Tucker Carlson says 'insecure' Pam Bondi 'shafted' Dan Bongino and ruined his career over Epstein case

Tucker Carlson said Pam Bondi didn’t sabotage Dan Bongino intentionally but accused her of trying too hard to 'please' her audience
UPDATED JUL 15, 2025
Tucker Carlson accused Attorney General Pam Bondi of ruining FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino's media career (Getty Images)
Tucker Carlson accused Attorney General Pam Bondi of ruining FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino's media career (Getty Images)


 

PALM BEACH, FLORIDA: Tucker Carlson just pulled back the curtain on what he says is a career-crushing mess for his buddy Dan Bongino. According to him, the villain of the story is Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Carlson dove into the latest fallout from the Epstein saga in a no-holds-barred interview on the 'Culture Apothecary' podcast.

The spark that lit the fire was a bombshell memo from the Department of Justice that landed this month, stating definitively that there is no Epstein “client list” and that the disgraced financier — who died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial — had committed suicide and wasn't murdered.

Bondi, who had earlier hinted on Fox News back in February that she had the list sitting right on her desk, instantly became MAGA enemy number one. The White House has since tried to mop things up, claiming that Bondi had the full Epstein file on her desk, not a tidy little “client list.”

How did Dan Bongino go from star MAGA podcaster to Epstein scapegoat?

Tucker Carlson said his friend Dan Bongino had been "completely shafted.”

The former Secret Service agent turned right-wing podcasting juggernaut had been riding high with “tons of money” and “having a great time” in Florida—until Trump personally asked him to take a leadership gig at the FBI.

Host Dan Bongino as US Open winner Gary Woodland visits
Dan Bongino as US Open winner Gary Woodland visits 'FOX & Friends' at Fox News Channel Studios on June 18, 2019, in New York City (Roy Rochlin/Getty Images)

According to Carlson, Bongino took the hit for the team. He accepted a smaller paycheck and moved his whole family to DC “because he loves Trump and loves his country,” Carlson said.

But that sacrifice seems to have backfired. “All of a sudden, everybody thinks you’re covering up Epstein’s crimes. And it kind of wrecks Dan’s career,” Carlson explained. “It’s going to be very hard to go back to his podcast audience and be like, ‘I’m telling you the truth,’ when they all think that he’s covering up for Epstein,” he added. “Who did that? Pam Bondi did that.”

Tucker Carlson sympathizes with Dan Bongino as he shades Pam Bondi

Despite the scathing critique, Tucker Carlson insists there’s no bad blood toward Pam Bondi.

He called her a “very nice person” and said he doesn’t believe she torched Bongino’s career on purpose. But then he took a swipe. “She’s insecure,” Carlson said, and “trying to please” her audience.

WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 22:  (AFP OUT) Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks during a meeting
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks during a meeting with President Donald Trump and state and local officials on school safety at The White House, February 22, 2018, in Washington, DC (Chris Kleponis-Pool/Getty Images)

“I’m not exactly sure how that happened, but I do know that it leaves a guy like Dan in a horrible position,” he added. “And he loves Trump, and I don’t think Trump had any knowledge of any of this at the detail level. And so, I mean, what do you do if you’re Dan Bongino? I just really feel for him.”

Bongino, for his part, isn’t hiding his misery. Back in May, he publicly admitted he doesn’t even like his new job.

On Friday, July 11, he was a no-show at work, sparking weekend speculation that he’d either resigned or was seriously thinking about it—especially after being forced to admit during a Fox News interview that the evidence pointed to Epstein dying by suicide.

Donald Trump stands by Pam Bondi

President Donald Trump, meanwhile, isn’t backing down. Over the weekend, he jumped onto Truth Social to sing Pam Bondi’s praises and said she’s doing a “FANTASTIC JOB!” in handling the Epstein mess.

He also tried to steer the MAGA ship back on course. “We’re on one Team, MAGA, and I don’t like what’s happening. We have a PERFECT Administration, THE TALK OF THE WORLD, and ‘selfish people’ are trying to hurt it, all over a guy who never dies, Jeffrey Epstein," he wrote.

It's worth noting that Trump and Epstein knew each other at one point. However, the President has always denied any travel on Epstein’s private jet or visits to the infamous island.

Portrait of American financier Jeffrey Epstein (left) and real estate developer Donald Trump as they pose together at the Mar-a-Lago estate, Palm Beach, Florida, 1997. (Photo by Davidoff Studios/Getty Images)
Portrait of American financier Jeffrey Epstein (left) and real estate developer Donald Trump as they pose together at the Mar-a-Lago estate, Palm Beach, Florida, 1997 (Davidoff Studios/Getty Images)

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