TRUMP Revenge: FBI PROBE OPENED on US Counterterrorism Chief JOE KENT who Resigned over Iran War (Carlson Interview)
UPDATE ON MARCH, 19
F.B.I. Investigates Joe Kent, Whose Resignation Over Iran War Angered Trump
«The F.B.I. has opened an investigation into Joe Kent, a counterterrorism official who was pilloried by the White House after he quit over the war with Iran, for possibly leaking sensitive intelligence, according to two people with knowledge of the situation» The New York Times has reported.
The investigation predated the resignation on Tuesday of Mr. Kent, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, according to those people, who discussed a continuing investigation on the condition of anonymity.
Disclosure of the inquiry, which was reported earlier by Semafor, came after a coordinated Trump administration effort to discredit Mr. Kent as untrustworthy and disloyal.
«The F.B.I. and Justice Department under Mr. Trump have frequently targeted the president’s critics and political enemies for criminal investigations, often without sufficient evidence to obtain or sustain a criminal indictment»Glenn Thrush and Chris Cameron wrote on NYT
“Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation,” Mr. Kent wrote in his public resignation letter to President Trump, which landed as the president was grappling with the economic and geopolitical fallout from the Iran war.
Former counterterrorism chief Kent’s extensive interview with Carlson- VIDEO
Former US National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent sat Wednesday for an extensive interview with former Fox News host and right-wing podcaster Tucker Carlson, his first public comments since he resigned from his post, citing concerns about the war with Iran.
The interview lasted more than one hour and 40 minutes and covered a wide range of topics, including the ongoing war, but also the assassination of Charlie Kirk and the government’s files on the assassination of former President John F. Kennedy.
POSTED ON MARCH, 18
Kent: “I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran”
The director of the National Counterterrorism Center, a retired Green Beret and longtime supporter of President Donald Trump, said he has resigned over the war with Iran.
“I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation,” Joe Kent said in a statement posted on X. “It is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.” NBC news wrote.
«In a massive break from President Trump and MAGA, Joe Kent, Director of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), announced his immediate resignation on Tuesday, citing irreconcilable opposition to the ongoing U.S. military operations against Iran» Tyler Durden has reported on ZeroEdge.
Kent declared he could not “in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran,” stating unequivocally that Iran posed “no imminent threat to our nation” and that the conflict was initiated “due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.” The move comes weeks into active strikes targeting Iranian nuclear sites, leadership, and infrastructure, with Iranian retaliation underway and global oil markets feeling the strain.
feeling the strain.
Kent, a retired Green Beret with 11 combat deployments, former CIA paramilitary officer, and Gold Star husband who lost his wife Shannon in a 2019 ISIS-claimed suicide bombing in Syria, framed his exit as a defense of the “America First” principles Trump championed during his 2016, 2020, and 2024 campaigns.
He praised Trump’s first term for decisively striking Qasem Soleimani and defeating ISIS without escalating into endless wars, noting that until June 2025, Trump recognized Middle East conflicts as a “trap” draining American lives and wealth. However, Kent alleges that “early in this administration, high-ranking Israeli officials and influential members of the American media deployed a misinformation campaign” that undermined Trump’s platform, deceived him into believing Iran posed an imminent threat with a “clear path to a swift victory,” and echoed tactics used to draw the U.S. into the “disastrous Iraq war.” He explicitly compares the current situation to Iraq, warning against repeating the mistake that cost thousands of American lives.
“As a veteran who deployed to combat 11 times and as a Gold Star husband who lost my beloved wife Shannon in a war manufactured by Israel, I cannot support sending the next generation off to fight and die in a war that serves no benefit to the American people,” Kent wrote.
The resignation carries profound weight as Kent was a Senate-confirmed Trump loyalist installed in July 2025, not a career holdover. As head of the NCTC – tasked with assessing terrorist threats from Iranian proxies and beyond – Kent is directly challenging the administration’s justification for the conflict. The letter, addressed personally to the president and thanking DNI Tulsi Gabbard, signals deeper fractures in the MAGA coalition or prompts a policy pivot, Kent’s bombshell exit underscores the high personal and political stakes of America’s latest Middle East engagement.
