Video Dan Bongino describes sensitive document he was ‘never meant to find' Former FBI deputy director Dan Bongino shares alarming insights into his time at the agency on ‘Hang Out with Sean Hannity.’
Former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino revealed he found a "mother lode" of documents tied to the "Russiagate" investigation that he alleges were meant to be destroyed.
Speaking on the "Hang Out with Sean Hannity" podcast, Bongino said what he witnessed behind the scenes of "Crossfire Hurricane" — the FBI's probe into potential collusion between President Donald Trump and Russia — was far more sinister than he anticipated.
"I thought I knew Russiagate," Bongino told Hannity. "It was like 10 times worse."
Bongino described finding a "burn bag," which is typically used to incinerate sensitive documents for security purposes. He said the bag contained the "mother lode" of the investigation, including a document he claims they were "never meant to find."
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Then-FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino holds a news conference at the Department of Justice on Dec. 4, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
"That was basically the keys to the kingdom on Crossfire. And the document was so sensitive, we were not even to carry it outside of the office," Bongino said.
He speculated the document wasn’t burned intentionally, suggesting someone wanted the truth discovered. He said the file revealed what the agency knew during the investigation.
"I'm reading this document and I'm like, ‘I can't believe this happened in the United States.’ It wasn't just that it happened in the United States, it was that so many people knew about it," he said. "All you had to do was read it. This thing was bulls--- from the start."
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Bongino said the roughly 100-page document reshaped his understanding of the probe. He said he was "scared" by how many people were involved and did not speak up.
"I was never the same after that, because after reading what I read about how many people did this to President Trump, this Russia hoax, collusion, Crossfire Hurricane bulls---, and not a single person stopped them, I'm terrified," Bongino added.
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The revelations come as legal scrutiny into the origins of the probe continues to intensify.
In July, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard alleged the Obama administration promoted a narrative about Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election that she said officials knew was wrong.
FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino speaks at a news conference with Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel on the arrest of a suspect in the January 6 pipe bomber case at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 4, 2025. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
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"They knew it would promote this contrived narrative that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to help President Trump win, selling it to the American people as though it were true. It wasn't," Gabbard said at the time.
In August, the Department of Justice opened a grand jury investigation into Gabbard’s claims. Earlier this year, the DOJ subpoenaed former FBI Director James Comey over his role in the 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) on Russian election interference.
Watch the full interview and subscribe to "Hang Out with Sean Hannity" on YouTube.
Madison is a writer for Fox News Digital on the Flash team.
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