Joe Kent’s resignation as director of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) over the war in Iran earlier this week touched off a fierce debate among those arguing for and against the United States’ involvement in the conflict.
The decorated Army special forces veteran posted his resignation letter publicly on Tuesday, stating that he had decided to step down from his Senate-confirmed role because he “cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran.”
Kent alleged Iran “posed no imminent threat to our nation” and suggested the United States got involved because of Israel. “It is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby,” he wrote.
Within hours of his resignation, reports emerged that Kent was under federal investigation for accusations involving the leaking of classified information during his time at the NCTC. On Friday’s show, Kent joined Megyn to respond to the reported investigation and allegations for the first time.
The Reporting
On Wednesday, Semafor was the first to report that the FBI had opened a leak investigation into Kent focused on “allegations that he improperly shared classified information,” citing four people “with direct knowledge” of the probe. The sources told the outlet that the investigation predated Kent’s resignation, with one of them describing it as being months-long.
Kent has also faced criticism from members of the Trump administration, GOP supporters of Operation Epic Fury, and President Donald Trump himself in the wake of his departure, but he told Megyn the fallout is to be expected. “I knew this was going to happen,” Kent said. “I think we’re all very familiar with their playbook.”
He also questioned the reporting. “The fact that… they have to leak the allegations of an FBI investigation. If there truly was an FBI investigation – and, who knows, maybe there will be – then there would be a process and procedure for that. They would actually formally come to me,” Kent noted. “And if they were still collecting information, they most certainly wouldn’t leak it.”
Kent confirmed that he was not told he was under investigation for alleged leaking prior to his resignation and he still had access to classified material. “I had access to, you know, top secret, etc, up until the time that I chose to walk out the door,” he told Megyn. “I was fully the director of the National Counterterrorism Center until I submitted my resignation to the White House, had a phone call conversation with President Trump, and, the next day, officially announced with my resignation letter and went public.”
“Up until that point, I had full access, I was the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, and I was not aware of any investigation that I was under,” he added.
Possible Leaks
Megyn noted that, based on her team’s research, there appears to be two alleged leaks that could involve Kent. One involves a meeting Mark Levin had the White House last summer, and the other has to do with a group chat Charlie Kirk was a part of before his death.
“Mark Levin is alleging that you leaked to Tucker [Carlson] that Mark had a meeting with President Trump in June, shortly before we bombed Iran the first time,” Megyn explained. “Not for nothing, but literally days after Tucker reported it, Politico reported it based on two sources. I’m wondering whether they are going to actually drag Politico in there in addition to Tucker and see who the leaker was.”
Regardless, Megyn asked Kent if he denies leaking the information of the Levin White House visit to Carlson. “Yeah, I deny that,” he responded.
Megyn said the second potential allegation stems from speculation surrounding text messages involving Kirk that were leaked after his assassination. Weeks after Kirk’s death, Candace Owens’ reported on a leaked WhatsApp group message exchange that occurred days before the Turning Point USA founder was killed.
In the chat, Kirk lamented some Jewish donors were “leaving me no choice but to leave the pro-Israel cause.” In the messages, Kirk said he “just lost another huge Jewish donor,” who was giving “$2 million a year,” because “we won’t cancel Tucker [Carlson].” He wrote that the “Jewish donors play into all the stereotypes” and he “cannot and will not be bullied like this.”
Charlie Kirk Show executive producer and TPUSA spokesperson Andrew Kolvet later confirmed the authenticity of the messages, saying he provided them to the government without naming who specifically he turned them over to. Israel supporter and Newsweek editor Josh Hammer also revealed that he was a part of the WhatsApp group.
“No one said this explicitly, but… some online are speculating…that you were the leaker, so did you leak that document to Candace [Owens],” Megyn asked Kent.
“No,” he responded.
“Did you leak at all to the media,” she asked.
“No,” he answered.
Intimidation Tactics?
Kent went on to say that “leaks are in the paper every single day,” and he believes there is “a big distinction” between leaking “actual top secret information” and leaking “almost palace intrigue of who’s meeting with who.”
To that point, Megyn said the two examples above lack substance. “Let’s just say that you were the leaker about Mark Levin visiting President Trump at the White House. He’s not some top national security advisor. He’s not some foreign leader. That’s not classified information,” she noted. “And by the way, the Andrew Kolvet group chat is not classified information either… If this is what the leak investigation is about, I can tell you, as a lawyer, I don’t think it’s going anywhere.”
She wondered if the purpose of the investigation rumors is instead to intimidate Kent from speaking out. “I think it is more of a media game. I mean, they dropped the accusations about the investigation… right as Tucker was airing the interview that he did with me, so I really think it’s just a counter-narrative,” Kent posited. “I think the second effect is they are trying to intimidate me.”
But Kent said he will not be deterred. “We’ve all seen the FBI and the full weight of the government come down on individuals who speak out, so that has me a little bit concerned,” he said. “But I know the truth and the facts are on my side… I feel very confident in what I’m doing right now. I think I have a mission, and I think it is to do everything I can to stop this war. So, to me, I kind of view everything else as a sideshow and I just want to stay focused on the mission.”
You can check out Megyn’s full interview with Kent by tuning in to episode 1,277 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s The Megyn Kelly Channel (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.