FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino is back at work after a tense standoff with Attorney General Pam Bondi over the Department of Justice’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case nearly led him to resign — a move that has ignited debate within President Donald J. Trump's America First movement.

According to multiple sources, Bongino took personal leave following a heated disagreement with Bondi earlier this month. Though he has returned, his future within the agency remains in question.

At the center of the controversy is the DOJ’s long-delayed and heavily scrutinized investigation into Epstein, the convicted sex offender who died under suspicious circumstances in a Manhattan prison cell on August 10, 2019 — while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

This week, the FBI and DOJ released a report summarizing their internal review of the Epstein case. The document concluded that there was no evidence to support new prosecutions of uncharged individuals. But that conclusion hasn't satisfied many in the MAGA base — including some who say Bongino should have walked away if the agency continues shielding Epstein’s powerful associates.

The rift has exposed growing tensions inside the Trump administration, with MAGA supporters split over who to back. Many have called for Bondi — not Bongino — to be the one shown the door, citing her February Fox News interview in which she claimed Epstein’s notorious client list was sitting “on her desk to be reviewed.” President Trump has publicly urged unity, reportedly telling close allies that “cooler heads must prevail.”

Bongino, a former Secret Service agent and longtime Epstein skeptic, has previously raised concerns about institutional coverups tied to Epstein’s extensive network of elite connections.

Now, the DOJ is moving to unseal key grand jury transcripts from the 2019 case — a rare step that signals internal pressure for transparency. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche filed a motion in Manhattan federal court asking a judge to release grand jury records from both Epstein’s case and the trial of his accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted in 2021 and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

The motion cites “intense public interest” and states that “transparency for the American public is of the utmost importance to this Administration.” The DOJ pledged to work with prosecutors to redact all victims’ names and personal identifiers prior to the release.

The push to unseal the records comes weeks after the FBI and DOJ published a lengthy internal memo on July 6, claiming their “exhaustive review” uncovered no further evidence to warrant charges against additional individuals. But with public trust in the Justice Department at historic lows — especially among conservatives — many are skeptical.

The Epstein scandal continues to haunt the federal government. The DOJ's latest filing admits that while grand jury records are typically kept secret, “that custom is not absolute.” Courts have previously ruled that documents may be released in cases of “major public or historical value.”

One such example came last year, when a Florida judge ordered the release of some Epstein grand jury documents, describing him as “the most infamous pedophile in American history” and labeling the case “a tale of national disgrace.”

The DOJ now concedes that the remaining sealed transcripts are “critical pieces of an important moment in our nation’s history,” and that the American people deserve to know the full truth. “The time for the public to guess what they contain should end,” the filing concludes.

As Bongino returns to duty, the question remains: will transparency finally prevail, or will the Epstein coverup narrative continue to erode public faith in the system?