FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino has resigned – just hours after Donald Trump appeared to announce the top intelligence officer’s return to radio.
Bongino confirmed his resignation following reports that he was considering stepping down amid disagreements over the Jeffrey Epstein files.
The US president appeared to tell reporters that Bongino was thinking about going “back to his show”.
Referencing Bongino’s former role as a conservative commentator, Trump said: “Dan did a great job. I think he wants to go back to his show.”
The Deputy Director’s departure comes amid the increasingly desperate manhunt for the Brown University gunman.
The latest trove of Jeffrey Epstein files is also set to be released by the end of Friday.
Bongino said as he announced his resignation that he would be “leaving his position with the FBI in January”.
He said: “I want to thank President Trump, AG Bondi, and Director Patel for the opportunity to serve with purpose.
“Most importantly, I want to thank you, my fellow Americans, for the privilege to serve you.”
He added: “God bless America, and all those who defend Her.”
The Deputy Director was already “halfway out the door” after he clashed with others over the Justice Department and FBI’s handling of the Epstein files, sources told the Daily Mail.
Earlier this month, during a meeting between the FBI and DOJ, Attorney General Pam Bondi supposedly confronted Bongino and FBI Director Kash Patel about a story published by NewsNation.
The story alleged that the FBI wanted more information on the Epstein files released, which was ultimately shut down by the DOJ.
Bondi asked Bongino and Patel if they were behind the leak, which Bongino denied.
It comes after Ghislaine Maxwell asked a court to throw out her sex trafficking conviction.
Epstein’s former partner and accomplice is currently serving 20 years behind bars for helping recruit and traffic underage girls for sex.
Maxwell has now filed a habeas petition – which claims “substantial new evidence has emerged” showing that she did not get a fair trial, ABC News reported.
The disgraced socialite, who submitted the eleventh-hour plea without an attorney, said “exculpatory information” had been “withheld”.
The claim read: “This newly available evidence – derived from litigation against the Federal Bureau of Investigation, various financial institutions, and the Estate of Jeffrey Epstein, as well as from sworn depositions, released records, and other verified sources – shows that exculpatory information was withheld, false testimony presented, and material facts misrepresented to the jury and the Court.”
Maxwell’s desperate bid comes following a string of attempts to appeal her conviction.
It also comes two days before the deadline for the next batch of Epstein files to be released.
Under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the Justice Department is required to release “searchable and downloadable” copies of virtually all unclassified Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell-related records in its possession.
That includes FBI case files, search-warrant materials from raids on Epstein’s homes in Florida, New York and his private island Little Saint James.
It also features interview memos, financial and bank records, travel logs from commercial and private flights, internal Justice Department communications, corporate records, and documents relating to Epstein’s death.
