A right-wing influencer who has the ear of president Donald Trump claims to have inside information about alleged turmoil at the FBI's highest levels.
MAGA activist Laura Loomer, who traveled with the president during his 2024 campaign and has met with him at the White House, said Friday morning that FBI Director Kash Patel and deputy director Dan Bongino were furious over Attorney General Pam Bondi's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case, and she said Bongino was considering resigning in protest.
"[Patel and Bongino] are LIVID with [Bondi] over her DOJ Memo and the lack of transparency from her office regarding the Jeffery Epstein files," Loomer posted, tagging each official. "Source tells me Dan Bongino is taking the day off today from his job as Deputy Director of the FBI, and there’s now speculation on whether or not he will return to his job at the @FBI over his disgust with Blondi’s lack of transparency and handling of the Epstein files."
Loomer's reporting was confirmed about two hours later by Axios, which added that administration officials made clear he still was on the job.
"Two sources familiar with Bongino's position say he was increasingly displeased with Bondi's handling of the Epstein case because she had publicly overpromised and underdelivered disclosures about an Epstein 'client list' that apparently never existed," Axios reported.
The Department of Justice and FBI released a memo earlier this week stating that no evidence had been found that the notorious sex trafficker had kept a "client list," which Bondi claimed to have had sitting on her desk, and both Patel and Bongino, along with Vice President JD Vance, helped feed lurid conspiracy theories about who might be listed.
"Pam Blondi has brought total embarrassment to President Trump, @JDVance, @dbongino and @Kash_Patel," Loomer posted. "She has also LIED to the American people. I’m told Kash and Bongino are furious with Blondi and the blowback she has caused them with her lack of transparency. Kash Patel and Dan Bongino should call for Blondi’s public resignation today to save themselves and to also push for full transparency into the Epstein files. This is an issue the American people care deeply about."
Loomer claims credit for the president pushing out Gen. Timothy Haugh, who had been head of the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command, along with his civilian NSA deputy Wendy Noble back in April after meeting with Trump at the White House, and she urged him to dismiss his attorney general.
"Someone needs to be fired for this. Giving Blondi courtesy to resign is more than she deserves," Loomer posted. "Trump should just FIRE her."
Deputy attorney general Todd Blanche tweeted a statement about an hour after Loomer's post disputing there was any tension between DOJ and FBI leadership.
"I worked closely with @FBIDirectorKash and @FBIDDBongino on the joint FBI and DOJ memo regarding the Epstein Files," Blanche posted. "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."
Loomer's post raised eyebrows on social media.
"If the president who used to hang out with Jeffrey Epstein fires the attorney general who didn't prosecute him in Florida over her handling of files about the case we're going to need some congressional hearings about this," posted Matthew Gertz, a senior fellow at Media Matters.
