Archiv: National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC)


23.05.2026 - 07:03 [ PBS.org ]

Tulsi Gabbard resigns as Trump‘s national intelligence director

There had been rumblings that Gabbard would split with Trump after the president‘s decision to strike Iran, which caused some division within his administration. Joe Kent, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, announced his resignation in March, saying he „cannot in good conscience“ back the war.

Gabbard, a veteran and former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii, built her political name on her opposition to foreign wars. This put her in an awkward position when the U.S. joined Israel in launching attacks on Iran on Feb. 28.

19.03.2026 - 16:14 [ 8pmNews.com ]

“Stop Us From Getting Into A War”: Joe Kent Reveals Charlie Kirk’s Final Warning In Bombshell Tucker Carlson Interview

The most striking moment of the interview came when Kent recounted his final meeting with Charlie Kirk, the Turning Point USA founder who was instrumental in the current administration’s rise and the selection of JD Vance as Vice President.

“The last time I saw Charlie Kirk on this Earth was in June, in the West Wing,” Kent told Carlson. “He looked me in the eye and he said… ‘Joe, stop us from getting into a war with Iran.’”

According to Kent, Kirk—who was assassinated on September 10, 2025—was one of the few top-tier advisors vocally urging the President to avoid a Middle Eastern conflagration and to “rethink” the unconditional nature of the U.S.-Israeli partnership.

19.03.2026 - 16:05 [ Independent.co.uk ]

Former counterterrorism chief says he was blocked from investigating Charlie Kirk’s killing

Joe Kent publicly announced his resignation as the director of the National Counterterrorism Center on March 17, stating that he “cannot in good conscience” support the U.S.’s war with Iran.

Kirk was shot dead during a public appearance in Utah on September 10, 2025. A day after his resignation, Kent appeared on The Tucker Carlson Show, where he claimed that his investigation into the killing was blocked.

19.03.2026 - 13:58 [ Tucker Carlson / Youtube ]

Joe Kent Reveals All in First Interview Since Resigning as Trump’s Counterterrorism Director

Joe Kent is a former Director of the National Counterterrorism Center and the President’s principal counterterrorism advisor, who served 20 years in the U.S. Army with 11 combat deployments fighting terrorist networks with the 75th Ranger Regiment, Army Special Forces, and U.S. Army Special Operations Command, earning six Bronze Stars. Joe is also a Gold Star husband whose first wife, Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer Shannon Kent, also served and was killed while fighting ISIS in Syria in 2019.

19.03.2026 - 13:51 [ Semafor.com ]

Exclusive: FBI investigates intelligence aide who resigned over war

Trump aides and allies denounced Kent as a leaker immediately after his resignation became public.

Kent wrote in his resignation letter that Iran poses “no imminent threat to our nation” and accused Trump of initiating the war “due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.”

The FBI and the White House declined to comment.

19.03.2026 - 13:38 [ The Young Turks / Youtube ]

Joe Kent: Trump Is LYING To You

Joe Kent, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, talks to Tucker Carlson about Iran and his resignation letter. Ana Kasparian discusses on The Young Turks.

19.03.2026 - 13:30 [ CNN ]

Takeaways from former Trump administration counterterrorism chief Joe Kent’s extensive interview

“There was no intelligence that said, hey, on whatever day it was, March 1st, the Iranians are going to launch this big sneak attack, they’re going to do some kind of a 9/11, Pearl Harbor, etc. They’re going to attack one of our bases. There was none of that intelligence,” Kent said.

Trump and the the White House have repeatedly cited an imminent threat posed by Iran as an impetus for launching strikes against the country.

Kent further argued that the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who died last month in joint US and Israeli strikes, had been moderating the country’s nuclear program.

19.03.2026 - 12:58 [ New York Times ]

On Iran, Gabbard Turned Intelligence Duties Over to Trump

Ms. Gabbard does not quickly turn on her allies, and she showed little desire to throw Mr. Kent under the bus or attack him. But she has remained in her position by being a careful student of Mr. Trump, and knows how to stay on his good side. And critiquing the president’s view of the threat from Iran was clearly not the way to keep your job.

So she came up with her line that it is Mr. Trump, not the intelligence community, that determines what constitutes a threat.

17.03.2026 - 16:27 [ Joe Kent / X ]

After much reflection, I have decided to resign from my position as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, effective today. I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran.

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.

It has been an honor serving under @POTUS and @DNIGabbard and leading the professionals at NCTC.

May God bless America.

17.03.2026 - 16:21 [ New York Times ]

Joe Kent, a Top U.S. Counterterrorism Official, Resigns Over the Iran War

Mr. Kent is the first Trump administration official to quit in opposition to the conflict. He said pressure from Israel had pushed the president into war against Iran.

28.11.2025 - 01:32 [ CNN ]

US official says shooting suspect was vetted by intel agencies and “clean on all checks”

At the time, the CIA would have done its own vetting of him through a variety of databases, including the National Counterterrorism Center database, to see if he had any known ties to terrorist groups. The CIA did its own vetting before he started working with them and kept the identities of those they worked with secret, the official said.

NCTC would have vetted him again during Operation Allies Welcome in 2021 for any ties to terrorism before he was allowed into the US. He was clean then as well and did not show any ties to terror organizations, per the senior US official.

02.01.2025 - 17:24 [ Scripps News Denver ]

Suspects in Vegas explosion, New Orleans attack served at same Army base, sources say

The Colorado Springs resident suspected of detonating a Tesla Cybertruck in front of a Las Vegas hotel and the Texas man accused of driving a pickup truck into a crowd on Bourbon Street in New Orleans served at the same military base, sources told Scripps News Denver.

02.01.2025 - 17:15 [ Denver7.com ]

Suspects in Vegas explosion, New Orleans attack served at same Army base, sources tell Denver7 Investigates

Livelsberger was a member of the Army’s elite Green Berets, a special forces unit and guerrilla warfare experts, according to an Army statement reported by the Associated Press. He has served in the Army since 2006, rising through the ranks, and was on approved leave when he died, the statement said. The Green Berets work to counter terrorists abroad using unconventional techniques.

Livelsberger spent time at the base formerly known as Fort Bragg, a massive Army base in North Carolina that is home to Army special forces command.

02.01.2025 - 17:04 [ ABC News ]

Authorities warned of vehicle-ramming attack danger in US during holiday season

On Dec. 6, the FBI, Department of Homeland Security and National Counterterrorism Center issued a joint intel bulletin warning law enforcement about the ongoing serious threat posed by lone offenders during the winter holiday season.
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„Lone offenders have historically used simple tactics, such as edged weapons, firearms, or vehicle ramming, due to their ease of access, ability to inflict mass casualties, and lack of required training,“ the bulletin stated.

09.11.2020 - 20:33 [ New York Post ]

President Trump tweets firing of Defense Secretary Mark Esper

“I am pleased to announce that Christopher C. Miller, the highly respected Director of the National Counterterrorism Center (unanimously confirmed by the Senate), will be Acting Secretary of Defense, effective immediately,” the president said in a post.

10.08.2019 - 20:09 [ CNN ]

Top intel official interrupted meeting to urge his deputy to resign

When discussing his attempt to replace Coats with Texas Republican Rep. John Ratcliffe on July 30, the President told reporters that intelligence community needed „somebody like that that‘s strong and can really rein it in. As you‘ve all learned, the intelligence agencies have run amok. They‘ve run amok.“