Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino has told people he is considering resigning amid a major clash between the FBI and Justice Department over the continued fallout from the release of the Jeffrey Epstein memo, several sources familiar with the matter told CNN.
This comes after a heated confrontation with Attorney General Pam Bondi over the handling of the case earlier this week.
The infighting over the case came to a head during a Wednesday meeting, which included Bongino, Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, sources said. Bongino and Patel were confronted about whether they were behind a story that said the FBI wanted more information released but was ultimately stymied by the Department of Justice, the sources said.
Bongino denied leaking that notion to NewsNation, which published the story, a source familiar with the matter told CNN, though he did not sign on to a statement defending the review included in that article.
CNN has reached out to Bongino and the FBI for comment. The sources cautioned that Bongino had not made up his mind, and it was possible he would stay in his position.
The episode comes as many of President Donald Trump’s close advisers, both inside and outside the White House, have grown increasingly frustrated with Bondi’s handling of the so-called Epstein files, following days of intense criticism from some of the president’s most devoted supporters.
Multiple sources said Bongino did not come to work Friday, fueling speculation he had quit over the issue. One source said as of Friday afternoon he had not left his position.
“The whole thing has been a complete mess and no one is happy,” a source briefed on the matter told CNN.
FBI and Justice officials have been at odds for months about the handling of the Epstein files review. Bondi orchestrated an event at the White House in February with pro-Trump social media influencers to present binders of Epstein related documents, though she later faced criticism when the MAGA influencers realized that that most of the documents had been public for years. Patel had minimal involvement in that event. But more recently, Bongino repeated promises that the files would be released, even as he tried to downplay the contents.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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