Dan Bongino Returns to Fox News After FBI Departure
Former FBI deputy director Dan Bongino has made his return to Fox News following his departure from the federal bureau in December, after serving less than a year in the role. The 51-year-old conservative commentator, who previously worked as a Secret Service agent before becoming a prominent podcaster and joining Donald Trump's administration, reappeared on Sean Hannity's primetime show on Monday evening.
Analyzing the Nancy Guthrie Disappearance
Bongino's return focused on the mysterious disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of NBC News anchor Savannah Guthrie, who vanished from her Tucson, Arizona home on January 31. Law enforcement officials believe she was taken against her will, and a reported ransom deadline has now passed without any updates regarding the victim's condition or location.
"We believe our mom is still out there," Savannah Guthrie stated in a recent Instagram video appeal. "We need your help."
The FBI has confirmed they have not established contact with the alleged kidnappers. "The FBI is not aware of any continued communication between the Guthrie family and suspected kidnappers, nor have we identified a suspect or person of interest in this case at this time," the agency announced on Monday. "Additional personnel from FBI field offices across the nation continue to deploy to Tucson."
Three Possible Scenarios in Guthrie Case
During his appearance on Hannity, Bongino outlined three potential explanations for the disappearance:
- Planned Kidnapping: "The first is that this was obviously a kidnapping – an intended kidnapping for a ransom payment."
- Crime Gone Wrong: "The second possibility is that this was just a crime that went awry. Someone was at the house, maybe it was a burglary, something went bad, and you have some bad actors committing another crime by requesting a ransom for something they didn't do, just to take advantage of a situation like this."
- Medical Emergency: "The third possibility is that there may have been some kind of medical emergency or something, and maybe this was not a kidnapping. When you can't find someone in a crime scene like this right away, within the first couple of days, you either have really good, surgical-type operators, or the story you've been told – or believed – might not be the story."
Bongino's Difficult FBI Tenure
Bongino's brief tenure at the FBI appears to have been challenging for the media personality. During a Fox and Friends appearance last May, he openly discussed the personal toll of the position, stating: "I gave up everything for this. I stare at these four walls all day in D.C., by myself, divorced from my wife – not divorced, but I mean separated, divorced – and it's hard. I mean, we love each other, and it's hard to be apart."
When asked if he enjoyed the role, Bongino responded bluntly: "People ask me all the time, 'Do you like it?' I say, 'No, I don't.'"
Epstein Memo Controversy
Bongino's situation became more complicated following a Department of Justice and FBI memo released last July, which declared there was no evidence that Jeffrey Epstein was murdered in prison in 2019 and that the disgraced financier left behind no "client list" incriminating powerful associates.
Rather than quelling conspiracy theories surrounding the Epstein case – some of which Bongino and FBI Director Kash Patel had previously discussed during their podcasting careers – the memo intensified speculation. This ultimately contributed to the passage of the Epstein Files Transparency Act through Congress and the subsequent release of government documents.
Both Patel and Bongino subsequently faced criticism from MAGA-aligned communities where they had previously been influential figures.
Return to Media Life
When Bongino's departure from the FBI was announced last year, Fox News anchor Laura Ingraham expressed little surprise, telling viewers that he "loved his lucrative media life" and wanted to "get back to it."
Former President Donald Trump appears to harbor no resentment toward Bongino over his FBI departure. Trump recently appeared as a guest on Bongino's revived Rumble podcast, generating headlines by suggesting Republicans should "nationalize" the voting process during elections to prevent "crooked" blue states from allowing illegal immigrants to vote.
Bongino previously enjoyed a regular presence on Fox News as a guest contributor and hosted Unfiltered with Dan Bongino between 2021 and 2023 before his brief stint in federal law enforcement.
