Former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino is pulling back the curtain on what he says was a deeply divided bureau — and the tactics he used to expose internal “snakes.”
Speaking on the “Hang Out with Sean Hannity” podcast, Bongino described an FBI split between agents committed to the mission and others he believes were actively undermining it from within.
“There were two FBIs trying to help you solve the A, B and C problems, and that’s FBI one and FBI two,” Bongino said in the episode released Tuesday.
According to Bongino, one side of the bureau was filled with professionals he respected deeply — including agents working in Violent Crimes Against Children (VCAC) units and violent crime fugitive task forces.
But the other side, he warned, was far more troubling.
“And then you had this other FBI,” Bongino said, adding, “which was populated with, to say, unfortunately, ‘snakes’ is being nice.”
Bongino explained that one of the biggest challenges he and FBI Director Kash Patel faced was figuring out who could be trusted — and who couldn’t.
The problem, he said, wasn’t always obvious.
“You’re trying to figure this out, and you’re asking someone for advice, you’ve only been there a couple weeks, and you don’t know if that person is part of the good FBI or the bad FBI,” Bongino said.
Even recommendations from within the bureau sometimes backfired.
“It happened a couple times where they’d say, ‘Oh, you can trust John Smith.’ And you trust John Smith, and then a week later you see a leak in the media and you’d be like, ‘I’m pretty sure that came from John Smith,’” he added.
How Bongino Flushed Out Leakers
To combat internal leaks, Bongino said he turned to a simple but effective strategy: setting traps.
He described deliberately sharing small, harmless — or “innocuous” — details about his schedule with select individuals, then watching to see if that information surfaced in the media.
When it did, it pointed directly to the source.
“It was like we would play this little game,” Bongino said.
The tactic allowed him to identify individuals he believed were leaking sensitive information, even as he acknowledged the broader difficulty of navigating an agency he viewed as internally fractured.
A Mission to Restore Trust
Bongino joined the FBI in March 2025 with a stated goal of restoring integrity and public trust in the bureau. He served for nearly a year before departing in January 2026.
At the time of his appointment, he made clear what he saw as the stakes.
“My promise to you is that I will work tirelessly to help restore integrity, eliminate political bias, and ensure the FBI remains dedicated to its core mission of protecting the United States and upholding the Constitution,” Bongino said.
Now back in the public arena, Bongino is offering a firsthand account of what he describes as a battle inside one of the nation’s most powerful institutions — and the methods he used to confront it.
🚨 DAN BONGINO REVEALS: He’ll NEVER BE THE SAME after serving in the FBI
“I’m scared man. I know what I did, I’m proud of my work.”
“I know what’s coming…they’re going to come for me.”
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