WASHINGTON — As President Donald Trump’s White House game-planned how to message the Jeffrey Epstein files during the summer of 2025, Dan Bongino was growing increasingly frustrated and angry.
He understood the vast interest in Jeffrey Epstein online, and he had repeatedly sounded the alarm to Trump’s team that the outcry over the DOJ’s bungling of the Epstein files was gaining momentum, as Jonathan Swan and Maggie Haberman reported for their book “Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump.”
Back in July 2025, the president wasn’t yet interested in releasing the files. The DOJ had briefed him on the contents of what they had, noting that much of it included child sexual abuse material and that a lot of the raw records contained unverified and unsubstantiated information, including about the president and some of his friends. The White House viewed the conversation as toxic and unnecessary (the president would later call out Democrats’ new fixation on the files as a “hoax”).
Trump’s advisors argued at the time that the president had weathered every possible media storm — and he could weather this Epstein one as well. Ultimately, the House and Senate would vote to pass the Epstein Files Transparency Act in November 2025, and Trump would sign it into law the same month. The files would be released in massive dumps in December and January.
But during the summer of 2025, Bongino repeatedly told the White House that Team Trump wasn’t grasping how big of a deal the Epstein drama was, telling White House advisors, according to The New York Times: “It’s not an online story. You don’t understand.”
Things came to a head when the DOJ and FBI put out a memo saying that they had concluded that there was no evidence Epstein had a client list. It also said that Epstein’s death was a suicide, that the Trump administration wouldn’t be releasing any more information about the Epstein case, and that no further investigation was warranted.
At the same time, they also released 11 hours of video footage from the Manhattan jail where Epstein was found dead. That surveillance video actually made matters worse, since it was missing a pivotal minute, from 11:58:58 to midnight on the night that Epstein died. That missing minute was later released, but it had only fueled angry speculation about a coverup.
Bongino was enraged by the memo and by the handling of the entire situation. He had argued to Patel that it would not at all align with their transparency promises, the NYT reports, and he pushed hard for the FBI seal to be left off the letter. While Patel reportedly agreed with Bongino on many points, he ultimately went along with what the DOJ and White House wanted.
In what Haberman and Swan described as a “volcanic mood,” Bongino shouted at Bondi in a Justice Department meeting with FBI staff.
“You f*cked this thing up from the start,” Bongino allegedly yelled at the former attorney general. “The way you’ve been talking about this — that dumb f*cking charade with the Epstein files, the ‘They’re on my desk’ nonsense, all the promises to the folks out there.”
Photographer: Alex Kent/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Bongino and Patel were reportedly called into a Situation Room meeting with Susie Wiles, Pam Bondi, Todd Blanche, and Taylor Budowich two days later. Wiles immediately asked Bongino if he had leaked a story about Epstein and Trump to ABC News, the New York Times reports.
“I’ll tell you what,” Bongino reportedly replied. “I’ll give you $100,000 cash right now. I’m not kidding. Walk out to West Exec, put that reporter on speaker and get him to admit I leaked it. A hundred thousand dollars.”
When Wiles started to tell Bongino that “we all got ourselves into this,” he allegedly cut her off, saying, “No, no, no, no, no. We didn’t get ourselves into anything. I warned you guys about this the whole time, and you ignored me. And exactly what I said was going to happen happened. And now you’re pretending I was in on this. I was never in on this.”
His response startled the rest of the group, particularly given that Wiles was the White House chief of staff. Wiles reportedly pressed forward, telling Bongino, “Going forward, we’re all in. We’re all going to agree to move forward. Are you in or not?”
He reportedly responded: “No, I’m not. This is not my plan. I’m not part of this going forward. Forget it. I’m out of here.”
And, in an even more shocking move, Bongino “stormed out of the Situation Room and onto West Executive Avenue, where he climbed into the back of Patel’s armored SUV and directed the driver to take him to FBI headquarters.”
MAGA world lit up with rumors that Bongino would resign. Sources close to Bongino at the time told Daily Wire that he was threatening to leave the bureau if Bondi remained on the job, effectively issuing an ultimatum.
Patel also wanted Bondi gone, sources close to the FBI chief told The Daily Wire, saying that Patel would consider leaving the FBI if Bongino left.
“Blondie f*cked thi…
Read the full article at The Daily Wire →📄Source document: Regime Change
4 reports
The Washington TimesIndependentLeft2 days agoA new book by New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, titled 'Regime Change,' explores the first year of Donald Trump's second presidential term. It highlights how Trump's return to the White House in 2025 differs from his first term, with the president feeling more empowered to challenge norms and expand executive power. The book suggests that Trump believes losing the 2020 election allowed him to avoid challenges such as internal administration resistance, the coronavirus pandemic, and Democratic opposition. The text also mentions discussions around potential candidates,如
Bias read (Left): The article presents the book's perspective that Trump feels more empowered in his second term due to avoiding past challenges, which implies criticism of his actions and motivations. The framing emphasizes Trump's alleged overreach and the absence of constraints, suggesting a critical viewpoint.
Official sources cited
- press release Regime Change
The New York Times (US)Independent🔒Left3 days agoThe book 'Regime Change' by Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan of The New York Times reveals details and exchanges from President Trump's White House, focusing on his efforts to expand executive power.
Bias read (Left): The framing of the book suggests a critical perspective on former President Trump's actions, implying a focus on potential overreach or abuse of power, which aligns with a left-leaning interpretation of events.
AxiosIndependentRight7 days agoAxios reports that senior White House officials suspect journalists Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan of obtaining audio recordings of secret Situation Room meetings for their upcoming book 'Regime Change.' These recordings would represent a significant security breach, as independent recording devices are prohibited in the Situation Room. The article notes that White House officials have not challenged the verbatim quotes from these meetings, including remarks by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The book, based on over 1,000 interviews, covers events during Trump's second term.
Bias read (Right): The article frames the situation with strong emphasis on the potential security breach and the White House's concern, using terms like 'shocking breach' and highlighting Trump's anger. It also presents the White House's perspective without balancing it with counterpoints from the journalists or the书
Official sources cited
- government White House officials
The Daily WireIndependentRight11 days agoThe article discusses Dan Bongino's frustration with how former President Donald Trump's administration handled the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files during the summer of 2025. It mentions that Bongino warned Trump's team about public outrage over the Department of Justice's handling of the files. The article references a book by Jonathan Swan and Maggie Haberman titled 'Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump,' which details the internal discussions around the Epstein files. The article also notes that the DOJ had informed Trump about the sensitive content within the
Bias read (Right): The article presents events through a lens that aligns with conservative perspectives, referencing a book critical of the Trump administration while emphasizing the sensitivity of the Epstein files' content. The framing suggests skepticism toward Democratic criticism of the files as a 'hoax' and con
Official sources cited
- press release Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump
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