Washington: The FBI is examining whether Joe Kent, who resigned this week as a top counterterrorism official in protest against President Donald Trump’s military campaign in Iran, improperly shared classified information, Reuters reported, quoting a person familiar with the inquiry.
The inquiry was underway even before Kent stepped down on Tuesday as director of the National Counterterrorism Center, the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The leak investigation centres on allegations that Kent mishandled or shared sensitive national security information. Specific details of what is under review have not been made public, though.
The leak inquiry, first reported by outlet Semafor, comes against a broader backdrop of Justice Department investigations targeting several prominent critics or perceived adversaries of Trump, including former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James. In a number of those cases, prosecutors have struggled to convert politically charged allegations into criminal charges, with judges throwing out cases or grand juries declining to indict.
Kent announced his departure from the administration in a statement on X on Tuesday, saying he was resigning over his opposition to Trump’s decision to wage war against Iran. “I cannot in good conscience support the Trump administration’s military actions in Iran,” he wrote, adding that Iran “did not present an immediate danger to our country, and it is evident that this conflict was initiated under pressure from Israel and its influential American lobby.”
Kent, a retired Army Special Forces officer who later joined the CIA and ultimately rose to lead the National Counterterrorism Center, had been considered a loyal Trump ally before the fallout over Iran policy.
Trump, speaking to reporters after the resignation, dismissed Kent’s objections and questioned his judgement on national security. The president said he had always viewed Kent as “weak on security” and added that if someone in his administration does not regard Iran as a serious threat, “we don’t want those people.”
Other senior Trump officials have distanced themselves from Kent and his assessment of the Iran threat, reports said.
