A high-ranking counterterrorism official Joe Kent resigned on March 17, citing scrutiny about the justification for military strikes in Iran. Kent, who recently stepped down from his office due to the war in Iran, is currently facing an FBI investigation over allegations of leaking classified information.
Semafor reports that the investigation alleges Kent, the former National Counterterrorism Center Director, improperly shared classified information.
The investigation is reported to have predated his departure as the Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, with one of the sources for Semafor describing it as being months-long. However, there is no official confirmation of the report on the investigation from FBI, White House or any other body.
On March 18, a day just after dropping the resignation through his social media platform X post, Joe Kent said that he and other senior officials with questions about the airstrikes “were not allowed” to share them with President Trump.
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Featuring on Tucker Carlson’s show, Kent claimed the President depends on a small circle of advisers while making decision to strike Iran. “A good deal of key decision makers were not allowed to come and express their opinion to the president.”
Kent affirmed that Israel has forced President Trump. Kent believes there was no evidence that Iran posed an imminent threat to the US. “The Israelis drove the decision to take this action,” Kent told. He also cited comments from Secretary of State Marco Rubio and House Speaker Mike Johnson, while pointing out that Israel’s plans might have prompted the US army to take action.
Kent offered an insightful glimpse of Trump’s decision on the US-Israel February 28 strikes, stating, “There wasn’t a robust debate.”
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Working as head of the National Counterterrorism Center, an agency tasked with analysing and detecting terrorist threats, Kent provided information that Iran posed no immediate threat. His work was being overseen by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who clarified, “It was up to Trump – and Trump alone – to decide whether Iran posed a threat.”
Kent confirmed that no intelligence suggested that Iran was working to develop nuclear weapons. Joe Kent also believed that Israel was successful in forcing the US. AP highlighted that Israel promised to act first, conceivably putting the interests of the United States in the region at risk. He said Israeli officials and US media pundits helped make the argument that Iran was a threat.
Kent, who was previously in contact with right-wing extremists, said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli ministers personally influenced President Trump, mainly with information that the US officials failed to confirm. “When we would hear what they were saying, it didn’t reflect intelligence channels,” Kent said.