FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino has issued a striking ultimatum in his fiery feud with Attorney General Pam Bondi over the now-infamous “Epstein files.”
Bongino failed to show up to work on Friday and is considering resigning after a tense exchange at the White House on Wednesday over the release of files related to accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, who died by suicide while awaiting trial in 2019. In February, Bondi had pledged to release the Epstein “client list”—the subject of whirling conspiracies among Trump’s MAGA base—which she said in February was “sitting on my desk right now.”
But a leaked memo revealed this week that no such list exists and that Epstein died by suicide in his cell rather than being murdered. The revelation has sparked fury among Trump supporters who suspect a cover-up.
“It’s me or her,” Bongino said, according to Axios. “She goes or I go.”
Bongino, a conspiracy theorist and former podcaster, blasted Bondi for overpromising and underdelivering on her pledge to release further files related to Epstein in a heated confrontation at the White House on Wednesday in front of FBI Director Kash Patel, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, and Deputy White House Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich.
The brewing war between Bongino and Bondi has ignited Trump’s MAGA base, with most of the president’s supporters seeming to line up behind Bongino.
“Dan isn’t some no-name,” an unnamed source told Axios. “He has a brand and a following. If Bondi thought she could just squash him, she’s got the wrong guy.”
Conservative influencers like Charlie Kirk and Laura Loomer have made it clear that they’re not pro-Bondi.
During Kirk’s Friday Turning Point USA summit in Tampa, he asked, “Who would you guys prefer, Bongino or Bondi?”
The crowd yelled back: “Bongino!”
“It’s 7,000 to zero,” Kirk said.
Media personality Megyn Kelly, onstage with Kirk, added: “They want Dan. ... Dan understands MAGA. ... And now it’s a time for choosing."
Kelly added that Bondi had “embarrassed Trump” with her failure to release further files on Epstein. She insisted that Trump “needs to be focused on other things” rather than the Epstein saga.
“I just don’t think this has captured [Trump’s] attention on quite yet,” she said. “But it needs to because it’s starting to create a real hornet’s nest within the administration, and, I’ve got to be honest, I blame Pam Bondi.”
Far-right influencer Loomer also hasn’t been shy about her revulsion for Bondi.
“Pam Blondi is very damaging to President Trump’s image. She drags the administration down and the base doesn’t want her as AG,” Loomer wrote on X. “She is harming Trump’s administration and she’s embarrassing all of his staff and advisors by creating a PR crisis for them. It’s incredibly unfair to President Trump and his team.”
Conservative podcaster Tara Palmeri also bashed Bondi, accusing her of being “out of her depth.” She said that Trump supporters are “disappointed” in the lack of “justice” in the case of Epstein.
“Pam Bondi has about as much credibility on the Epstein case as a reply on a Reddit thread,” she later posted on X. “That might sound outrageous, considering she’s the top law enforcement official in the federal government. But the truth is, she’s out of her depth—and trying to cover it up."
Still, the White House has disavowed reports of infighting, Politico reported.
As the division grows deeper, some believe that Bongino will restart the popular podcast that made him famous before he joined Trump’s administration, which has 7 million followers on X. Others insist he’ll start torching Bondi on Rumble, a popular MAGA platform.
