Former Director of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Centre (NCTC) Joe Kent is reportedly under investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) over alleged leaks of classified information, after his dramatic resignation over the Iran war.
White House Correspondent for Semafor, Shelby Talcott, citing accounts from four sources with direct knowledge, reported on Wednesday, March 18, that the probe centres on whether Kent improperly disclosed sensitive intelligence.
The investigation reportedly predates Kent’s departure from his former role as the counterterrorism chief.
Kent stepped down on Tuesday after publicly breaking with President Donald Trump over the administration’s military campaign against Iran.
Resignation tied to Iran war dispute
In a resignation letter made public the same day, he said he could not support the war “in good conscience,” arguing that Tehran posed no imminent threat to the United States.
“I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby,” Kent wrote in his post.
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His remarks directly contradicted the administration’s justification for the strikes and exposed rare dissent from within the intelligence leadership.
Trump, speaking later in the Oval Office, dismissed Kent’s position, saying, “It’s a good thing that he is out.”
The president defended his administration’s decision to launch the military action, insisting the intervention was justified.
“I always thought he was a nice guy, but I always thought he was weak on security, very weak on security. I didn’t know him well, but I thought he seemed like a pretty nice guy,” Trump said.
“But when I read his statement, I realized, it’s a good thing that he’s out because he said that Iran was not a threat. Iran was a threat; every country realized what a threat Iran was. The question was whether or not they wanted to do something.”
Political reaction builds
The FBI investigation is reportedly focused on whether classified information was shared with unauthorized individuals, though no formal charges have been announced.
The Kenya Times reached out to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence for comment on the reported investigation and the circumstances surrounding Kent’s resignation, but both did not immediately respond.
According to Shelby Talcott of Semafor, both the White House and the FBI had declined to comment.
Republican Congressman Brandon Gill weighed in on the development, calling for accountability while urging caution.
“We need to let this investigation play out, but we shouldn’t tolerate any leakers in the administration, particularly regarding classified national security interests and information,” he said in an interview on Fox News on Wednesday evening.
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Gill added that if the allegations are proven, Kent “ought to be held accountable, just like anybody else.”
He also questioned Kent’s shifting stance on Iran, calling it “very odd.”
On her part, former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has also reacted to the development:
“So the Trump admin is going to put Joe Kent in jail before anyone on the Epstein list or anyone from Obama’s Russia gate or anyone from Covid tyranny.
Under Trump, I guess Joe Kent, Gold Star Husband and deployed 11 times, can join Tina Peters, Gold Star Mom, in prison.”
Intelligence role and influence by Kent
As head of the NCTC, Kent oversaw one of the U.S. government’s most critical intelligence coordination hubs, responsible for analyzing terrorist threats and integrating intelligence across agencies.
His position placed him at the centre of sensitive national security information, making any potential leak investigation particularly serious. Kent had only been confirmed to the role last July.
Following his resignation, the former counterterrorism chief doubled down on his stance in an interview on The Tucker Carlson Show, which aired on Wednesday.
He argued that the U.S. was drawn into the conflict due to pressure from Israel, rather than an immediate threat from Iran.
Kent claimed that senior officials had effectively acknowledged that Israeli actions triggered the escalation, undermining the argument that Tehran posed an imminent danger.
“I think this is key, I mean, this would be more challenging to explain had the Secretary of State, the president, and the Speaker of the House not come out and said that we conducted this attack at this time because the Israelis were about to do so,” he said. “So that takes away the argument that there was an imminent threat, as in Iran planning to attack us immediately. That just simply did not exist.”
The former NCTC Director further suggested that U.S. foreign policy decisions in the Middle East were being significantly influenced by Israeli strategy.
