The FBI has opened an investigation into Joe Kent, President Donald Trump’s former counterterrorism chief, who resigned from his submit over opposition to the struggle in Iran, based on a number of information studies.
The bureau’s probe into Kent, who served as director of the National Counterterrorism Center, pertains to allegations that he mishandled labeled info, 4 unnamed sources aware of the matter informed Semafor on Wednesday.
The investigation started earlier than he left the administration, sources mentioned, with one characterizing it as having gone on for months.
It’s being dealt with by the bureau’s Criminal Division, a supply informed CBS News.
Taylor Budowich, a former deputy White House chief of workers, appeared to allude to the investigation shortly after Kent stepped down. He wrote on X that the ex-counterterrorism chief was “often at the center of national security leaks.”
The Independent has tried to achieve Kent for remark. An FBI spokesperson didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark from The Independent.
Kent, a 20-year Army veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, shared his resignation letter on X Tuesday morning, the place it shortly went viral, amassing almost 100 million views.
“I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran,” he wrote. “Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.”
Podcast host Tucker Carlson launched an interview with Kent on Wednesday night, throughout which the previous counterterrorism chief repeated his declare that “the Israelis drove the decision to take this action” and that Iran was nowhere near growing a nuclear bomb.
The White House has dismissed Kent’s departure as inconsequential.
“It’s been a while since the president has seen him here at the White House,” Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt mentioned on Wednesday. “This was an individual who was not involved in any of the discussions pre-operation and throughout this operation.”
She additionally combatted claims that Tehran posed no menace to the U.S., writing on X that the 79-year-old president “had strong and compelling evidence that Iran was going to attack the United States first.”
When requested about Kent on Tuesday, the president mentioned, “I always thought he was weak on security.”
Recent polls present that extra Americans oppose the battle in Iran than assist it.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/joe-kent-fbi-investigation-trump-iran-war-b2941480.html