One day before the far-left, Trump-hating New York Times published a critical article about leadership changes at the FBI under Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino, Bongino issued a sharp online statement accusing the outlet of sensationalizing a recent internal dispute with fellow agents.
Bongino, a former U.S. Secret Service agent who later became a prominent conservative media personality, slammed the Times for highlighting a physical altercation during a training session, in which he wrestled another agent. The 50-year-old downplayed the incident, calling the injury he sustained from a takedown minor and irrelevant. “Adam Goldman of the NY Times is getting ready to run another one of their ‘journalism’ exposé pieces about me spending time in our FBI training facility ground fighting with our dedicated and skilled defensive tactics instructors,” he wrote online Sunday. “Their big news ‘hook’ is that after a solid few rounds of grappling, I injured my shoulder.”
According to The Times, several former agents said Bongino was defeated in a match by younger agents trained in jujitsu—an outcome he acknowledged. “The instructor I was grappling with got the best of me, because he’s incredibly talented,” his statement continued. “That’s why he’s there. And it was not an ‘injury’ but a bit of swelling in my right elbow, not shoulder, because I’m 50 years old and I can’t recover like I used to. But I felt it was important to get on the mats any way, because that’s what men do.” He concluded with a jab at the Times piece: “But Adam doesn’t know much about that. And he never will. Because he’s Adam, from the NY Times.”
FYI,
Adam Goldman of the NY Times is getting ready to run another one of their “journalism” exposé pieces about me spending time in our FBI training facility ground fighting with our dedicated and skilled defensive tactics instructors.
Their big news “hook” is that after a solid…— Dan Bongino (@FBIDDBongino) April 19, 2025
Whether or not Bongino’s statement impacted the reporting, the New York Times’ Sunday night online edition made no mention of any injury he may have sustained during the sparring session. Instead, part of the coverage focused on criticism from former agent Kyle Seraphin, who previously supported Director Kash Patel but has recently mocked him for “taking selfies with the Hostage Rescue Team” and suggested that the FBI’s internal culture may have “captured” both Patel and his deputy, Bongino.
