Former NCTC director Joe Kent under FBI investigation – Semafor

Joe Kent, who resigned Tuesday as director of the National Counterterrorism Center after publicly breaking with President Trump over the war in Iran, is under FBI investigation for allegedly leaking classified information, according to Semafor.

Semafor reported that the investigation is focused on allegations that Kent improperly shared classified information, citing four people with direct knowledge of the probe. The outlet said the investigation predates his departure.

In a letter to Trump made public on Tuesday, Kent said he could not support the war with Iran “in good conscience” and stated that Tehran posed no imminent threat to the United States.

Kent had been serving as director of the National Counterterrorism Center, or NCTC, the U.S. government’s hub for analyzing terrorist threats and coordinating counterterrorism intelligence. He was confirmed last July.

In his resignation letter, Kent accused Israeli officials and members of the American media of pushing the United States into war and said Trump had been misled into believing Iran posed an imminent threat.

“This was a lie and is the same tactic the Israelis used to draw us into the disastrous Iraq war,” Kent wrote.

Asked about Kent’s resignation in the Oval Office, Trump said he had read the statement and that “it’s a good thing that he is out” because Kent said Iran was not a threat.