The FBI deputy director, Dan Bongino, confirmed on Wednesday that he is stepping down in January.
In a statement posted on social media, Bongino thanked Donald Trump, Kash Patel, the FBI director, and Pam Bondi, the attorney general he reportedly clashed with over her decision not to release files from the federal investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, the late sex offender who socialized with Trump for more than a decade.
“Dan did a great job,” Trump told reporters earlier, when asked about reports that Bongino, a former Secret Service agent turned podcaster, planned to resign.
“I think he wants to go back to his show,” the president said.
Earlier on Wednesday, MS Now reported Bongino “quietly told confidants he plans to formally leave his job early in the new year”. Citing eight people briefed on his account, the outlet said Bongino would not be returning to the bureau’s headquarters this month.
Those individuals also told MS Now that Bongino, the No 2 official at the FBI under Patel, considered announcing his departure on Friday. Bongino did not confirm his plans to the outlet, but said: “Print whatever you’d like. No one believes you anyway. Thanks.”
Bongino, also a former NYPD officer, has hosted several shows in his career, including guest-host stints on The Sean Hannity Show and The Mark Levin Show. He later launched the Bongino Report and The Dan Bongino Show.
In May, Bongino cried during an appearance on Fox News where he complained about the sacrifices he made to take up his role as FBI deputy director.
“I gave up everything for this. I mean, you know, my wife is struggling … I stare at these four walls all day in DC, you know, by myself, divorced from my wife. Not divorced, but I mean, separated. And it’s hard,” he said.
In 2018, Bongino, who has frequently perpetuated conspiracy theories of a so-called deep-state plot against Trump, said: “My entire life right now is about owning the libs.”
He has also called for Barack Obama to “be locked up”; Hillary Clinton “a freaking criminal”; and argued that California senator Adam Schiff “should be in prsion”.
Earlier this month, Bongino tried to walk back from conspiracy theories of the FBI being allegedly complicit in planting pipe bombs near the Republican National Committee and the Democratic National Committee prior to the January 6 riots in 2021.
Before becoming FBI deputy director, Bongino had claimed, without evidence, that the FBI “knew” the identity of the bomber and that the bombs were planted to “create narrative that crazy Maga people are trying to assassinate Kamala Harris”.
However, upon being asked about his previous claims by Fox News host Sean Hannity, Bongino said: “I was paid in the past for my opinions, that’s clear, and one day I’ll 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.”
He went on to say: “We’re going to be guided by the facts as this thing goes forward.”
The FBI declined to comment.
