Bongino Shrugs Off Past Claims About Pipe Bombs

Now that the FBI has arrested a suspect in the planting of pipe bombs before the Capitol riot, deputy director Dan Bongino is distancing himself from his own previous comments about a massive cover-up at play, reports the Hill. In an interview with Sean Hannity on Fox, Bongino made a distinction about his former role as a pundit and his current role in the agency:

• "Listen I was paid in the past, Sean, for my opinions," he said. "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."

Before assuming his FBI duties, Bongino claimed that the FBI under the Biden administration knew the name of the suspect but kept it under wraps "because it was an inside job," per USA Today. The pipe bombs were planted outside the offices of the Democratic and the Republican party headquarters in DC on Jan. 5, 2021. "I have zero doubt it was a setup," Bongino said on his podcast in 2024. "Was it government? I don't know. I'm not going to speculate on who did it. Someone who hated Donald Trump planted those bombs there."

That appears not to be the case, however. The newly arrested suspect, 30-year-old Brian Cole of Virginia, has told investigators that he believed the 2020 election was stolen from President Trump by Joe Biden.