FBI Director Kash Patel broke his silence over rumors that he is considering leaving the Trump administration amid the reported clashes between his deputy, Dan Bongino, and Attorney General Pam Bondi. This comes as several media outlets cited sources to report that Bongino and Patel and furious with the DOJ’s handling of the infamous Jeffrey Epstein list.
On Friday, the Daily Wire reported that Patel wants Bondi gone and will leave the FBI if Bongino resigns. “Source close to DOJ says Kash Patel also wants Pam Bondi gone, and that he’d consider leaving if Bongino leaves. Also, that there are more frustrations with other documents Bondi hasn’t released,” Mary Margaret Olohan of the Daily Wire posted on X, platform formerly known as Twitter.
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However, Patel clarified that the rumors are not true.
“The conspiracy theories just aren’t true, never have been. It’s an honor to serve the President of the United States @realDonaldTrump— and I’ll continue to do so for as long as he calls on me,” he tweeted.
According to reports, Bondi and Bongino clashed at the White House this week. As per a Fox News report, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles also got into a yelling match with the FBI official.
Read More: Trump explodes while defending Pam Bondi over Epstein files: ‘Why talk about that creep?’
Tensions that simmered for months boiled over on Monday when the Justice Department and FBI issued a two-page statement saying that they had concluded that Epstein did not possess a “client list,” even though Bondi had intimated in February that such a document was sitting on her desk, and had decided against releasing any additional records from the investigation.
The department did disclose a video meant to prove that Epstein killed himself in jail, but even that raised the eyebrows of conspiracy theorists because of a missing minute in the recording. News publication Axios was first to describe the conversation.
Todd Blanche sought to stem the fallout Friday.
“All of us signed off on the contents of the memo and the conclusions stated in the memo. The suggestion by anyone that there was any daylight between the FBI and DOJ leadership on this memo’s composition and release is patently false,” he wrote on X.
The White House sought in a statement to minimize any tensions.
“President Trump has assembled a highly qualified and experienced law and order team dedicated to protecting Americans, holding criminals accountable, and delivering justice to victims,” said spokesman Harrison Fields. “This work is being carried out seamlessly and with unity. Any attempt to sow division within this team is baseless and distracts from the real progress being made in restoring public safety and pursuing justice for all.”
(With AP inputs)
