Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Deputy Director Dan Bongino slammed former FBI Director James Comey on Saturday following his alleged threat against President Donald Trump, and he also revealed the agency is having to clean up “messes” Comey left after vacating his role.
In a lengthy post on X, Bongino said he and FBI Director Kash Patel are charged with managing “the most powerful law enforcement agency in the world” and it is their responsibility to look at “grave mistakes” previous FBI agents made to ensure those things never happen again.
“And while the FBI does not have primary investigative responsibility for investigating threats against the POTUS, and we do not make prosecutorial decisions, we do have the ability and authority to support other federal agencies for violations of federal law,” he wrote.
WATCH — PragerU’s Xaviaer DuRousseau on the Left’s Downplaying of Trump’s Assassination Attempt:
“And we certainly have a responsibility to comment on matters involving former FBI officials, and allegations of law-breaking,” Bongino added.
“That said, former FBI Director James Comey brought shame to the FBI badge, yet again, this past week. The Director and I spend an inordinate amount of time cleaning up messes left behind by former Director Comey. And his latest actions are no exception,” he stated.
Bongino then said he has stated previously that he cannot post openly about everything he and Patel are doing to reform the enterprise. However, he noted “I assure you, they are happening.”
“Sadly, many of those agenda items are the result of former Director Comey’s poor decision making and atrocious leadership. And to those who doubt me, I assure you, when you see what the Director and I see from the inside, it’s even worse,” he added:
As the Deputy Director of the FBI, I am charged, standing with Director Patel, with managing the most powerful law enforcement agency in the world. The Director and I are also responsible for looking at grave mistakes made by people within the FBI in the past, and ensuring they…
— Dan Bongino (@FBIDDBongino) May 17, 2025
In his comments, Bongino appeared to be referring to the fact that Comey recently posted an image of seashells on a beach in a formation that read “86 47,” which some took to be a violent threat against Trump, per Breitbart News.
The outlet said 86 possibly meant “eliminate” and the 47 was possibly a reference to Trump, who is the 47th President of the United States.
The news comes after President Trump survived two assassination attempts in 2024.
James Comey is posting cryptic messages online alluding to getting rid of President Trump.
— Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) May 15, 2025
Would he like to explain what he means by this given the assassination attempts on President Trump?
Take a look, @FBIDirectorKash @FBI. pic.twitter.com/NxnDM3xyti
“James Comey was fired as FBI director during the first Trump administration and he became a stalwart opponent of the president ever since. He also endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris in the previous election,” the Breitbart News report said.
After news broke about Comey’s post, Trump, who did not appear to be fooled, said, “He knew what that meant.”
“A child knows what that meant. If you’re FBI director and don’t know what that meant, that meant assassination, and it says it loud and clear. He wasn’t very competent but competent enough to know what that meant. He did it for a reason and he was hit so hard because people like me and like what was happening with our country. All this, he is calling for assassination of the president,” he commented.
In February, Trump announced Bongino, who is a Secret Service veteran, was chosen to serve as the FBI’s deputy director.
“Trump added that with Bongino working with Kash Patel — who was recently confirmed to lead the FBI and sworn in — and Attorney General Pam Bondi, ‘Fairness, Justice, Law and Order will be brought back to America, and quickly,'” the Breitbart News article said.
