Dan Bongino attacked the integrity of National File on Monday, claiming Gab’s Andrew Torba was behind this site’s recent reporting on Parler CEO Mark Meckler.
National File revealed on Sunday that the interim CEO of Parler, Mark Meckler, is behind the Convention of States, a project that supports a constitutional convention under Article V. While backed by a number of prominent conservative figures, it could leave the Constitution wide open to be rewritten and amended by George Soros and other leftists, who support similar attempts to call a convention. As National File reported:
Numerous grassroots Republican activists have confirmed to National File that there is no conceivable way to limit the scope of an Article V Convention, and that many states seeking to participate in the convention are limited by their state constitutions, and as a result, can only participate in the convention if there is no scope.
Many fear the convention would lead to a Soros-sponsored gutting of current constitutional protections that include freedom of speech and religion, the right to privacy, and the right to bare arms.
Dan Bongino, one of the co-owners of Parler, discussed National File’s reporting the Monday night edition of his program, falsely labeling the story a “hoax.” Bongino not only inadvertently revealed that he has absolutely “no relationship” with Meckler, despite running the company he co-owns, but also claimed that the story was planted by a CEO of a “rival site,” understood to be Andrew Torba, which is ostensibly one of the only competitors to Parler that could be considered a “rival” company.
“Whenever Parler has even a little bit of success, getting back online, you will notice a story about Parler being owned by George Soros, operated by George Soros,” Bongino said. “It appears every time Parler has some degree of success. It’s a scam run by an unethical competitor,” he added.
Bongino then described this individual, apparently Torba, as “a very immature, childish buffoon,” “a total clown,” and “the most unethical guy I have ever dealt with in my life.”
National File had no contact with Torba or any other “rival” competitor regarding Meckler or Parler prior to the publication of the original article. National File’s named source is a spokesman for the John Birch Society. National File also spoke to several grassroots Republican activists, many who support the ideals of the Tea Party and Ron Paul, to gain background information about the Convention of States and Meckler.
In a statement provided to National File, Torba confirmed that he had “nothing to do with the excellent reporting done by National File,” and had simply “shared the article like any other reader would,” believing the information contained to be “in the public’s best interest”:
I had nothing to do with the excellent reporting done by the National File. I simply shared the article like any other reader would because I believe the information is in the public’s best interest. Instead of refuting the reporting done by National File, Dan Bongino has resorted to ad hominem attacks against me for no reason. This is a shame because I believe Dan Bongino is a good and decent man who is currently wrapped up with some horrible people, namely the billionaire oligarch Mercer family.
These people have a history of repeatedly using others to their own benefit only to discard them later. John Matze, the founder of Parler who was ousted by the Mercer family from his own company recently, is only the latest example. They have done the same to Steve Bannon at Breitbart and Milo among others in the past. Dan should get out while he still can before the same thing inevitably happens to him.
In a later post on Gab, Torba said it was a “shame” that Bongino made the “baseless” claims against him “because a media outlet reported something” Bongino didn’t like. “Bizarre behavior from a grown adult man,” Torba added.
National File reached out to Bongino for comment before publication, but did not receive a response.