Hold onto your hats, folks—FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino is firing back hard against a report suggesting he dodged a mandatory polygraph test for his role at the bureau, the Washington Examiner reports. 

The brouhaha stems from a ProPublica piece alleging that FBI Director Kash Patel handed out waivers for the required polygraph exam to Bongino and two other high-ranking FBI staffers, igniting a firestorm of debate among lawmakers and the public.

This story first broke when ProPublica claimed Patel personally excused Bongino from the polygraph, a standard hurdle for all new FBI hires.

Scrutiny Mounts Over Alleged Waivers

An FBI spokesperson muddied the waters further by hinting that Bongino, as a “Schedule C” political appointee, might not even need to take the test.

But here’s the rub—several legal experts told ProPublica that this designation doesn’t magically exempt anyone from the exam, raising eyebrows about the bureau’s adherence to its own rules.

Bongino didn’t sit quietly; on Saturday, he unleashed a fiery rebuttal, calling the notion that he skipped background checks “just a lie” and a total fabrication.

Bongino Defends His Record Strongly

“Claiming I was hired ‘with no background check’ is just a lie,” Bongino declared, doubling down on his credentials. “It’s a complete fabrication.”

“I held a security clearance, while protecting Democrat and Republican presidents, for over ten years,” he continued, emphasizing that all requirements for his current gig were fully met.

While Bongino’s statement didn’t directly address the polygraph issue, his insistence on meeting all background standards is a clear jab at the narrative painting him as a rule-breaker.

Other FBI Staffers Under Fire

The ProPublica report didn’t stop at Bongino—it also pointed fingers at Patel for allegedly waiving polygraph exams for Marshall Yates, the FBI’s congressional liaison, and Nicole Rucker, Patel’s personal assistant.

This trio of supposed exemptions has turned up the heat on Patel, who faced tough questions during a September Senate Judiciary Committee hearing over these very concerns.

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., grilled Patel on “disqualifying alerts” tied to polygraph tests among his senior team, but Patel stonewalled, refusing to dive into specifics.

Lawmakers Demand Answers From Patel

Durbin wasn’t done—he recently took to X, reposting the ProPublica story and noting Patel’s silence on whistleblower claims about failed polygraph tests at the FBI, slyly adding, “Now we know why.”

During the Senate hearing, when asked point-blank if he or Attorney General Pam Bondi ever approved a polygraph waiver, Patel dodged with a vague, “I’ll have to get back to you.”

That non-answer isn’t exactly a confidence booster, especially when trust in federal institutions is already on shaky ground, and it leaves one wondering if there’s more to this story than meets the eye.