Multiple sources tell CBS News the FBI is conducting an investigation into former National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) Director Joe Kent over suspected leaks of classified material. Sources say the inquiry started before Kent resigned this week amid disagreements with the Trump administration’s handling of the war with Iran. The FBI’s Criminal Division is reported to be leading the probe. The bureau declined to comment and Kent did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Semafor first reported the story.
Shortly after Kent’s resignation, former deputy White House chief of staff Taylor Budowich posted on X that Kent was “often at the center of national security leaks” and accused him of trying to “subvert the chain of command and undermine the President.” Budowich did not identify specific leaks.
Kent announced his resignation in an open letter criticizing the decision to launch military action against Iran, saying the country “posed no imminent threat to our nation” and arguing the administration had entered the conflict under pressure from Israel and its influential American supporters. He wrote that he “cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran.”
In an interview the following day with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, Kent expanded on his objections. He said he had seen no intelligence showing Iran was preparing an imminent attack on the United States or was on the verge of building a nuclear weapon. He also asserted there had not been a robust internal debate prior to the war and accused Israeli influence of shaping the decision.
The White House pushed back on Kent’s claims. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt called his letter “filled with false claims,” insisted Iran did pose an imminent threat, and described suggestions that President Trump was driven to war by another country as “insulting and laughable.” In an interview on Fox News, Leavitt also minimized Kent’s role in recent national-security deliberations, saying he “was not involved in any of the discussions” around the Iran conflict and had not been part of preparing the president’s intelligence briefing “in a while.”
Kent appeared to dispute suggestions he was out of the loop. In his Carlson interview he said that even if he was not invited to some meetings, he would have been aware they took place and understood how those meetings typically proceed.
Kent, a Trump nominee who was confirmed by the Senate last summer to lead the NCTC, previously served as chief of staff to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, a longtime ally. A former Green Beret and one-time congressional candidate, he has attracted controversy before: reporting has said he paid a member of the far-right Proud Boys for consulting work during a House campaign, he has called the 2020 election stolen, and he said Dr. Anthony Fauci should be charged over the handling of COVID-19.
Asked about Kent on Tuesday, former President Trump said he had considered Kent “weak on security,” that he did not know him well, and that he was glad Kent had stepped down after saying Iran was not a threat. Trump added that, in his view, Iran was a clear danger.
The status and scope of the FBI’s investigation remain unclear; officials have not publicly confirmed details and CBS News reports the probe has been underway for some time.