Joe Kent, who has claimed Israel influenced President Donald Trump, is reportedly being probed as a “leaker”
Former head of the US National Counterterrorism Center Joe Kent, who resigned this week in protest over the US-Israeli war on Iran, is under FBI investigation, according to Semafor.
A probe into alleged improper sharing of classified information was opened before Kent quit his post and accused the Israeli government of manipulating intelligence to influence President Donald Trump’s decision to launch a bombing campaign aimed at toppling the Iranian government, the outlet’s sources claimed.
The report on Thursday coincided with efforts by Trump administration allies and pro-Israel commentators to portray Kent as a “known leaker” and a suspected anti-Semite.
Did Kent touch a political livewire?
Kent’s resignation letter blamed the consequences of the new Middle East conflict on Israel.
“Early in this administration, high-ranking Israeli officials and influential members of the American media deployed a misinformation campaign that wholly undermined your America First platform and sowed pro-war sentiments to encourage a war with Iran,” he wrote to Trump on Tuesday.
“This echo chamber was used to deceive you into believing that Iran posed an imminent threat to the United States, and that should you strike now, there was a clear path to a swift victory,” he added, suggesting Israel played a significant role in previous regional conflicts, including in Iraq and Syria.
Such accusations are uncommon in mainstream US political discourse, where they can prompt allegations of anti-Americanism and anti-Jewish bigotry – unlike criticisms of the country’s own leadership.
Over the years, Trump’s domestic critics have called him a “Russian puppet,” an insurrectionist, and a convicted felon who must be barred from a second term. Now, left-wing commentator Rachel Maddow claims the president attacked Iran after being corruptly influenced by Arab Gulf monarchies.
???? Rachel Maddow claims “it is the Gulf Arab states” that stand to benefit most from Iran being weakened. She said Gulf states “rented the services of the United States military to start a war that they want.”
Kent is a military veteran who served 11 tours, mostly in Iraq, before becoming a CIA paramilitary officer. His first wife, Shannon, served in the US Army’s Intelligence Support Activity unit and was killed in a terrorist attack in Manbij, Syria, in 2019.
He has been a vocal supporter of Trump and his ‘Make America Great Again’ agenda. Before his appointment in the second Trump administration, he publicly opposed a potential US war with Iran, warning that while the US could inflict damage, such a conflict would weaken the country as it confronts China.
Media reports have described Kent as an ally of Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who has long opposed US military interventions and previously sold T-shirts with the slogan “No war with Iran.”
The DNI has said it is the president’s prerogative to interpret intelligence as he sees fit. Gabbard was reportedly sidelined within the administration, with her office informally referred to as “Do Not Invite,” according to Bloomberg.
How has Washington responded to Kent’s resignation?
Trump responded to Kent’s resignation by calling him “a nice guy” he did not know well, adding that he was “very weak on security” and that his departure was a positive development.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt rejected Kent’s claim that Iran posed no imminent threat to the US. “This is the same false claim that Democrats and some in the liberal media have been repeating over and over,” she wrote, adding that suggestions Trump acted under outside influence were “both insulting and laughable.”
Conversely, senior US officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have said the timing of the US-Israeli attack was influenced by pressure from West Jerusalem. Israel reportedly warned it would act with or without US support. The administration has argued that participation allowed it to better protect US troops in the region from retaliation.
Ben Shapiro, a prominent pro-Israel commentator, claimed Kent “has been for a very long time conspiratorially minded in the extreme” and was promoting “bizarrely heterodox views.” He warned that “heretic MAGA” figures were targeting the presidency.
Shapiro also cited claims by far-right influencer Nick Fuentes that Kent had sought his support during a congressional campaign and expressed agreement with his views – an allegation Kent has disputed. Critics call Fuentes an open anti-Semite, so the implication of Shapiro’s message was clear.
Why does Kent’s resignation matter?
Kent said he remains committed to the ‘America First’ approach and urged Trump to make a course correction. His resignation reflects broader disagreements within Trump’s political base, as some people accuse the president of abandoning his campaign promises.
Trump said he is the one who decides what MAGA means and excluded Tucker Carlson from the movement because the talk show host opposes the war with Iran.
Kent had top-level access to classified intelligence that presumably informed the administration’s decisions and is the first senior official to publicly oppose the war with Iran.
The US government has a history of internal dissent over military interventions that often becomes public only through anonymous leaks or memoirs published years after the fact. Former Secretary of State Colin Powell, for example, argued against the 2003 Iraq invasion behind closed doors. But publicly he made the case for it at the United Nations, which he subsequently described as a “painful” episode and a “blot” on his record.
What does Kent believe Washington should do about Iran?
Kent discussed his resignation and views in an interview with Carlson.
“The main issue is how the Israelis are out of control and they are driving this entire war,” he said, adding that Trump has the leverage to make the necessary changes. He argued that US protection of Israel should not be unconditional. America’s message, Kent said, should be: “You are done going on the offense because this is our war. We’re paying for it. We’re bleeding for it. This is not your war.”
“If we don't address our relationship with the Israelis, even if we come up with a temporary ceasefire, we’ll be right back in this same situation in very short order,” he warned.