Ex-Trump counterterror chief Kent clashes with Levin, rejects Iran threat claims

Former counterterrorism official Joe Kent sparred with conservative radio host and Fox News personality Mark Levin on his syndicated radio show Monday, denying leak allegations, breaking with the Trump administration over Iran, and claiming Israel "forced President Trump into this war."  

"I never leaked any classified information," Kent said, as Levin pressed him on reports that he was under investigation by the FBI for leaking. 

Three sources familiar with the matter have told Fox News the FBI probe into Kent predated his resignation. 

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Kent also disputed the administration’s case for the conflict with Iran, saying "there was no imminent threat coming from Iran against Americans."

Kent resigned March 17 as director of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), issuing a public letter claiming the U.S. entered the conflict due to "pressure from Israel" — a position he has since defended in multiple media appearances.

Kent maintained that U.S. intelligence did not support the administration’s justification for military action in Iran, asserting "we had no intelligence that said that Iran was working to develop a nuclear weapon," a claim that runs counter to assessments publicly cited by top administration officials.

Kent’s resignation makes him the highest-ranking figure in the Trump administration to step down over the Iran war, a rare instance of open dissent from a senior national security official. His assertions put him at odds with top intelligence and defense officials who have said Iran posed an immediate threat to the United States. 

"Joe Kent’s self-aggrandizing resignation letter and recent comments are riddled with lies. Most egregious are Kent’s false claims that the largest state sponsor of terrorism somehow did not pose a threat to the United States and that Israel forced the President into launching Operation Epic Fury," White House spokesperson Davis Ingle told Fox News Digital. "As Commander-in-Chief, President Trump took decisive action based on strong evidence which showed that the terrorist Iranian regime posed an imminent threat and was preparing to strike Americans first."

Levin, a staunch advocate of the U.S. alliance with Israel and host of weekend program "Life, Liberty & Levin" on Fox, repeatedly challenged Kent’s claims throughout the roughly 22-minute interview, turning what began as a policy discussion into a pointed back-and-forth over intelligence, Israel and Trump’s decision-making. 

Levin rejected Kent’s assertion that Israel drove the U.S. into war, calling it "conspiratorial" and pushing back on the idea that a foreign government could dictate American military action.

"Why do you create a conspiratorial notion that Israel dragged the powerful Donald Trump into war?" Levin asked on his radio show, "The Mark Levin Show." "Do you have no respect for Donald Trump’s agency that he has the capacity to make these decisions himself?"

Kent responded, "I believe that he was influenced by a media echo chamber and by the Israelis."

Kent also argued that "the Israelis forced President Trump into this war," a claim Levin repeatedly pushed back on during the exchange. 

Kent elsewhere described the decision as influenced by Israeli pressure.

Kent maintained that "there was no intelligence that said that Iran was working to develop a nuclear weapon."

As director of the National Counterterrorism Center, Kent would have had access to high-level intelligence assessments, including threat reporting and interagency analysis used to brief senior policymakers. 

Administration officials have told Fox News he was not included in discussions surrounding the Iran conflict known as Operation Epic Fury. 

Levin countered, saying, "The president agrees with his own conclusions. The CIA director says you’re wrong."

Asked Wednesday during a Senate hearing if he disagreed with Kent's resignation assessment that Iran did not pose an imminent threat, CIA Director John Ratcliffe said he did. 

"I think Iran has been a constant threat to the United States for an extended period of time and posed an immediate threat at this time," Ratcliffe said. 

Levin also questioned Kent’s credibility Monday, telling him, "I hope when you tell me you haven’t leaked that you are telling me the truth."

Kent also indicated that efforts to investigate potential foreign links to the killing of Charlie Kirk and the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, were not fully carried out.

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"What I know is that there were foreign leads that we didn’t get a chance to look into. From my vantage point at the National Counterterrorism Center, that was not thoroughly looked into," Kent said, referring to the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

In other interviews, Kent has pointed to social media posts made before the attack against Kirk and suggested authorities should examine whether any individuals had prior knowledge or made threats. 

Levin pressed Kent on whether he was suggesting a specific country, including Israel, may have been involved in Kirk's death, but Kent stopped short of naming any nation, saying only that potential foreign links should be investigated.

On Thomas Matthew Crooks and the attempted assassination of Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, Kent said: "We should investigate to see if there’s any linkage, particularly between Iran and the Iranian agent who was convicted for plotting an assassination attempt against President Trump."

Kent pointed to the case of Asif Merchant, a Pakistani national convicted in U.S. federal court in March for attempting to orchestrate a political assassination plot tied to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.

Endorsed by Trump in two unsuccessful congressional campaigns, Kent rose to MAGA stardom in large part in his opposition to "endless wars" after the death of his wife, Shannon, in a suicide bombing in Syria in 2019.

Kent could not be reached for comment. 

Tulsi Gabbard, the director of National Intelligence, has not publicly weighed in on Kent’s claims and largely has deferred to the president’s assessment of the Iran threat in recent public appearances. It's not clear who has taken on Kent's duties as director of the National Counterterrorism Center. 

Asked if the intelligence community assessed Iran posed an "imminent nuclear threat," Gabbard told senators during a hearing March 17: "The intelligence community assessed that Iran maintained the intention to rebuild and to continue to grow their nuclear enrichment capability."

Pressed again on the imminent nuclear threat assessment, Gabbard repeatedly insisted only the president can determine "what is and is not an imminent threat."

The Israeli embassy could not immediately be reached for comment.