Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino is considering leaving his job after a heated confrontation with Attorney General Pam Bondi over his frustration with how the Justice Department has handled the Jeffrey Epstein files, according to a person who has spoken with Bongino and a source familiar with the interactions that Bongino and FBI Director Kash Patel have had with Bondi.
“Bongino is out of control furious,” the person who has spoken with the deputy FBI director said. “This destroyed his career. He’s threatening to quit and torch Pam unless she’s fired.”
Bongino did not report to work Friday amid speculation about his whereabouts, said a source familiar with the perspectives of Justice Department leaders who also believes that Bongino is considering leaving.
This came after a confrontation Wednesday at a meeting with Bondi and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles during which Bongino and Patel were asked about a news story suggesting they were dissatisfied with the decision not to release any additional Epstein files, according to the source familiar with the perspectives of Justice Department leaders and an additional source familiar with the meeting. Axios first reported the meeting.
The meeting “got pretty heated,” another source who was briefed on the meeting said.
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“Bondi, [Deputy Attorney General] Todd Blanche, Patel and Bongino were on the same page on this all along, until the criticism started to come in,” the source familiar with Justice Department leaders’ perspectives said. “Bongino couldn’t take it.”
An FBI spokesman did not respond to requests for comment, and the Justice Department declined to comment. In a statement responding to earlier news reports about Bongino’s dissatisfaction, White House spokesman Harrison Fields said, “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. 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.”
After Fields’ statement was provided to NBC News, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt provided another statement in which she said, “President Trump is proud of Attorney General Bondi’s efforts to execute his Make America Safe Again agenda, restore the integrity of the Department of Justice, and bring justice to victims of crime. The continued fixation on sowing division in President Trump’s Cabinet is baseless and unfounded in reality.”
Two sources familiar with President Donald Trump’s thinking said he has not lost confidence in anyone involved.
The source familiar with Justice Department leaders’ perspective said the White House is backing Bondi’s decision not to release any more files, which accompanied a Justice Department statement on Monday asserting that there is no secret Epstein client list and that no further charges against others are warranted.
