FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino has said he plans to resign from his position early next year, MS NOW reported Wednesday, citing eight people briefed on him.
Mr. Bongino, the FBI’s No. 2 official under Director Kash Patel, has also informed his confidants that he will not be returning to FBI headquarters this month, the people said.
He is considering announcing his resignation on Friday, four people familiar with the matter told MS NOW.
Asked by MS NOW about his future plans, Bongino declined to confirm or deny reports that he was close to resigning, but added: “Print whatever you want. No one will believe you anyway. Thank you.”
The FBI declined CNBC’s request for comment on this report.
Bongino, a former police officer and Secret Service employee, was selected by President Donald Trump to take on a key law enforcement job despite having no FBI experience.
A regular in conservative media, Bongino’s public discussion of several conspiracy theories resurfaced after he joined the administration.
As a private citizen, Bongino suggested it was an “inside job” to set off pipe bombs in Washington, D.C., the night before the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot, according to the report.
Bongino won a victory earlier this month after federal agents arrested and charged Brian Cole Jr. with setting up the devices after a nearly five-year investigation.
Asked by Fox News’ Sean Hannity about how his past comments squared with his past claims about pipe bombs, Bongino said he had “been paid in the past” for his opinions and said “I’ll get back into that field at some point.”
“That’s not what I’m getting paid right now. I’m getting paid to be your deputy chief. We conduct investigations based on the facts,” he said.
Bongino has previously questioned the official version of the circumstances surrounding Jeffrey Epstein’s death. The wealthy investor and notorious sex offender hanged himself in prison in 2019.
As an FBI official, Bongino said there was no question that Epstein died by suicide.
“I have reviewed the case. Jeffrey Epstein committed suicide. There is no evidence in the case file to suggest otherwise,” he wrote to X in May.
In July, the FBI released a memo concluding that Epstein died by suicide and that his rumored “client list” never existed.
The memo sparked a backlash among members of President Trump’s MAGA movement, where conspiracy theories about Epstein have been circulating for years. Shortly afterward, Mr. Bongino and Attorney General Pam Bondi got into an angry confrontation at the White House, The New York Times reported.
Friday, when Bongino is reportedly considering resigning, is also the deadline for the Trump administration to comply with a bipartisan law mandating the release of government files related to the Epstein investigation.
