According to sources acquainted with the case, Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino has expressed his intention to quit as a result of the ongoing tensions between the FBI and the Justice Department caused by the aftermath of the Jeffrey Epstein memo.
This follows last week’s tense exchange between the two parties on the case’s treatment by Attorney General Pam Bondi.
According to the sources, a meeting on Wednesday brought the case-related infighting to a climax. Among those there were Bongino, Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel, and White House top of staff Susie Wiles. There was an attempt to get Bongino and Patel to admit that they were involved in a report that claimed the DOJ blocked the release of more FBI information despite their best efforts.
According to a person acquainted with the case, Bongino denied leaking the idea to NewsNation, the publication that published the story. However, he did not affix his signature to a statement supporting the review that was included in that piece.
Bongino and the FBI have been contacted by HEADLINESFOREVER for a possible remark. According to the sources, Bongino was still undecided and might end up staying put. Some facts of Bongino’s incident at the White House were initially reported by Axios.
Following days of harsh criticism from some of Trump’s most loyal followers, the episode comes as several advisers to the president, both within and outside the White House, have been more and more irritated with Bondi’s handling of the so-called Epstein files.
According to many reports, Bongino skipped work on Friday, leading many to believe he resigned over the matter. According to one of those people, he was still at his job on Friday afternoon.
“No one is happy and the whole thing has been a complete mess,” a person knowledgeable on the subject told HEADLINESFOREVER.
Because of his connections to famous and rich people, the criminal case of Epstein—a disgraced banker and convicted sex offender—has long attracted considerable public interest. During his upcoming federal criminal trial in August 2019, Epstein was discovered unconscious in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York. His body was later declared deceased upon arrival at the hospital. It was determined that he committed suicide.
However, the demise was subject to extensive investigation, and Trump hinted during his 2024 campaign that he could release more government records pertaining to the case. The president’s backers were hoping that Epstein’s release would cast doubt on the suicide theory or implicate other prominent players. On Monday, the Justice Department issued a document stating that there was no proof of his keeping a “client list” or being assassinated, which has infuriated and distrusted many in the MAGA community.
When it came to reviewing the Epstein papers, FBI and Justice officials were at conflict for months. On Friday, however, the tensions were exposed when far-right activist Laura Loomer—who is acquainted with administration figures—wrote on social media that Bondi and Bongino and Patel were “LIVID” about the Epstein issue. According to her, Bongino “took the day off today from his job as Deputy Director of the FBI, and there’s now speculation on whether or not he will return to his job.”
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche stated in a post on X Friday that “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,” denying any division between the Justice Department and FBI leadership.
Bondi arranged for pro-Trump social media figures to gather at the White House in February to distribute binders containing information pertaining to Epstein. However, she came under fire when the MAGA influencers discovered that the majority of these records had been available to the public for quite some time. Almost no one from Patel was involved with that incident. Despite his best efforts to minimize their contents, Bongino recently reiterated his pledge to distribute the data.
The 10-hour surveillance footage that was recorded outside of Epstein’s Manhattan prison cell on the day of his death is one source of aggravation for Bongino, according to an individual acquainted with the matter who spoke to HEADLINESFOREVER.
It was allegedly Bongino who uncovered the footage as detectives spent hours poring into Epstein-related information. According to reports, the deputy director expressed his elation at the finding, stating that it provided conclusive proof that Epstein had not been killed.
However, once the video went live, viewers and journalists saw that it skipped forward by 60 seconds.
As Bondi has said publicly, the video’s antiquated recording equipment resets daily at midnight and skips the same minute every evening. Nonetheless, speculation regarding that minute became viral online, and Bongino faced internal criticism for the error.
According to sources familiar with the matter, Patel and Bongino have been privately expressing their dissatisfaction with the DOJ’s handling of the case for months. This dissatisfaction partially originated from an early interview where Bondi implied that the FBI was still reviewing the case, even though it had already been turned over to the DOJ.