There has been a bit of a shakeup at the FBI.
Reports surfaced late Monday night that Andrew Bailey, the attorney general of Missouri, had resigned his position to take on a new role as the co-deputy director of the FBI.
Dan Bongino will remain in place, but there are already rumors starting to swirl.
Bongino is a former Secret Service agent, podcaster, and former Fox News contributor, and he always made it clear that he was a staunch Trump supporter.
Trump tapped him to serve as the deputy director of the FBI, which shocked quite a few people for at least two reasons.
The first was that everyone expected FBI Director Kash Patel to pick his own deputy, but that clearly did not happen. Second, Bongino was a media personality and had been for quite some time, so there were some real questions about his qualifications for the job.
One thing Bongino did have, however, was a desire to re-establish the FBI as a respected law enforcement entity, having stated, "We are going to re-establish faith in this institution. The FBI belongs to the American people."
When Attorney General Pam Bondi and Patel announced there was no Epstein client list, Bongino reportedly lost it and walked out of the office, taking a personal day that Friday. Questions loomed about whether he was going to resign.
Remember, Bongino had been pushing this narrative for years while at Fox and on his podcast, once airing an episode in which he claimed to know an agent who worked on Clinton’s detail who knew details of the alleged activities that took place.
MAGA then went after Bondi, with Trump responding, “What’s going on with my ‘boys’ and, in some cases, ‘gals?’ They’re all going after Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is doing a FANTASTIC JOB! We’re on one Team, MAGA, and I don’t like what’s happening.”
Bongino did return to work, but there appeared to be a fracture.
I honestly cannot remember a time when we had a co-deputy director of the FBI, but following the rules is not exactly Trump’s thing. The question here is whether they are making a move, believing Bongino will leave, or if they just want to add more brainpower to the operation.
The addition of Bailey to the team is no small matter, as he has made it quite clear he is 100% behind Trump’s agenda. In accepting the appointment, he stated, “My life has been defined by a call to service, and I am once again answering that call, this time at the national level.”
Bongino, who has a very active social media account, did not go into detail about the announcement, simply responding “Welcome” to the post, with a Stars and Stripes emoji. Director Patel, however, stated, “Andrew Bailey will be an integral part of this important mission, and I look forward to the continued fight to save America together.”
I am trying to take this move at face value, but it is hard not to read more into this. I will sit on my hands for now, but something tells me all is not right in terms of how Bongino feels, so I would not be surprised at all if we find out in a month or two that he has decided to move on.
