Dan Bongino told Sean Hannity's podcast that the FBI was effectively split into two groups: agents he respected for their investigative work and others he described as "snakes" who leaked sensitive information. He and Director Kash Patel struggled to vet staff because outside recommendations were sometimes wrong. To unmask leakers, Bongino said he planted harmless but false details and watched whether they appeared in the media. He served from March 2025 to January 2026 and had pledged to restore integrity and reduce political bias at the bureau.
Dan Bongino Says He Unmasked FBI 'Snakes' by Planting Fake Details to Catch Leaks
FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino holds a news conference at the Department of Justice on Dec. 4, 2025.(Getty Images)
Former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino told the Hang Out with Sean Hannity podcast that the bureau he helped lead appeared split between two opposing cultures: agents he praised as dedicated professionals and others he derided as "snakes." Bongino described how that divide complicated efforts to stop internal leaks and restore trust in the agency.
Two Factions, One Problem
On the episode released Tuesday, Bongino said the bureau felt like "two FBIs": one focused on core investigative work and another that undermined those efforts. He singled out teams such as Violent Crimes Against Children (VCAC) and violent-crime fugitive task forces as examples of personnel he respected, saying he often felt "honored" to be in the room with them.
"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.
Difficulty Identifying Leakers
Bongino and then-FBI Director Kash Patel, he said, struggled to determine which employees could be trusted because allegiances were not always obvious. Outside recommendations sometimes proved unreliable, and trusted staffers could later be suspected as the source of a media leak.
FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino speak at the Justice Department during a news conference on Dec. 4, 2025.
He described a recurring scenario: a colleague would be vouched for, the leadership would place trust in that person, and then an unauthorized detail would appear in the press days later. "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,'" Bongino said.
How He Exposed Leakers
To identify the sources of leaks, Bongino said he adopted a simple but deliberate tactic: he would share an "innocuous" but deliberately false detail about his schedule with a specific colleague. If that fabricated detail later appeared in the press, it pointed to who had passed the information along — and allowed him to confront the person involved. "It was like we would play this little game," he explained.
Tenure and Stated Goals
Bongino joined the bureau in March 2025 and left in January 2026. At the time of his appointment he said his goal was to restore an FBI that was "transparent, accountable, and committed to the rule of law." He pledged to "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."
Context: Bongino's account sheds light on internal trust issues and the practical steps leaders sometimes take to stop leaks. His description reflects tensions between rank-and-file investigators and individuals he believed were undermining the bureau's work.
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