Joe Kent, who resigned this week as director of the National Counterterrorism Center over the war with Iran, said Friday he was not aware of any FBI investigation into him before leaving office and denied leaking information to the media.
Kent made the remarks on The Megyn Kelly Show, where he responded publicly for the first time to reports that he was under federal investigation over alleged leaks during his time in the Trump administration.
According to the Megyn Kelly report, Kent posted his resignation letter on Tuesday and said he stepped down because he could not support the ongoing war in Iran. In that letter, he wrote that Iran posed no imminent threat to the United States and said the country had entered the war because of pressure from Israel.
The report said allegations of a federal leak investigation surfaced shortly after Kent’s resignation became public. Kent told Kelly he had not been informed of any such investigation before he left his post and said he continued to hold full access to classified material until he submitted his resignation to the White House, spoke with President Donald Trump, and later made his resignation public.
Kent also pushed back on the reporting itself. He said that if there had been an active investigation, there would have been a formal process and he would have been contacted directly. He also suggested the leak allegations were being aired to shift attention away from the larger debate over the war with Iran.
During the interview, Kelly raised two possible episodes that she said her team believed could be tied to the reported probe. One involved an allegation that Kent leaked information about Mark Levin’s White House meeting with President Donald Trump to Tucker Carlson. Kent denied that claim.
Kelly also asked Kent about speculation that he leaked messages from a WhatsApp group chat involving Charlie Kirk that surfaced after Kirk’s death. Kent denied that as well. When Kelly asked him directly whether he had leaked anything to the media, Kent replied that he had not.
Kent said he believes the timing of the reports was meant to create a counter-narrative as he continued speaking out against the Iran war. He also said he viewed the allegations as an effort to intimidate him, but added that he intended to remain focused on opposing the conflict.
The Megyn Kelly report said Kent’s resignation had already fueled debate among supporters and critics of the Trump administration’s involvement in Iran. By Friday, Kent was framing the reported investigation as part of that broader fight while continuing to deny he leaked any information.
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