Former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino explained why he was “shocked to his core” after reviewing internal FBI documents, a reaction that prompted a widely viewed social media post in July 2025. Speaking Monday on “The Vince Show,” Bongino recalled reading the materials late on a Friday night and said the contents fundamentally changed his view of the agency’s actions.
In a post on X that drew more than 20 million views, Bongino wrote that he would “never be the same” after reviewing the documents.
Bongino told host Vince Coglianese that the records he reviewed were related to Crossfire Hurricane, the FBI’s counterintelligence investigation into Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and allegations of Russian interference.
“It was basically about Crossfire. I was just reading some stuff about Crossfire,” Bongino said. “And… I was blown away… I lived in this kind of tiny apartment in D.C. … And I’m sitting there and I’m thinking to myself, ‘I couldn’t believe it happened here.’ You know, Vince, like having been a Secret Service agent, a police officer, and I hadn’t been in the FBI role that long, but it had been a few months.”
“I just thought, gosh, these guardrails just broke down because of people. People are guardrails, not robots… And I was just stunned at how many people just let this — just the incredibly poor decision-making,” he added. “It blew my mind… I got up the next day and I just fired that out… I was really shaken by the whole thing, how these guardrails broke down so quickly. It was astonishing. And I was — oh boy. Even now talking about it, I just remember that feeling. Like, oh my gosh, did this really happen? Yeah, that’s what that was about.”
The Crossfire Hurricane investigation, launched in 2016, examined whether individuals associated with Trump’s campaign had coordinated with Russia. The probe later became the subject of multiple reviews and political controversy.
Bongino did not disclose specific details from the documents during the interview but said their contents were significant enough to alter his perspective on the investigation and the FBI’s handling of it.
He also said he would likely discuss the revelations in more depth on his upcoming show “within reason.”
He announced in a Monday X post that he was slated to launch a “new version of The Dan Bongino Show” on Feb. 2 that will exclusively stream live via Rumble on weekdays from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. EST. It “will expand on its legacy with a renewed focus on Washington insights, behind-the-scenes details from his time in government, and a message of hope and resilience in the conservative movement.”
The show will bring “Bongino’s unique insider perspective back to his loyal audience following a year of government service,” according to a press release. The show will be released on all major podcast platforms after the livestream, the release noted further.
“The new version of The Dan Bongino Show will expand on its legacy with a renewed focus on Washington insights, behind-the-scenes details from his time in government, and a message of hope and resilience in the conservative movement,” the release says.
Bongino was a prominent conservative podcaster before returning to public service as deputy director of the FBI under President Trump.
After joining the administration early last year, he was involved in several high-profile Justice Department matters, including the release of files related to the late financier Jeffrey Epstein.
He also played a key role in the investigation into pipe bombs left outside the Democratic and Republican national headquarters in Washington on Jan. 5, 2021.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said at a press conference last month that the arrest of the suspect was “the best birthday present” Bongino could have received.
