Dan Bongino resigns as FBI deputy director

Dan Bongino says he will resign as FBI deputy director in January.

In a post on X, he thanked President Donald Trump, the FBI director and the attorney general for “giving me the opportunity to serve with purpose.”

This comes after Trump said earlier on Wednesday that the former podcast host was “doing a great job” in the office and “wanted to get back on his show.”

Bongino was appointed to the post by Trump in February after serving as a New York City police officer and a U.S. Secret Service agent assigned to protect Barack Obama. In recent years, he has attracted a large following through podcasts and other media appearances.

Bongino, a staunch Trump ally, was considered a surprise pick for the job — which was previously held by a career broker — because he had no previous experience working at the agency.

The FBI Agents Association, which represents about 14,000 current and former agents, had opposed his appointment to the post.

He announced his decision on social media on Wednesday, saying: “I will be resigning from the FBI in January. I want to thank President Trump, Attorney General (Pam) Bondi, and Director (Kash) Patel for this opportunity to serve with purpose.”

“Above all, I want to thank you, my fellow Americans, for the privilege of serving. God bless America, and all those who defend her.”

Before joining the agency, Bongino responded to Trump’s false claims that he won the 2020 election and disinformation and conspiracy theories surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021, pipe bomb investigation.

Bongino has previously called the pipe bomb case an “inside job.” After taking office, he pushed for an investigation that Attorney General Bondi called “stalled” and a priority for the FBI.

A man with no known ties to the government was arrested earlier this month, nearly six years after pipe bombs were discovered outside the national headquarters of Republicans and Democrats.

FBI Director Patel praised Bongino’s tenure in a social media post on Wednesday, saying he “has stood for transparency for the people and achieved major breakthroughs in long-standing cases like the pipe bomb investigation.”

“Not only did he accomplish his mission, he far exceeded it,” Patel wrote.

After becoming FBI leader, Bongino also appeared to have changed his mind about the death of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

As a commentator, he has questioned whether Epstein committed suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial in a New York prison. Then, in May, Bongino Said: “I’ve seen the whole file. He committed suicide”.

In July this year, the U.S. Department of Justice and the FBI issued a memo stating that Epstein had indeed committed suicide and that there was no “client list.”

The memo frustrated many of Trump’s supporters, who echoed Epstein’s conspiracy theories and rejected the Justice Department’s findings.

The memo led to a contentious meeting between him and Bundy, according to BBC media partner CBS News.

Bundy, who oversees the FBI, published a brief article on X on Wednesday, saying “Americans are safer” because of Bongino’s FBI services.