FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
Boningo did not show up for work on Friday and is reportedly considering his future in office...
The future of FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino remains unclear after he reportedly angrily walked out of a meeting with Attorney General Pam Bondi and told friends he was considering resigning over the Jeffrey Epstein controversy.
Bongino, a former New York City police officer and former Secret Service agent who served under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, appears set to be the first figure to fall politically from the Trump administration as a result of the Epstein scandal, a crisis that threatens to divide the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement.
He did not show up for work Friday and is reportedly considering his future on the job. It is not known whether Bongino was in his office at FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C., on Monday.
CNN reported that Senator JD Vance spent the weekend mediating a bitter conflict between Bondi, Bongino, Kash Patel, the FBI director and others within Trump's inner circle.
It's not the first time Bongino has appeared unhappy with his role. In May, he broke down in tears during a live appearance on Fox & Friends, saying, "I gave up everything for this job."
While there is no confirmation yet whether he will resign, insiders say his position has become unstable, especially after President Trump's clear public support for Pam Bond and his displeasure with the public clash between his supporters over the Epstein case. The disgraced financier was found dead in his cell in 2019 after being arrested on child sex trafficking charges.
The clash has highlighted tensions within MAGA ranks, especially towards Bongino himself, a controversial figure who has been in the spotlight since his appointment as FBI deputy director.
As a former far-right podcaster and conservative media figure, Bongino was one of the loudest voices promoting the conspiracy theory that Epstein did not kill himself, but was eliminated to hide a list of powerful pedophile clients.
Pam Bondi also fueled this widespread belief in MAGA circles, when she declared on Fox News that “the client list is on my desk.” But both were accused of blowing the whistle after a Department of Justice (DoJ) report released this month concluded that Epstein had committed suicide and the infamous client list did not exist.
It was in this context that the clash between Bongino and Bondi erupted last week, during a meeting attended by Kash Patel, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, and her deputy, Taylor Budowich. Bongino was described as “out of control, furious.”
Even before this crisis, critics had warned that Bongino was unfit for the job. His appointment in February 2025 marked the first time in the FBI's 117-year history that the second-highest post in the bureau was not held by a former FBI agent.
His appointment, following that of Kash Patel, was seen as a signal that the Trump administration intended to turn the FBI into an instrument of retaliation against political opponents.
“Donald Trump just nominated Dan Bongino, a far-right MAGA podcaster and conspiracy theorist who has been spreading the lie that the 2020 election was ‘stolen’ for years, as Deputy Director of the FBI. God forbid,” the group “Republicans Against Trump” wrote on the X network at the time of his nomination.
Bongino, a former Fox News host and author of several books on the alleged existence of the “anti-Trump deep state,” declared in 2018: “My whole life now has one purpose: to humiliate the left.”
However, while Trump has been vocal in his support of Bondi, he hasn't closed the door on Bongino. "He's a very good guy... he sounded great to me, to be honest... I think he's in great shape," the president told reporters this weekend.
One of the strongest voices in support of Bongino is Laura Loomer, a far-right influencer and a figure with a great deal of influence over Trump. She was the one who first broke the news about Bongino's displeasure.
"From what I'm told, Kash and Bongino are furious with Blondi [Pam Bondi] for the consequences she has caused them with her lack of transparency. Kash Patel and Dan Bongino should demand Bondi's public resignation today, to save themselves and demand full transparency on the Epstein files. Someone has to pay. Giving Bondi the opportunity to resign is more than she deserves," she wrote on social media. / The Guardian
Lini një Përgjigje