Former National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent made waves in DC earlier this week with his sudden resignation. In a bombshell letter, he said: “It is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.”
Kent has since been interviewed by Tucker Carlson, where he underlined that there was absolutely no evidence Iran was about to pre-emptively attack the United States and that they were nowhere near building a nuclear weapon. Kent says Israel practically forced Trump to capitulate to their demands for war, saying “the Israelis drove the decision.”
Tucker: "The imminent threat wasn't from Iran-it was from Israel."
— Ounka (@OunkaOnX) March 19, 2026
Kent: "Exactly. Israel drove the decision. We could have said no, but they knew we wouldn't. The lobby pushed for war."
Joe Kent just told the world: Israel started this war. The US just followed orders. pic.twitter.com/3pdY9U5BGJ
The White House was furious, with Karoline Leavitt releasing a statement insisting Iran was totally about to launch a major attack on the United States and saying it’s “absurd” that Trump is being pressured by Israel:
There are many false claims in this letter but let me address one specifically: that "Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation."
— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) March 17, 2026
This is the same false claim that Democrats and some in the liberal media have been repeating over and over.
As President Trump has clearly and… https://t.co/AC8M5L8lye
Now, as per a report from CBS News, Kent is officially being investigated by the FBI in connection with alleged leaks of classified information. That confirmation comes via “multiple sources with direct knowledge of the matter”, though the FBI itself refused to comment.
“A crazed egomaniac”
The source was also adamant that this isn’t a suspicious coincidence, saying that, actually, Kent had been under investigation for “some time” before resigning. Former deputy White House chief of staff Taylor Budowich underlined this on X, saying:
Joe Kent is a crazed egomaniac who was often at the center of national security leaks, while rarely (never?) producing any actual work.
— Taylor Budowich (@Budowich) March 17, 2026
He spent all of his time working to subvert the chain of command and undermine the President of the United States.
This isn’t some principled… https://t.co/bcv0Kh6XVH
“Joe Kent is a crazed egomaniac who was often at the center of national security leaks, while rarely (never?) producing any actual work. He spent all of his time working to subvert the chain of command and undermine the President of the United States.”
I mean, even if that is true, appointing a “crazed egomaniac” determined to “undermine the President” to an important counterterrorism job doesn’t seem like a great decision.
Regardless, Kent may be facing a long time behind bars if convicted. Section 793 of the Espionage Act lists a maximum sentence of 10 years behind bars with a fine of up to $250,000. Section 794 of the same act can result in a life sentence or even death if it’s deemed to directly harm national security.
So, while Kent may have said the quiet part out loud, it seems that if the FBI gets its way, he won’t be saying anything at all for the foreseeable future.
