President Donald Trump revealed that he spoke to FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino on Sunday, a call that comes amid infighting in the Trump administration over the handling of the Epstein files.
At the end of last week, tensions emerged after the DOJ and FBI concluded their investigation into disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, an investigation that found no “client list” and that Esptein committed suicide in his Manhattan jail cell. Bongino, frustrated with Attorney General Pam Bondi’s handling of the Epstein files, of which only a small batch were released, skipped work on Friday and, along with FBI Director Kash Patel, was reportedly considering resigning from his post if Bondi stayed on as attorney general. While Patel later denied the reports of his imminent departure from his FBI post, Bongino has not publicly commented on the rumored infighting and his possible resignation.
In remarks to reporters on Sunday night, however, Trump said Bongino “sounded terrific” on the phone and is “in good shape,” suggesting tensions may be simmering.
“I spoke to him today. Dan Bongino, very good guy. I’ve known him a long time, I’ve done his show many, many times, and he sounded terrific actually. No, I think he’s in good shape,” the president said.
The comments mark a slight shift in Trump’s assessment of the rift, which he first commented on Saturday in a statement expressing his displeasure with the infighting and largely defending Bondi’s work.
“What’s going on with my ‘boys’ and, in some cases, ‘gals?’ They’re all going after Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is doing a FANTASTIC JOB! We’re on one Team, MAGA, and I don’t like what’s happening. We have a PERFECT Administration, THE TALK OF THE WORLD, and ‘selfish people’ are trying to hurt it, all over a guy who never dies, Jeffrey Epstein,” he said in the statement posted on Truth Social that also urged the FBI to move on from Epstein, which he said “nobody cares about.”
Despite Trump’s apparent faith in both Bongino and Bondi, some right-wing figures have said the latter needs to go after the lackluster release of the Epstein files.
TRUMP DEFENDS PAM BONDI, URGES FBI TO MOVE PAST EPSTEIN FILES DEBACLE
Charlie Kirk and Megyn Kelly have been some of the most prominent figures calling for Bondi to resign, suggesting she doesn’t understand the MAGA movement and misled the public about the Epstein files.
Kelly continued her criticism of Bondi after Trump’s defense of his attorney general over the weekend, saying while the president may be on her side, “huge swaths of the party are not.”