White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt berated the media for downplaying FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino’s career in law enforcement during Tuesday’s press briefing.
The media has amped up Bongino’s role as a conservative podcaster after President Donald Trump tapped him to serve in his new role on Sunday night. During the briefing, Leavitt pointed to Bongino’s lengthy experience as a law enforcement officer and U.S. Secret Service agent, and labeled the media’s coverage of the new deputy director as “despicable.”
“I’m not sure if anybody in this room has listened to Mr. Bongino when he talks about the past corruption at the FBI, when he talks about his experience serving for the United States Secret Service,” Leavitt said. “This is a man who loves his country and who has honorably served our country in ways that many people have not. He understands the depth of the corruption at these institutions which the American people reelected Trump to shake up.”
“And I think it’s quite despicable to see many networks in this room who have had chyrons on their television screens labeling Mr. Bongino as a far-right podcaster,” the press secretary continued. “He is not. He is a former law enforcement agent, he is a former Secret Service agent who put his life on the line to protect this country and that is why the president of the United States has entrusted him for this important role.”
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Leavitt further noted that government bureaucrats are “nervous” because Bongino is an “outsider” of Washington, D.C., who will work with FBI director Kash Patel and Attorney General Pam Bondi to “end the weaponization of government.”
Bongino served as an officer with the New York Police Department in 1995 to 1999 before becoming a Secret Service special agent in 1999 until 2011. After joining the Secret Service, Bongino received a Department of Justice award for his successful investigations while assigned to a financial fraud task-force and served as one of the most “distinguished agents” during former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama’s administrations.
Several legacy media outlets largely framed Bongino as a “right-wing podcaster” and “media personality” in their coverage about his new role in the FBI. NPR published a headline titled, “What to know about Dan Bongino, the media personality tapped as FBI deputy director,” which focused heavily on his widely popular podcast, “The Dan Bongino Show,” and accused him of spreading so-called “misinformation” about the COVID-19 pandemic and the now-debunked allegations that Trump’s 2016 campaign colluded with the Russian government.
CNN’s Brian Stelter, Alejandra Jaramillo and Piper Hudspeth Blackburn referred to Bongino as a “right-wing podcaster” and the “latest outsider media personality” picked by Trump to serve in a significant government position. NBC News ran a piece covering the said “shock and dismay” FBI officials felt over Trump picking a “right-wing podcaster and ardent FBI critic” to serve as the deputy director.
The Associated Press, which similarly labeled Bongino as a “popular right-wing podcaster,” wrote a lengthy piece about his alleged “inflammatory” rhetoric about the FBI, media, Democrats and the federal government. The New York Times further called Bongino a “right-wing provocateur” who allegedly “fueled right-wing disbelief.”
Following Bongino’s appointment, Patel praised the new deputy director as a “warrior and lifelong public servant” who has shown ” leadership, integrity, and deep commitment to justice” throughout his career.
“I am proud to welcome Dan Bongino as the next Deputy Director of the FBI—a warrior and lifelong public servant. Dan has dedicated his career to protecting this country, beginning with his time in the NYPD, where he served in one of the toughest precincts, the 75th, before spending more than a decade as a Special Agent in the United States Secret Service,” Patel said. “His leadership, integrity, and deep commitment to justice make him the ideal choice to help lead the FBI at this critical time. He’s a cops cop.”
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