{"id":2602,"date":"2026-03-21T14:04:28","date_gmt":"2026-03-21T14:04:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sfawbn.com\/home\/?p=2602"},"modified":"2026-03-21T14:04:30","modified_gmt":"2026-03-21T14:04:30","slug":"why-is-the-fbi-investigating-a-former-counterterrorism-chief-who-opposes-the-us-israeli-war-on-iran","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sfawbn.com\/home\/2026\/03\/21\/why-is-the-fbi-investigating-a-former-counterterrorism-chief-who-opposes-the-us-israeli-war-on-iran\/","title":{"rendered":"Why is the FBI investigating a former counterterrorism chief who opposes the US-Israeli war on Iran?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Joe Kent, who has claimed Israel influenced President Donald Trump, is reportedly being probed as a \u201cleaker\u201d Published 19 Mar, 2026 14:09 | Updated 20 Mar, 2026 06:56<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Joe<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Former Director of the US National Counterterrorism Center Joe Kent, Morton, Washington, October 5, 2022. \u00a9  Nathan Howard \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Former head of the US National Counterterrorism Center Joe Kent, who resigned<\/a> this week in protest over the US-Israeli war on Iran, is under FBI investigation, according to Semafor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019s decision to launch a bombing campaign aimed at toppling the Iranian government, the outlet\u2019s sources claimed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report on Thursday coincided with efforts by Trump administration allies and pro-Israel commentators to portray<\/a> Kent as a \u201cknown leaker\u201d<\/em> and a suspected anti-Semite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did Kent touch a political livewire?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Kent\u2019s resignation letter blamed the consequences<\/a> of the new Middle East conflict on Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEarly 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,\u201d<\/em> he wrote to Trump on Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis 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,\u201d<\/em> he added, suggesting Israel played a significant role in previous regional conflicts, including in Iraq and Syria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Such accusations are uncommon in mainstream US political discourse, where they can prompt allegations of anti-Americanism and anti-Jewish bigotry \u2013 unlike criticisms of the country\u2019s own leadership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the years, Trump\u2019s domestic critics have called him a \u201cRussian puppet,\u201d<\/em> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\ud83d\udd34 Rachel Maddow claims \u201cit is the Gulf Arab states\u201d that stand to benefit most from Iran being weakened. She said Gulf states \u201crented the services of the United States military to start a war that they want.\u201dIn a nearly 20-minute segment titled \u201cFollow the MONEY,\u201d Rachel\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/BvVurE7B5O<\/a>\u2014 Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) March 1, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

What are Kent\u2019s national security credentials?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019s Intelligence Support Activity unit and was killed in a terrorist attack in Manbij, Syria, in 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He has been a vocal supporter of Trump and his \u2018Make America Great Again\u2019 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.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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 \u201cNo war with Iran.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The DNI has said it is the president\u2019s prerogative to interpret intelligence as he sees fit. Gabbard was reportedly sidelined within the administration, with her office informally referred to as \u201cDo Not Invite,\u201d<\/em> according to Bloomberg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How has Washington responded to Kent\u2019s resignation?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Trump responded to Kent\u2019s resignation by calling him \u201ca nice guy\u201d<\/em> he did not know well, adding that he was \u201cvery weak on security\u201d<\/em> and that his departure was a positive development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt rejected Kent\u2019s claim that Iran posed no imminent threat to the US. \u201cThis is the same false claim that Democrats and some in the liberal media have been repeating over and over,\u201d<\/em> she wrote, adding that suggestions Trump acted under outside influence were \u201cboth insulting and laughable.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ben Shapiro, a prominent pro-Israel commentator, claimed Kent \u201chas been for a very long time conspiratorially minded in the extreme\u201d<\/em> and was promoting \u201cbizarrely heterodox views.\u201d<\/em> He warned that \u201cheretic MAGA\u201d<\/em> figures were targeting the presidency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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 \u2013 an allegation Kent has disputed. Critics call Fuentes an open anti-Semite, so the implication of Shapiro\u2019s message was clear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why does Kent\u2019s resignation matter?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Kent said he remains committed to the \u2018America First\u2019 approach and urged Trump to make a course correction. His resignation reflects broader disagreements within Trump\u2019s political base, as some people accuse the president of abandoning his campaign promises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump said he is the one who decides what MAGA means and excluded<\/a> Tucker Carlson from the movement because the talk show host opposes the war with Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kent had top-level access to classified intelligence that presumably informed the administration\u2019s decisions and is the first senior official to publicly oppose the war with Iran.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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 \u201cpainful\u201d<\/em> episode and a \u201cblot\u201d<\/em> on his record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What does Kent believe Washington should do about Iran?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Kent discussed his resignation and views in an interview with Carlson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe main issue is how the Israelis are out of control and they are driving this entire war,\u201d<\/em> 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\u2019s message, Kent said, should be: \u201cYou are done going on the offense because this is our war. We\u2019re paying for it. We\u2019re bleeding for it. This is not your war.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf we don’t address our relationship with the Israelis, even if we come up with a temporary ceasefire, we\u2019ll be right back in this same situation in very short order,\u201d<\/em> he warned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Joe Kent, who has claimed Israel influenced President Donald Trump, is reportedly being probed as a \u201cleaker\u201d Published 19 Mar, 2026 14:09 | Updated 20 Mar, 2026 06:56 Former Director of the US National Counterterrorism Center Joe Kent, Morton, Washington,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2602","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","wpcat-1-id"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sfawbn.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2602","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sfawbn.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sfawbn.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sfawbn.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sfawbn.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2602"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sfawbn.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2602\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2603,"href":"https:\/\/sfawbn.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2602\/revisions\/2603"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sfawbn.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2602"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sfawbn.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2602"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sfawbn.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2602"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}