Kash Patel breaks silence on Epstein controversy, doubles down on loyalty to Trump and says he will remain at FBI

Kash Patel denied information that pointed to his possible departure as director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Through his X account, the official made it clear that he will remain in office with President Donald Trump.

After the Department of Justice (DOJ) concluded that Jeffrey Epstein did indeed commit suicide and that he did not have a list of clients to threaten, reports pointed to internal tensions between Patel, FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino and Attorney General Pam Bondi.

There was even speculation of a joint departure of Patel and Bongino due to differences over how Bondi handled the Epstein documents case. The DOJ's conclusion on the Epstein case prompted a wave of criticism from some heavy hitters in the MAGA universe, including Laura Loomer, Marjorie Taylor Greene and Mike Lindell, among others. They were joined by television host Megyn Kelly, who held Bondi directly responsible for the handling of the case.

According to Axios, Bongino and Bondi clashed internally last week. "Those witnessing the Wednesday clash between Bondi and Bongino in the White House were Patel, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich. During the meeting, Bongino was confronted about a NewsNation article that said he and Patel wanted more information released about Epstein earlier, but were held back. Bongino denied leaking that idea," the media outlet said.

In this context, Patel came out publicly to clarify that he has no plans to step aside as FBI director. "The conspiracy theories just aren’t true, never have been. It’s an honor to serve the President of the United States Donald Trump — and I’ll continue to do so for as long as he calls on me," he wrote on social media.