Trump’s Fall Guy Over Botched Epstein Files Handling Revealed
White House insiders reportedly expect FBI No. 2 Dan Bongino to exit over the Epstein files debacle.
Reports indicate that President Donald Trump has targeted FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino as a potential scapegoat in the Epstein scandal.
According to Rachel Budd’s Inner Circle newsletter on Substack, Bongino, 51, “could be fired at any moment.” The newsletter suggests the former Secret Service agent and Fox News host has fallen out of favor with senior management over his handling of FBI documents related to the deceased convicted sex offender.
Budd writes that Bongino “clashed with U.S. Attorney Pam Bondi” and “refused to come to work for some time,” adding, “His departure is imminent.”
Bongino, appointed to the position in March, previously promoted conspiracy theories about Epstein and advocated for full transparency while hosting a pro-Trump podcast.
This information comes amid numerous espionage cases, which Budde suggests Trump, 79, has been privately mocking. “Fire Christy? I love Christy!” the president reportedly confided to one of his top advisers, according to the former Politico White House correspondent.
In her account, Trump publicly defended his overseen superiors this week. Budde added that despite widespread speculation about more significant firings, Trump is not considering a cabinet reshuffle and that the change being discussed might be limited to a single dismissal: that of Bongino, who doesn’t even hold a cabinet position.
However, Paddy indicated that advisers had privately assured her there would be “zero tolerance for nepotism” in the run-up to next year’s midterm elections, in case any cabinet members were tempted to use their influence to advance a potential 2028 presidential run.
While Bongino’s position may be redundant, Paddy points out that his superior, FBI Director Kash Patel, 45, holds a precarious but stable position.
Despite the flood of negative information about Patel—including tweets compromising investigations, the special protection afforded to his partner, and the use of a government plane to meet with her—Trump and his top advisers have categorically refused to discuss firing him.
White House Press Secretary Carolyn Leavitt publicly mocked rumors about his replacement, and Trump met with Patel in the Oval Office, emphasizing the director’s close relationship and unwavering loyalty, while his allies touted the merits of the investigation and its security justifications.
The Epstein files have regularly put Bongino and Patel in the crosshairs of their former “Make America Great Again” supporters. Podcast host Joe Rogan, in particular, criticized their lack of transparency regarding Trump’s relationship with his former financial friend.
After months of relentless efforts by the Trump administration to keep the Epstein files secret—including a massive FBI redaction campaign in March and April—Bongino changed his tune without providing detailed explanations. In May, the former police officer claimed that the government was taking prudent steps to protect the victims, before falling silent.
Last month, Bloomberg published internal FBI emails revealing that on March 18—the day after Bongino took office as deputy director—he received “instructions” on what information should not be disclosed.
When questioned about his role, Bongino broke his silence, downplaying the significance of the email: “I started on March 17… The emails… were sent before I started… I wanted to review the work done before I began,” he wrote on X.com, without providing further details about the censorship or the content.
The emails described an intensive and costly training campaign for approximately 1,000 clients at the Archives Center in Winchester, Virginia, at a cost of $851,344 in overtime hours between March 17 and 22, and 4,737 additional hours through July, most of which were in March.
After federal prosecutor Pam Bondi, 60, hinted at the release of the “client list” in February, the Justice Department announced on July 7 that it had found none. The department then suspended the release of the files, provoking anger from Bongino, who reportedly threatened to resign.
Faced with demands from victims for investigations into possible document tampering, Trump signed the Epstein Transparency Act on November 19, setting a one-month deadline for their release.
Trump denies any wrongdoing related to his former friend Epstein, who died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
FBI spokesman Ben Williamson said: “This story is false and clearly based on outdated and inaccurate information, with the intent to sow discord within the President’s team, which is fully united in its commitment to ensuring the security, stability, and prosperity of the United States.”
An FBI source told that Bongino did not “refuse to come to work,” but simply “took two days off at the time.”
