Patel and Bongino draw scrutiny from MAGA World

The Hill

21-05-2025

FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino are finding their popularity as MAGA figures and some of their past brash statements are colliding head-on with the reality of running a major law enforcement agency.
Patel and Bongino sat for a rare joint interview with Maria Bartiromo on Fox News's 'Sunday Morning Futures,' seeking to lay out their approach and quell simmering concerns among the MAGA faithful that they have insufficiently rooted out the deep state or found evidence of long-held conspiracy theories.
Patel spoke about how his predecessors 'intentionally failed the American public' and pledged that declassifying documents related to the investigation into his 2016 campaign's potential ties to Russia would help 'restore the trust that was lost to the American public when it comes to the FBI.'
But even Bartiromo seemed skeptical.
'With all due respect, we've been talking about this for a long time. And I've been demanding accountability for many, many years,' Bartiromo said, noting former FBI officials Jim Comey and Peter Strzok have yet to face serious repercussions.
Comey was one of the officials named on Patel's list of 'deep state' figures in his 2022 book, 'Government Gangsters.' Patel told Bartiromo her criticism was fair, but noted he and Bongino only recently got into the FBI and faced issues with statutes of limitation.
Both Patel and Bongino were celebrated picks among President Trump's base and the MAGA faithful. Patel's nomination sparked backlash among Democrats, particularly over his 'enemies list' of government officials in his book. The Senate voted to confirm him, 51-49, as all but two Republicans voted in favor.
Bongino was tapped to serve as Patel's deputy in February, a position that does not require Senate confirmation.
Trump and his allies liked that both were seen as government outsiders with strong, pro-Trump records who had openly spoken about dismantling the establishment and addressing what critics saw as the politicization of law enforcement.
Patel, a former GOP congressional staffer and Trump national security aide, previously fought to declassify documents that would have undercut the FBI's probe into connections between Russia and Trump's 2016 campaign.
Bongino, a former police officer and Secret Service agent, hosted a radio show and podcast where he pushed conspiracy theories about the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, argued the FBI was 'corrupt' and suggested Democrats such as former President Biden should be in prison.
Now that they're inside the government, the two have found that backing up their claims as private citizens is sometimes a difficult task.
That was captured over the weekend, when Bongino and Patel plainly stated that notorious financier Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide in prison. Epstein's death has been a subject of numerous conspiracy theories, with many Trump supporters and conservatives pushing claims that his death was not a suicide.
'I was asked about some of the details surrounding the Jeffrey Epstein case. I have reviewed the case. Jeffrey Epstein killed himself. There's no evidence in the case file indicating otherwise,' Bongino posted on the social platform X after the interview. 'I'm not asking you to believe me, or not. I'm telling you what exists, and what doesn't. If new evidence surfaces I'm happy to reevaluate.'
Shawn Ryan, a podcast host, told Tucker Carlson that he did not believe Bongino's answer.
'I've dug into that, and it's just so spooky what's going on with that,' Ryan said.
Glenn Beck, a conservative firebrand, said while he supported both Bongino and Patel, he did not believe that the FBI had released sufficient evidence to prove Epstein's cause of death.
The skepticism is a reflection of just how deeply embedded conspiracy theories are among portions of Trump's base, and how difficult it will be even for beloved figures such as Bongino and Patel to satisfy people who have waited years for some kind of bombshell.
The FBI has racked up some notable wins in Patel's early months at the helm to satisfy Trump and his supporters.
Trump signed a memo directing the declassification of FBI files related to the investigation into his 2016 campaign's potential ties to Russia.
FBI agents arrested a Wisconsin-based judge amid an investigation into whether she tried to help a migrant lacking permanent legal status avoid arrest. Patel has been at the center of high-profile arrests of gang members and the extradition of a person with ties to the Abbey Gate bombing in 2021 in Kabul, Afghanistan, that killed 13 U.S. soldiers.
Federal authorities have also zeroed in on Comey after the former FBI director posted an image on social media with seashells laid out in the shape of '8647,' which some have interpreted as a threat against Trump.
Patel has promised there's more to come, and the MAGA movement is sure to be watching.
'You're about to see a wave of transparency,' Patel told Bartiromo.
'What do you mean?' Bartiromo asked.
'Just give us about a week or two,' Patel responded.
For Trump, there seems to be no problem that trade cannot fix.
After India and Pakistan agreed to a ceasefire after intervention from the U.S., Trump signaled he appealed to both sides by promising to do more trade.
The president suggested trade could be a key factor in reaching a nuclear agreement with Iran, and Monday, Trump indicated trade was top of mind as he sought to broker a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.
'I'm using trade to settle scores and to make peace,' Trump told Fox News at the conclusion of his recent trip to the Middle East.
Trade and dealmaking is central to Trump's brand, and it appears he has attempted to marry the two when it comes to foreign policy. Trump has made clear through his approach to tariffs that he believes trade can bring countries to the negotiating table, even beyond economic reasons.
'The basis upon which we are negotiating with the Iranians, our hope is that we can encourage them to show them a path towards prosperity and peace that allow them to develop their economy,' Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers Tuesday.
But there is some cause for skepticism that Trump's trade-centric approach is effective.
Russia has continued its military campaign in Ukraine, launching drone strikes even as Trump attempts to bring Moscow to the negotiating table and floats the threat of sanctions and the promise of more trade.
Despite Trump's recounting of trade playing a central role in talks between India and Pakistan, a spokesperson for the Indian Foreign Ministry told reporters that the issue of trade 'didn't come up in any of these discussions.
Iran's supreme leader has also downplayed the prospect of an imminent agreement with the U.S. on its nuclear capabilities, despite Trump's public optimism.
'We don't think it will lead to any outcome,' Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said at a ceremony this week to honor the anniversary of former President Ebrahim Raisi's death. 'We don't know what will happen.'