FBI’s Bongino fires back at New York Times ‘hit piece’ with data

FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino fired back at The New York Times Saturday for writing a “poorly thought-out hit piece” that criticized changes to the federal law enforcement agency under the Trump administration.

The Times’ opinion piece, published earlier that day and titled “Trump’s Politicized FBI Has Made Americans Less Safe,” accused President Donald Trump of redesigning the FBI to serve his own political goals, including through hiring loyalists, attempting to prevent investigations into his allies and by intimidating his political opponents.

“Mr. Trump’s playbook for the FBI is plain to see,” The New York Times’ Editorial Board wrote. “He is turning it into an enforcement agency for MAGA’s priorities. Among his many efforts to weaken American democracy and amass more power for himself, his politicization of the F.B.I. is one of the most blatant.

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“Mr. Trump’s politicization of the FBI has left it less able to combat terrorism, foreign espionage, biosecurity threats, organized crime, online scams, white-collar crime, drug trafficking and more.”

Bongino took to X to counter the news organization’s claims with statistics he says demonstrate the FBI’s heightened focus on violent crime and illegal immigration “is working.”

FBI initiatives like “Summer Heat,” which serves to remove criminals from the streets, have resulted in the murder rate trending to be its lowest in U.S. history. Around 14,000 violent criminals have been arrested — up 62% from the same time last year — in addition to more than 800 violent child predators and 140 human traffickers. FBI agents also locked up over 50 foreign intelligence operatives for spying and smuggling harmful substances into the U.S., Bongino said in the post.

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“We locked up one of the most dangerous gang leaders in the county, and we dismantled gang operations in nearly every corner of the country, including the largest TDA gang takedown ever,” Bongino wrote. “We locked up 3 of the “Top-Ten” most wanted FBI targets, and we’re closing in on another.”

Over the last few months, the FBI has also seized 22% more illicit drugs than in the same period last year, including more than 97,000 pounds of cocaine, over 7,000 pounds of meth and more than 2,500 pounds of fentanyl, he wrote.

The FBI, alongside federal partners, also helped to imprison and deport more than 18,000 illegal immigrants, many of whom had criminal histories. Zero illegal immigrants were released into the U.S. from the border in June, and nearly 800 rioters were arrested for trying to stop law enforcement operations, Bongino said.

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“I’d like to talk more about some of the incredible work being done by our counter-terror teams, but the information, as you would imagine, is classified,” he wrote in the post. “But I promise you, it’s happening.”

He finished the post by writing, “Finally, we are closing in on more disclosures and fixing past wrongs to personnel. We’re making sure this is done correctly. But it’s absolutely getting done. Notice how The [New York] Times omitted these data points to tell you ‘a story,’ not the story. And, even though it’s an opinion piece, they should at least attempt to insert reality into it.”

In February, Trump announced Bongino, a former Secret Service agent and NYPD officer, would serve as the next deputy director of the FBI, calling it “great news for law enforcement and American justice.” 

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Kash Patel, Trump’s pick to head the FBI, was sworn in in February after a narrow Senate confirmation vote. 

Patel, a vociferous opponent of the investigations into Trump and one who served at the forefront of Trump’s 2020 election fraud claims, vowed during his confirmation hearing he would not engage in political retribution against agents who worked on the classified documents case against Trump and other politically sensitive matters. 

“We decline to comment and have nothing additional to add,” the FBI told Fox News Digital in an email. 

The New York Times did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.