FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino harangued Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) for speculating that President Donald Trump's administration was trying to publicly out a whistleblower.
The Kentucky Republican posted a letter he had received from the FBI whistleblower's attorney that said a Thursday morning meeting at the bureau's Washington field office was intended to identify the individual who made a protected disclosure about the ongoing investigation into pipe bombs placed at the Democratic and Republican national headquarters on January 5, 2021.
"I received this troubling letter today from the attorney representing the most recent FBI whistleblower regarding the J6 pipe bomb investigation," Massie posted. "Just a reminder to @FBIDirectorKash, in case this letter is warranted, federal law prevents retaliation against whistleblowers."
Bongino fired back in a lengthy post on X, saying he had offered to brief the congressman over the phone but he did not answer.
“When I spoke with you [Wednesday] a little after 8am ET (screenshots attached), I offered you an in-person brief on our work," Bongino posted on X. "We spoke for ten minutes. I called you back a bit after 7:30pm ET to again make that offer. You didn’t answer and have yet to call me back."
“Despite this, you continue to imply that the Director and I are targeting investigators in the case,” Bongino continued. “This is disgusting, even by the low standards many have for politicians. You know my number, and you’re free to call me anytime. But it’s easier to tweet and throw BS bombs.”
"Yes, our leadership team will be meeting with FBI team members today, and we will avail them of all the whistleblower resources they need to disclose ANY evidence of malfeasance in the prior administration," Bongino added. "And we will ask about threads that may have gone un-pulled under prior leadership, because we are passionate about solving this case. But a week of near 24-hour work on RECENT open source leads in the case has yet to produce a break through, and some of the media reporting regarding prior persons of interest is grossly inaccurate and serves only to mislead the public."
Last month, the FBI released new footage last month of a suspect placing an explosive device at the DNC, renewed public interest in the unsolved case, and the right-wing Blaze outlet published a conspiracy theory pinning the blame on a female former Capitol Police officer who joined the CIA shortly after Jan. 6.
Critics pointed out that flimsily reported story was hyped by other administration officials despite major questions about its accuracy.
"Mr. Bongino, you said some reports about 'persons of interest' in this case are 'grossly inaccurate' and 'mislead the public,'" wrote Lawfare's Anna Bowers. "Are you aware DOJ official Ed Martin boosted an unsubstantiated conspiracy theory claiming the J6 pipe bomber is a former Capitol Police officer? Do you believe he misled the public? Any comment on his conduct?"