President Trump on Saturday threw a political lifeline to Pam Bondi, his embattled attorney general, appearing to side with her over Dan Bongino, the F.B.I.’s deputy director, who has threatened to quit over Ms. Bondi’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.
“They’re all going after Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is doing a FANTASTIC JOB!” Mr. Trump wrote in a lengthy post on Truth Social, his social media site. “We’re on one Team, MAGA, and I don’t like what’s happening.”
He went on to plead with his followers to “not waste Time and Energy” on Mr. Epstein, the disgraced financier and registered sex offender he once socialized with and described in the post as “a guy who never dies.”
The post — which Ms. Bondi welcomed, according to officials — came a day after a bruising battle between her and Mr. Bongino burst into public view. Mr. Bongino has not shown up for work since Ms. Bondi accused him of planting negative news stories about her during a testy face-to-face encounter in the West Wing office of Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff and an ally of Ms. Bondi’s. Mr. Bongino, who has groused about his workload and spoken wistfully of his lucrative old gig as a podcaster, where he promoted conspiracy theories, has told friends he might ditch his job.
Even with the president’s support, Ms. Bondi remains the target of withering criticism from the hard-right wing of Mr. Trump’s coalition, which blames her for overhyping a modest tranche of new Epstein files as a bombshell revelation soon after she took office in February. Laura Loomer, the flame-throwing activist who wields significant influence with the president, has joined a growing chorus calling for Ms. Bondi’s resignation.
Mr. Bongino’s boosters had hoped that Kash Patel, the F.B.I. director, who has privately criticized Ms. Bondi’s Epstein stunt, would also consider quitting in protest. It has not happened.
A few hours before Mr. Trump posted his support for Ms. Bondi, Mr. Patel offered up his own statement on social media, calling it “an honor to serve the President of the United States.”
“I’ll continue to do so for as long as he calls on me,” Mr. Patel wrote.
That would appear to leave Mr. Bongino in the lurch. Ms. Bondi’s allies in the administration believe he has burned his bridges and needs to leave, according to two people familiar with her thinking.
Justice Department and F.B.I. spokesmen declined to comment.
Glenn Thrush covers the Department of Justice for The Times and has also written about gun violence, civil rights and conditions in the country’s jails and prisons.
Shawn McCreesh is a White House reporter for The Times covering the Trump administration.
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