Kash Patel and Dan Bongino celebrate FBI record on podcast while dodging Epstein controversy

FBI director and his former deputy reunite on his podcast but ignore looming Epstein scrutiny NewsWorldAmericasUS politicsKash Patel and Dan Bongino spend first interview together gushing over TrumpFBI director and his former deputy reunite on his podcast but ignore looming Epstein scrutinyAlex Woodward in New York Wednesday 18 February 2026 19:02 GMTBookmarkCommentsGo to commentsBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popoverKash Patel gushes over Trump during first appearance on Dan Bongino's podcast after FBI exitYour support helps us to tell the storyRead moreSupport NowFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. 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We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.Your support makes all the difference.Read moreFBI director Kash Patel and his former deputy director Dan Bongino spent roughly 20 minutes lauding their work at the bureau during Patel’s first appearance on Bongino’s podcast since he left the agency last year.The pair spent most of their conversation gushing over their work and President Donald Trump while railing against antifa and media outlets and defending themselves from internal criticism.They also appeared to avoid discussing Jeffrey Epstein and growing demands from their own audience to expose the convicted sex offender’s alleged connections to a wider network of powerful pedophiles.“I think you and I did a pretty good job, but you know, it really isn’t hard when you focus on the bad guys,” Bongino said in response to Patel’s tenure at the bureau.“It’s not hard to do the job you signed up for if you’re allowed to do the job you signed up for,” Patel replied.open image in galleryFBI director Kash Patel appeared on Dan Bongino’s podcast February 18 for the first time since his former deputy left the bureau to return to his platform (AP)They celebrated a sharp decline in homicide rates and the capture of six of the FBI’s most wanted fugitives, which Patel attributed to Bongino.“You laid the groundwork for it. You worked quietly behind the scenes,” Patel said. “These numbers are truly historic and that was the foundational tectonic shift you and I put into place in the FBI.”Patel said “moms and pops” from across the country routinely approached them to thank them for their work.“What happened when we went to towns across America? I know it happened to you. People came up to us, moms and pops came up to us from every town, every corner we went to, and said, ‘Thank you to you and this Trump administration for keeping our kids safe and keeping murderers off the streets and keeping drugs out of our communities and letting our children have a safe environment to grow up in,’” according to Patel.open image in gallerySince returning to podcasting, the right-wing influencer has railed against the media and critics while defending the Trump administration (AFP via Getty Images)Bongino left the FBI in December after a nine-month stint as the bureau’s second-highest official to return to his former job as a podcast host.On his first show after leaving the bureau, Bongino explained that the FBI did not have a smoking gun in the Epstein files, but “this administration got you the information,” he said.But Bongino is increasingly using his platform to attack what he calls a “lib commie media class” he claims is conspiring with a decentralized network of antifascist groups.Last year, Trump signed an executive order purporting to designate “Antifa” as a “domestic terrorist organization.” That same week, he issued National Security Presidential Memorandum 7 (NSPM-7) on “Countering Domestic Terrorism and Organized Political Violence,” which appears to instruct federal law enforcement to target activist and nonprofit groups based on their alleged political affiliations.Patel said the FBI has made “significant headway” under NSPM-7.“This FBI has made significant headway under the NSPM-7 process in looking at those who funded these streams, and are starting to arrest people who used their funds to incite violence in the guise of political peaceful protest,” Patel told Bongino.open image in galleryFBI agents said the bureau was a ‘rudderless ship’ under the direction of Patel and Bongino, who left the FBI after nine months (Getty Images)Bongino, who reportedly clashed with the Justice Department over the release of materials surrounding Epstein investigation