Joe Kent, the former Trump administration intelligence official who resigned this week in protest of the war in Iran, is being investigated by the FBI.

The probe predates Kent's departure as director of the National Counterterrorism Center and centers on allegations he improperly shared classified information, Semafor reported on Wednesday.

A source familiar with the leak probe confirmed its existence to The Post.

Former White House deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich alleged in X post Tuesday that Kent was "a crazed egomaniac who was often at the center of national security leaks, while rarely (never?) producing any actual work.”

Joe Kent, the former intelligence community leader who resigned Tuesday, claimed that "there wasn't a robust debate" among President Trump's senior staff before he authorized the ongoing war on Iran — and that an "infuriating" media ecosystem amplified Israeli talking points about Iran enriching uranium.

"The way the ecosystem would work is that the talking heads on TV, your Mark Levins, Sean Hannitys, etc., they would say basically the exact same thing that night on TV ... Yet, if you looked in classified intelligence, we didn't see any of that," Kent said.

"The circle that was around [Trump] was very, very tight and very small and I think they were on the same sheet of music, and I think a lot of them were getting their information from the ecosystem that I described," Kent charged.

"There was robust debate and robust discussions leading up to the 12-day war — into Midnight Hammer — but this, the second round, to me — and I'm sure others will refute this and disagree with me — but [discussions were] conducted by just a handful of advisers around the president."

Ex-Trump administration official Joe Kent said that the US had "no intelligence" that Iran was close to developing a nuclear weapon before President Trump authorized a joint US-Israeli attack citing Tehran's nuclear program.

"No, they weren't three weeks ago when this started, and they weren't in June, either," the former director of the National Counterterrorism Center told Tucker Carlson in an interview one day after his resignation.

"The Iranians have had a religious ruling — a fatwa — against actually developing a nuclear weapon since 2004… We had no intelligence to indicate that that fatwa was being disobeyed or it was on the cusp of being lifted," Kent said.

"The Iranian strategy, it's actually pretty pragmatic. The Iranians are obviously aware of what's taking place in their region and their strategy was to not completely abandon their nuclear program, because they saw what happened to Muammar Gaddafi in Libya."

President Trump's former counterterrorism chief Joe Kent said Wednesday that an imminent threat from Iran "simply did not exist" before President Trump launched the ongoing war and that "the Israelis drove the decision."

Kent, speaking publicly for the first time since his bombshell resignation letter Tuesday, told media personality Tucker Carlson that Secretary of State Marco Rubio's initial explanation of the timing of the Feb. 28 joint attack on Iran proved his point.

"Who is in charge of our policy in the Middle East? Who's in charge of when we decide to go to war or not? In this case, with what [Rubio] described and later on the president, later on the speaker of the House and the way the events played out,the Israelis drove the decision to take this action, which we knew would set off a series of events, meaning the Iranians would retaliate," Kent said.

"We could have simply said to the Israelis, 'No, you will not, and if you do, then we will take something away from you.'"

President Trump paid his respects Wednesday to the returning remains of six US service members killed in an airplane refueling crash last week — his second such grim homecoming ceremony since launching the US-Israeli war against Iran.

Trump saluted the flag-draped caskets as they were unloaded at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, joined by House Speaker Mike Johnson and Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth.

The event was closed to the news media at the request of the families of those killed over western Iraq, but photos were later released by the White House on Flickr and X.

The White House captioned one image: "President Donald J. Trump attends the dignified transfer of six American heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice in a refueling plane crash while serving our nation. May God bless them and their families. In Honor of: Maj. John A. Klinner, Capt. Ariana G. Savino, Tech. Sgt. Ashley B. Pruitt, Capt. Seth R. Koval, Capt. Curtis J. Angst, [and] Tech. Sgt. Tyler H. Simmons."

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) once challenged journalists to a "duel" amid reports that he had plagiarized speeches from Wikipedia and portions of his book "Government Bullies" from a conservative publication.

"I take it as an insult, and I will not lie down and say people can call me dishonest, misleading or misrepresenting. I have never intentionally done so," Paul said on ABC News' "This Week" in a 2013 interview.

"Like I say, if dueling were legal in Kentucky — if they keep it up — it'll be a duel challenge," he added.

