'Hysterical' Dan Bongino admits wild theory about Butler shooting probe: Tucker Carlson

Prominent conservative commentator Tucker Carlson hurled a shock allegation at President Donald Trump on Thursday involving the federal investigation into Thomas Crooks, the man accused of attempting to assassinate the president ahead of the 2024 election.

Carlson was interviewed Thursday by Mario Nawal, a Lebanese-Australian entrepreneur and prominent podcast host, during which he claimed that former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino had told him last December that the federal probe into Crooks had been “shut down” — and by whom.

Carlson said he called and texted Bongino to discuss Crooks' online presence – which Carlson has alleged the FBI lied about by claiming Crooks had "no online footprint," a charge the FBI has denied. After multiple calls, Carlson said Bongino eventually “became hysterical with me on the phone.”

“I've known Dan a long time, for many years, and always got along with him. That problem began when I brought this information to his attention and he became a different person — he was clearly terrified,” Carlson said.

“I didn't get it at first, but he was hysterical, and ultimately, after a long series of text exchanges – which I still have – and phone conversations, he said 'take it up with Trump, he's the one who shut down the investigation.' That was the moment I realized, 'wow, there's no good explanation for shutting down an investigation into your own attempted murder.' Like, this is not what we've been told it was.”

The assassination attempt against Trump has received renewed scrutiny in recent days after newly obtained records revealed that Crooks had exchanged emails with a Butler County Sheriff’s deputy ahead of the incident, a revelation that sent MAGA world into a frenzy. A series of omissions in Crooks’ toxicology report have also sparked renewed scrutiny into the incident, with a number of Trump’s biggest supporters now suggesting the shooting was staged.

While Trump has yet to respond to Carlson’s claim, Bongino lashed out at Carlson on Friday with fury, calling the prominent conservative figure a “lying nepo baby.”

“He’s like Teddy Ruxpin, you put a coin in his back and he tells you a story,” Bongino said in a statement published on social media, referencing the children’s toy popular in the 1980s and known for reading stories aloud.