FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino took the day off Friday after sparring with Attorney General Pam Bondi at the White House about their handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files, according to four people familiar with the situation who spoke to Axios.
The issue emerged Wednesday as a result of the government retracting its assertions concerning Epstein, deciding that the convicted sex offender did not have a celebrity “client list” and was not killed in his New York City prison cell in 2019.
Bongino did not show up for work on Friday, causing some insiders to suspect he had left. However, administration insiders believe he remains on the job, despite ongoing internal tensions over the Epstein issue.
The administration presented a security film from outside Epstein’s cell as confirmation that no one had entered the room before he committed suicide.
The 10-hour video had a “missing minute,” which fueled conspiracy theories in MAGA’s online realm about a cover-up around Epstein’s death.
The “missing minute,” according to investigators, was caused by an antiquated surveillance recording system that shuts down every day at midnight to reset and record again. That procedure takes a minute, thus 60 seconds of each day are not recorded.
Bongino, who had pushed Epstein conspiracy theories as a MAGA-friendly podcast host before President Trump selected him to lead the FBI, discovered the video and promoted it publicly and privately as proof that Epstein had not been killed.
That conclusion, supported by FBI Director Kash Patel, another conspiracy theorist-turned-insider, enraged many in Trump’s MAGA movement, and criticism grew after Axios first revealed the release of the video and an accompanying document.
According to two people familiar with Bongino’s position, he became increasingly dissatisfied with Bondi’s handling of the Epstein case as she publicly overpromised and underdelivered disclosures concerning an Epstein “client list” that appeared to never exist.
MAGA influencer Laura Loomer, a Bondi critic, said Friday on X that Bongino and Patel were “furious” with Bondi’s handling of the matter.
Some Trump aides have attacked Bondi, but the president “loves Pam and thinks she’s great,” according to a senior White House official.
Patel, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, and Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich were among those who witnessed Bondi and Bongino’s altercation on Wednesday at the White House.
During the discussion, Bongino was questioned about a NewsNation report claiming that he and Patel had requested additional information regarding Epstein previously but were kept back. Bongino refuted any disclosure of the concept.
“Pam said her piece. Dan said his piece. It didn’t end on friendly terms,” said one person briefed on the heated discussion. Bongino left angry, the source said.
“The fact is, Dan was for releasing the information with the video and had no problem until he got heat online,” a senior administration official told Axios.
“Bongino found the video with the missing minute. He vouched for it after a ‘thorough review,’ he said, and he thought this would end the matter. When that didn’t work, he lost his mind and ran out of D.C.”
Said a pro-Bongino source: “Dan is not the bad guy here. He shouldn’t take the fall.”
