Ex-Trump counterterror chief Kent clashes with Levin, rejects Iran threat claims

By Fox News · Fox News

Former counterterrorism official Joe Kent sparred with conservative radio host and Fox News personality Mark Levin on his syndicated radio show Monday, denying leak allegations, breaking with the Trump administration over Iran, and saying Israel "forced President Trump into this war." "I never leaked any classified information," Kent said, as Levin pressed him on reports he was under investigation by the FBI for leaking. Three sources familiar with the matter have told Fox News the FBI probe into Kent predated his resignation. INSIDE JOE KENT’S ABRUPT FALL AS GOP BACKLASH GROWS OVER ANTISEMITISM ACCUSATIONS, FBI PROBE Kent also disputed the administration’s case for the conflict with Iran, saying "there was no imminent threat coming from Iran against Americans." Kent resigned March 17 as director of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), issuing a public letter claiming the U.S. entered the conflict due to "pressure from Israel," a position he has since defended in multiple media appearances. Kent maintained that U.S. intelligence did not support the administration’s justification for military action in Iran, asserting "we had no intelligence that said that Iran was working to develop a nuclear weapon ," a claim that runs counter to assessments publicly cited by top administration officials. Kent’s resignation makes him the highest-ranking figure in the Trump administration to step down over the Iran war, a rare instance of open dissent from a senior national security official. His assertions put him at odds with top intelligence and defense officials who have said Iran posed an immediate threat. "Joe Kent’s self-aggrandizing resignation letter and recent comments are riddled with lies. Most egregious are Kent’s false claims that the largest state sponsor of terrorism somehow did not pose a threat to the United States and that Israel forced the President into launching Operation Epic Fury," White House spokesperson Davis Ingle told Fox News Digital. "As Comma…