Paul mocked Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) during a Wednesday hearing on Capitol Hill for wanting to return to the norm of "two consenting adults" being able to resolve their difference by "dueling."

"It's been illegal for 170 years. There's no precedent for legal dueling," the Kentucky Republican responded.

One of the reporters who published Paul's potential plagiarism in a November 2013 article quipped Wednesday, "I was once challenged by Sen. Paul 13 years ago to a duel."

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said Wednesday he expects Sen. Markwayne Mullin's nomination to lead the Department of Homeland Security will advance out of his committee Thursday with Democratic support.

In an interview with Fox News, Paul said Mullin (R-Okla.) will likely head to a full vote in the upper chamber — despite the Senate Homeland Security Committee chairman saying he was a "no" on his colleague's confirmation

"I think he'll get Democrat votes," the Kentucky Republican told "America Reports" co-anchor Sandra Smith.

In conjunction with this morning's worldwide threat hearing, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence has released its annual threat assessment for 2026.

The report finds that while al Qaeda and ISIS "maintain the intent" to carry out attacks on America, "the most likely terrorist attack scenario in the Homeland involves US-based lone offenders."

The report cites as examples the New Year's Day 2025 pickup truck attack on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, which killed 14 people and injured 57 others, and the June 1, 2025, Boulder, Colo., flamethrower attack on a pro-Israel demonstration, which killed an 82-year-old woman and injured a dozen others.

"These individuals take inspiration from foreign terrorist ideologies and propaganda that often exploit world events such as the Gaza conflict to fuel radicalization and mobilization," the report read.

"[Al Qaeda] and ISIS release media encouraging US-based supporters to conduct attacks and often offer tactical guidance."

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) shrugged off Wednesday morning's explosive exchange between Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) during Mullin's confirmation hearing to become secretary of homeland security.

"Rand and Markwayne have some personal history, which they're going to have to work through. But this is about the job, and it's about who ought to fill that job," Thune told reporters. "Markwayne is the right guy for the job."

Thune also downplayed concerns that letting Paul chair the Senate Homeland Security Committee was a mistake.

"Those decisions are made by the conference," he said. "Obviously, today's hearing ... got a little spicy at times."

Three top Democrats on House committees have opened a probe into Corey Lewandowski, who had been a top aide to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

Reps. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) and Rick Larsen (D-Wash.) have asked the Department of Homeland Security to "preserve all communications and internal records" pertaining to Lewandowski, sometimes referred to as Noem's "shadow chief of staff."

"We write with grave concern regarding reports alleging serious misconduct," they wrote in the letter, first reported by Scott McFarlane.

"At the center of these allegations sits Mr. Corey Lewandowski, who continues to use his access to DHS leadership to wield outsized and undue influence over the Department."

Thompson, Garcia and Larsen are the ranking members of the House Homeland Security Committee, House Oversight Committee and House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, respectively.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) told reporters following a Wednesday hearing that he will vote against confirming Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) to lead the Department of Homeland Security.

"I think there's a lack of contrition — both about the violence that was perpetrated on me but really the violent episode he was involved in in the Senate committee, where's he's told the media, frankly, that he doesn't regret," Paul said.

"He's also told the media," the Senate Homeland Security Committee chairman added, "that there's historical precedence for violence, that caning and dueling happened all the time."

"I'm a no."

President Trump left the White House a few minutes ago and is making his way to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to attend the dignified transfer ceremony for six US service members killed in the Middle East last week.

Trump did not speak to reporters as he walked to Marine One for the short helicopter flight to Joint Base Andrews.

All six crew members of a KC-135 Air Force refueling aircraft were killed March 12 when it went down over western Iraq.

They have been identified as Maj. Alex Klinner, 33, of Birmingham, Ala.; Tech. Sgt. Tyler Simmons, 28, from Columbus, Ohio; Capt. Ariana G. Savino, 31, of Covington, Wash.; Tech. Sgt. Ashley Pruitt, 34, of Bardstown, Ky.; Capt. Seth R. Koval, 38, of Mooresville, Ind.; and Capt. Curtis J. Angst, 30, of Wilmington, Ohio.

A total of 13 American service members have died since the beginning of Operation Epic Fury Feb. 28.