Yes, I know that this headline is no stranger than most of the ones that you see nowadays, not only here but everywhere. But as jaded as I’ve become, there is still a part of me that reels from the fact that the White House would actually ask a reporter if the Deputy Director of the FBI came to work on a given day. Now if Collins was living with the man and numerous calls to his cell phone weren’t going through, I would understand this. But those are not the facts. You recall Collins asking Trump last week, “Who gave the order to suspend aid to Ukraine?” and Trump’s reply, “I don’t know, why don’t you tell me.” Is Collins the oracle for the Trump White House these days? Maybe they should ax Steven Cheung and give Collins the title Communications Director.
Amid Bongino’s no-show at work on Friday, Collins reported that the FBI’s number two was considering resigning if Bondi remained as attorney general. FBI DirectorKash Patel was also reportedly displeased with Bondi and was also allegedly mulling resigning from his post.
On Monday, Bongino showed up to work and was “in a better headspace,” according to CNN’s Kristen Holmes.
I guess the New Republic got it wrong then. They reported yesterday that Bongino was still AWOL. Or maybe that was today that they meant. I guess we better ask Kaitlin Collins.
Hours later on AC360, Collins joined Anderson Cooper, who asked, “Is it clear where Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino– his career is headed tonight?”
“No,” Collins replied, before noting that members of Trump’s White House had been texting her to find out the lowdown on Bongino. “It’s not clear even to White House officials, Anderson, who were texting each other and texting me this morning asking, you know, whether or not they had figured out if he had shown up to work today because it was still an open question in Washington this morning if he was going to be back at the FBI today.”
Collins went on to say that Bongino’s relationship with other Trump officials “has deteriorated so much that there are officials inside the White House who have not spoken to Dan Bongino in days.”
“I was told the president was very angry with Dan Bongino,” she added.
Doesn’t Kash Patel know where his employees are? Isn’t there a secretary who you can ask? Who in their right freaking MIND is going to text a CNN reporter and ask where the Deputy Director of the FBI is?
Or, maybe this is just how it is nowadays. The Trump White House is a complete madhouse, nobody knows anything, but they do know that the enemy of the people can be depended upon to keep tabs on things, and so when they need to know something and stat, they call a member of the press.
Just one more rock of unbelievability on a mountain range of the same. Simply incredible. As much as the Trump White House hates journalists I guess they better keep them around so that they know what’s going on in the administration.
It reminds me of an old joke, playing off of the poem that starts, “First they came for the socialists, but I was not a socialist, so I did nothing.” The gag is, “Then they came for the journalists. And we don’t know what happened after that.”
Gospel truth, apparently, if you work in the Trump White House.
idn what’s the best news story today is, this or the Maxwell letter! I’m stunned! 🍻
“Doesn’t Kash Patel know where his employees are?”
How can he? Last I heard, he was working from Vegas.