Dan Bongino, the Deputy Director of the FBI, is threatening to leave the bureau if Attorney General Pam Bondi remains on the job, a source close to Bongino tells The Daily Wire.
Bongino is reportedly furious with Attorney General Pam Bondi over her handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files, which has led many to believe he could walk away from the job that he took in February. The source close to Bongino said that he’s effectively issued an ultimatum, saying he won’t work alongside Bondi.
Bongino left a lucrative career in broadcasting to take the job in the Trump administration. He was not present at the FBI on Friday, after a reported spat with the attorney general earlier this week over the Epstein situation.
BREAKING: Source close to Dan Bongino tells me it’s either him or Pam Bondi, and that he won’t stay at FBI if she stays at DOJ.
— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) July 11, 2025
The rift between Bongino and Bondi intensified on Wednesday, days after the Department of Justice announced there was no evidence to prove that child rapist Jeffrey Epstein had a client list, had blackmailed powerful people, or had been murdered. Bondi had promised to reveal major details in the case five months ago, when there were no massive revelations to bring forward.
The deputy FBI director, who raised questions about Epstein’s death before he was in the Trump administration, said in May that his review of the file and hours of video recording from Epstein’s jail proved that the child abuser committed suicide. FBI Director Kash Patel also said that the evidence the bureau has reviewed shows that Epstein was not murdered.
A source close to the Justice Department told The Daily Wire that Patel also wants Bondi gone, and that he would consider departing alongside Bongino. The source also said that Patel wants Bondi to unseal more documents.
MORE: Source close to DOJ says Kash Patel also wants Pam Bondi gone, and that he’d consider leaving if Bongino leaves. Also that there are more frustrations with other documents Bondi hasn’t released. https://t.co/e1WYXHxdRN
— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) July 11, 2025
Now, Bongino is considering sending in his resignation over the fallout with Bondi. While it remains unclear if Bongino will step down, his normally active official social media account has been quiet since Wednesday, when his frustration with Bondi reportedly boiled over.
One source close to Bongino predicted to Axios, “He ain’t coming back.” Trump administration officials, however, are saying that Bongino remains on the job.
Bondi was criticized after stating in February that she had Epstein’s client list on her desk and then walking that statement back earlier this week when the DOJ revealed that it did not find evidence that a client list exists. The DOJ and FBI were also criticized after releasing over 10 hours of video footage from the hallway attached to Epstein’s jail cell when people noticed that there was one minute of footage missing from the tape.
“In February, I did an interview on Fox, and it’s been getting a lot of attention because … I was asked a question about the ‘client list’ and my response was, ‘It’s sitting on my desk to be reviewed, meaning the file, along with the JFK, MLK files as well,” Bondi said during a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday. “That’s what I meant by that.”
During that same Cabinet meeting, President Donald Trump blasted a reporter for asking Bondi about the Epstein case.
“That is unbelievable. … I mean I can’t believe you’re asking a question on Epstein at a time like this when we’re having some of the greatest success and also tragedy with what happened in Texas,” Trump said. “It just seems like a desecration.”
