Former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino returned to podcasting on Monday, relaunching a show that included a brief conversation with President Donald Trump and renewed attacks on the media and critics.
Dan Bongino, a conservative media personality and former U.S. Secret Service agent, returned to podcasting on Monday after ending his stint as the FBI’s deputy director.
Bongino served as the bureau’s No. 2 official after President Donald Trump announced in February 2025 that Bongino would take the role under FBI Director Kash Patel. Bongino later announced he would leave the job in January 2026, following a short and controversial tenure that drew scrutiny because he had no prior FBI experience and because of his history as a partisan commentator.
In the comeback episode, Bongino used a long opening monologue to attack mainstream media and his detractors, using profanity and declaring that he was back to reclaim influence in conservative media.
The episode also included a brief appearance by Trump, who praised Bongino’s work at the FBI and encouraged his return to public commentary. Trump again repeated his false claim that he won the 2020 presidential election in a “landslide.” Courts, state election officials from both parties and federal reviews have found no evidence of outcome-changing fraud in the 2020 election.
Bongino also addressed topics he had discussed for years as a commentator, including Jeffrey Epstein. During his time in government, Bongino publicly signaled that he had moved away from earlier insinuations about the FBI’s role in certain high-profile controversies and said investigations should be guided by evidence.
Details cited in some accounts of the show — including specific livestream viewership figures, claims of a Times Square billboard promoting the relaunch, and exact wording attributed to Bongino about platform disruptions and the contents of FBI evidence files — could not be independently verified from the available reporting reviewed for this article.
Bongino has said he intends to continue producing regular programming as he resumes his media career.
