Bongino Stuns Critics With Frank Admission on Fox News: 'Says He Lied For Money And Will Likely Do It Again'

[Mr. Sparkle]

FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino offered a surprisingly frank admission on Thursday night’s episode of Hannity when pressed on his past suggestion that the January 6 pipe bombs placed at the DNC and RNC were likely an “inside job.” Bongino, a former Fox News host, has made several earnest remarks in recent months on his former network, including in May, complaining about the difficulties of his new job and flat-out saying he does not like it.

Sean Hannity and Bongino spoke about the FBI’s recent arrest of a suspect responsible for placing the pipe bombs back in 2021, an act that has long fed the right’s conspiracy mongers.“I don’t know if you remember this,” Hannity told Bongino at one point, adding "This was before you became the deputy FBI director. You put a post on X right after this happened and said there’s a massive cover-up because the person that planted those pipe bombs, they don’t want you to know who it is because it’s either a connected anti-Trump insider are an inside job. You said that long before you even were thought of as deputy FBI director.

“Yeah, that’s why I said to you this investigation’s just begun,” Bongino replied. “We are pretty comfortable we have our guy.”Bongino then offered an explanation for his past comments, which stunned many observers in the media: “Listen, I was paid in the past, Sean, for my opinions. That’s clear. And one day I will be back in that space, but that’s not what I’m paid for now. I’m paid to be your deputy director, and we base investigations on facts.”

The clip quickly went viral and led to a wave of reactions, with many observers arguing that Bongino said the quiet part out loud about today’s MAGA influencer culture.Media reporter Joe Perticone shared the clip and commented, “Deputy FBI director says he lied for money and will likely do it again in the future.”“Holy crap, what an admission,” added the Atlantic’s Tom Nichols.

more... https://www.mediaite.com/politics/bongino-stuns-with-frank-admission-on-fox-news-says-he-lied-for-money-and-will-likely-do-it-again/

[eppur_se_muova]

1. "I was lying then, but I'm not lying now, so you have to believe me!"

He's admitted he was lying on at least one of those occasions -- now decide which (or both), they work equally well.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

2. MaddowBlog-FBI's Bongino tries to explain his discredited conspiracy theory in pipe-bombs case

Why did the FBI deputy director get the pipe-bombs case wrong? He has an answer, but it isn’t a good one.

FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino now admits that when he peddled bogus conspiracy theories about the pipe-bombs case, he didn’t know what he was talking about.

“I was paid in the past for my opinions,” he said.

I’m not sure if he’s fully thought this through. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2025-12-05T15:22:08.279Z

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/fbis-bongino-tries-to-explain-his-discredited-conspiracy-theory-in-pipe-bombs-case

Eleven months later, Bongino helped lead a press conference to announce the arrest of a suspect in the case. If the FBI and the Justice Department have the right guy, then clearly this was not “an inside job” and those conspiracy theories were wrong.

How, pray tell, does the FBI deputy director explain peddling conspiratorial nonsense that his own agency appears to have debunked? As it turns out, Bongino was given an opportunity to explain himself during a Thursday night appearance on Fox News

Link to tweet

Host Sean Hannity noted Bongino’s earlier comments about the case, to which the FBI deputy director responded, “You know, listen, I was paid in the past, Sean, for my opinions. That’s clear. And one day, I’ll be back in that space, but that’s not what I’m paid for now.”

So let me see if I have this straight: Bongino was a far-right media personality who used his platform to tell the public, among other things, about his conspiratorial beliefs related to the pipe-bombs case. Two months after peddling these claims, the president tapped him to help lead the FBI.

And now, however, Bongino seems willing to acknowledge that he didn’t know what he was talking about (or that he embraced certain positions because they were more lucrative) — which naturally raises a whole bunch of questions about why he was hired for a key federal law enforcement position and why anyone should find him credible going forward.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

3. Why is anyone surprised?