Hannity, the MAGA podcaster appeared unable to fathom the backlash after telling the Fox News host in December that he was essentially being a shill when he suggested in 2024 that the pipe bombs placed outside Republican and Democratic headquarters in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 5, 2021, were likely an “inside job.”
“When I made this comment on your show, the morons in the media were apparently unaware that I was paid for a political commentary show,” a visibly sweaty Bongino told Hannity on Thursday. “This was news to them, Sean, they’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, Dan Bongino was paid as a...’—me and you were laughing about this the next day, like, this is stupid, this was a big scandal in the media.”
“I don’t know why this was hard for, again, these full-diaper media morons to understand,” he added. “When you’re paid to do a job for the taxpayer, you serve the taxpayer. When you’re paid to do a political commentary show, you offer political commentary. Is this difficult, really?”
In November 2024, Bongino baselessly suggested on his podcast that the reason the D.C. pipe bomb suspect had not been arrested was that “it’s either a connected anti-Trump insider or this was an inside job. Those bombs were planted there. This was a setup. I have zero doubt.”
The FBI and Department of Justice announced on Dec. 4, 2025, that the suspect, Brian Cole Jr., 30, had finally been detained. Cole told authorities he planted the bombs on the eve of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol because he backed Trump’s false belief that the 2020 election was rigged due to widespread voter fraud.
Following the arrest, Hannity pressed Bongino, then still Kash Patel’s No. 2 at the FBI, about his past promotion of conspiracy theories and claims that the planned attack was an “inside job” orchestrated by the federal government.
“Listen, I was paid in the past, Sean, for my opinions. That’s clear. And one day I will be back in that space, but that’s not what I’m paid for now. I’m paid to be your deputy director, and we base investigations on facts,” Bongino said.
Bongino left the FBI weeks later, in December. His disastrous tenure at the nation’s top law enforcement agency will likely be best remembered for his outrage over the handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files, including reportedly getting into a screaming match with Attorney General Pam Bondi and threatening to resign in July 2024.
Prior to his time at the FBI, Bongino was among a large group of MAGA figures who demanded that all files linked to the pedophile financier, who died in custody in 2019, be made public.
Bongino, who is set to return to podcasting in February, was also criticized by FBI insiders as “something of a clown” who was more focused on his social media presence than on actual law enforcement work.
“Now that I’m back, I can talk like I want to talk,” Bongino told Hannity on Thursday.
