Dan Bongino’s latest warning to Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) just took on a whole new level of significance. Over the weekend, the former Secret Service agent turned conservative firebrand told his podcast audience that he wasn’t ready to “move on” from the Trump-Russia collusion hoax.
Less than 24 hours later, President Trump announced that Bongino would be serving as deputy director of the FBI—second-in-command to newly appointed FBI Director Kash Patel. Now, many are wondering whether Bongino’s comments were more than just tough talk but a preview of what’s to come for Schiff and others who helped orchestrate one of the most damaging political scandals in modern history.
Bongino, 50, made it clear that he has unfinished business with the deep-state operatives who weaponized federal law enforcement to fabricate the baseless Trump-Russia conspiracy. “I’m not letting this go. I wanna find out what happened because it can never happen again,” he said. He emphasized how Schiff and other Trump opponents worked alongside intelligence officials, foreign governments, and the DOJ to push a false narrative that nearly destroyed a presidency and strained international relations with a nuclear superpower.
Schiff, as one of the key architects of the Russia collusion hoax, repeatedly claimed to have “more than circumstantial evidence” linking Trump’s campaign to Russian operatives. He made those statements in 2017 while pushing for an investigation that would drag on for years—despite zero hard evidence to support it. The entire narrative finally crumbled in 2023 when Special Counsel John Durham’s report concluded that the FBI had no legitimate basis to launch the Trump-Russia probe in the first place. The findings exposed what Bongino has long argued: the entire thing was a political hit job.
And now, Bongino has real power to do something about it.
Trump’s decision to tap Bongino as Patel’s number two at the FBI is a clear sign that he’s not just looking to reform the Bureau—he’s looking to clean house. Bongino’s appointment follows a series of high-profile moves to overhaul federal law enforcement, including Pam Bondi taking over as Attorney General and Patel assuming leadership at the FBI. With Bongino in a top leadership role, expect serious investigations into the past weaponization of the Bureau, particularly against Trump and his allies.
The FBI’s history with Trump is well-documented, most infamously with the 2022 Mar-a-Lago raid over so-called classified documents. That case was later dismissed, but the imagery of federal agents storming the former president’s home became a rallying cry for those who saw the Bureau as politically compromised. Now, the people overseeing the FBI are the same ones who were once its loudest critics.
Beyond the Russia hoax, Bongino has also been outspoken about the major security lapses that led to the July 2024 assassination attempt against Trump. His blistering criticism of the Secret Service, where he served from 1999 to 2011, was part of what ultimately led to the resignation of the agency’s director. Now, with Sean Curran—a longtime Trump ally—leading the Secret Service, and Bongino in a position of power at the FBI, the national security landscape is shifting rapidly.
Trump made it clear that Bongino’s appointment is about restoring integrity and lawfulness to the FBI. “Working with our great new United States Attorney General, Pam Bondi, and Director Patel, Fairness, Justice, Law and Order will be brought back to America, and quickly. Congratulations Dan!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
