FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino abruptly skipped work on Friday following a clash with Attorney General Pam Bondi in the White House over the handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files, according to Axios.
This explosive clash came as the Trump-era DOJ formally recanted on previously promoted bombshells: Epstein had no blackmail “client list,” and he was not murdered in prison. Instead, FBI and DOJ experts concluded Epstein took his own life in 2019, armed with newly released surveillance footage and a two‑page memo purporting to lay the matter to rest.
What ignited the blowup? At the heart was the administration’s release of an 11‑hour prison surveillance video—framed as irrefutable proof that no intruder accessed Epstein’s cell before his death.
But a conspicuous one‑minute gap in the footage—just before midnight—has unleashed a tidal wave of conspiracy outrage online. Bondi explained it’s due to a nightly reset cycle in the antiquated CCTV system, which wipes a minute of footage nightly. But MAGA hardliners are not buying it .
Dan Bongino and FBI Director Kash Patel, both former MAGA media stars turned high‑ranking officials, were furious that Bondi front‑loaded promises of damning disclosures—only to walk them back.
Critics claim Bondi repeatedly