Former intelligence official Joe Kent is suspected of leaking classified information to &#8220;disaffected MAGA media&#8221; personalities like former Fox News host Tucker Carlson — and FBI Director Kash Patel may be poised to declassify information regarding a probe into former intelligence official Joe Kent in an effort to prove that the investigation was not retaliation for his resignation.
A <a href="https://www.notus.org/trump-white-house/joe-kent-investigation-fbi-kash-patel">report</a> published Thursday by NOTUS also stated that FBI Director Kash Patel was considering declassifying as much information as possible in order to show that the investigation into Kent was already underway when he announced his plan to leave the administration.
A law enforcement source told NOTUS that FBI counterintelligence had already begun a criminal investigation into Kent&#8217;s alleged actions long before he announced his resignation. An administration official told the outlet that Kent had &#8220;leaked classified information from a server to a member of the media.&#8221;
Kent, according to a Wednesday report first published by <a href="https://www.semafor.com/article/03/18/2026/fbi-investigates-national-security-aide-who-resigned-over-war">Semafor</a>, was already under the FBI&#8217;s microscope before he abruptly resigned on Tuesday and stated that he could no longer support President Donald Trump&#8217;s administration as it waged war against the Iranian regime.
The Green Beret veteran declared on Tuesday that he could not remain on the job — as director of the National Counterterrorism Center — as long as the Trump administration continued military action alongside Israel against Iran. &#8220;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,&#8221; he claimed.
But shortly after Kent tendered his resignation, several sources revealed that he had not been part of the planning with regard to Iran — and had not been briefed on the intelligence that led President Trump to determine that Iran was, in fact, an imminent threat.
By Wednesday evening, reports began circulating that Kent was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/former-counterterror-chief-joe-kent-under-fbi-probe-for-leaking-classified-info">being investigated</a> by the FBI — and a strategic declassification of the relevant information could provide evidence that the investigation predated Kent&#8217;s exit from the administration.

Controversial Washington Congressional Candidate Joe Kent Holds Town Hall As He Campaigns For Office

Did Joe Kent Leak Classified Intel To Tucker Carlson?

Iran

Joe Kent

Military

Politics

Tucker Carlson

While the Iranian regime continues to attack the United States — either directly or through proxy terrorist organizations — some of the regime&#8217;s leaders have sent their own children to the United States, and a number have made themselves at home at American universities.
The New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/03/18/world-news/children-of-iran-regime-leaders-teaching-at-elite-us-universities/?utm_campaign=nypost&amp;utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_medium=social">shared a list</a> of several prominent Iranian leaders who have children teaching at universities in the United States — and although the report noted that none of those employed in the United States have been linked to any nefarious activity, allowing people with such close ties to regime leadership to teach American students could eventually present a risk.
<a href="https://www.fdd.org/team/janatan-sayeh/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Janatan Sayeh</a>, an Iran analyst at Washington, D.C.-based think tank the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, explained: &#8220;I would think that there would be a security risk as Iranian academics have been critical in forming public opinion on the left in the US, essentially deceiving liberals into thinking that the regime is more progressive, when it’s still advancing the same hardline agenda.&#8221;
Fatemeh Ardeshir-Larijani, for example, initially came to the United States for cancer treatment. A medical doctor who worked at Emory University in Atlanta until January, she is also the daughter of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/iranian-intelligence-chief-eliminated-in-overnight-israeli-strike">Ali Larijani</a> — an Iranian leader who was killed in an airstrike on Tuesday.
Lawdan Bazargan, with the Alliance Against Islamic Regime of Iran Apologists, noted the irony of Ardeshir-Larijani&#8217;s presence in the United States — especially given who her father was. &#8220;The daughter of Ali Larijani came to the United States for cancer treatment, the very country her family’s system condemns, while millions of Iranians are denied access to basic health care and opportunity.&#8221;
Larijani&#8217;s employment at Emory University was <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/world/emory-university-dismisses-daughter-senior-iranian-official-ali-larijani-campus-demonstrations">terminated</a> in January, amid protests calling for her to be fired, deported, or both. Her dismissal came just weeks after her father was sanctioned by the United States Treasury Department &#8220;for coordinating the response to the protests on behalf of the Supreme Leader of Iran&#8221; and because he &#8220;has publicly called for Iranian security forces to use force to repress peaceful protesters.&#8221;
Leila Khatami, the daughter of former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, teaches math at Schenectady&#8217;s Union College. Her ties to the regime run even deeper, as her aunt was the granddaughter of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who claimed the title of Supreme Leader from 1979 until he died in 1989.
Khatami&#8217;s photo and bio were removed from Union&#8217;s faculty website after the United States and Israel began their joint campaign against the Iranian regime. The page listing her as a professor of mathematics shows only her <a href="https://www.union.edu/mathematics/faculty-staff/leila-khatami">name and title</a>.
According to the Post&#8217;s report, thousands of children of Iranian elites are currently living in the United States.

The Iranian Delegation Attends The 129th Assembly Of The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU)

Their Parents Run The Iranian Regime. They’re Teaching Your Kids At American Universities.

Education

World

Only 15 Democrats were willing to vote with Republicans on Thursday on a measure that would make non-citizens who harmed police animals — such as dogs or horses — either inadmissible or subject to deportation.
The BOWOW Act <a href="https://x.com/CraigCaplan/status/2034639336612745286">passed the U.S. House</a> on Thursday by a margin of 228-190, with every Republican voting in favor of the legislation. It will head to the Senate next.
Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA) <a href="https://calvert.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-calverts-bowow-act-advanced-judiciary-committee">introduced</a> the bill in June of 2025 &#8220;after Freddie, a Customs and Border Patrol agriculture detector dog, was <a class="ext" title="(opens in a new window)" href="https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/local-media-release/egyptian-traveler-eats-federal-charges-kicking-dulles-cbp-beagle" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow noreferrer" data-entity-type="external" data-extlink="">assaulted</a> in June by a non-citizen from Egypt&#8221; — and the House Judiciary Committee voted to advance the measure in November.
&#8220;I appreciate my colleagues on the Judiciary Committee advancing the BOWOW Act and joining me in standing up for our law enforcement animals who help keep Americans safe. Coming to America is a privilege, not a right. Anyone who assaults an animal, like Freddie, simply has no place in our country,&#8221; Calvert said at the time.
The purpose of the bill, according to its <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/4638/text">official description</a>, is &#8220;to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to deem any alien who has been convicted of or admits to harming a federal law enforcement animal as inadmissible and deportable.&#8221;
The bill would affect non-citizens who were convicted under 18 U.S.C. 1368 — which pertains to the abuse of animals used in federal law enforcement such as service dogs and horses — or those who have admitted to assaulting such animals. Anyone who fit that description would either be inadmissible to the United States or subject to deportation.
The 15 Democrats who voted in favor of the bill were as follows: Reps. Henry Cuellar (TX), Sharice Davids (KS), Don Davis (NC), John Garamendi (CA), Jared Golden (ME), Vicente Gonzalez (TX), Josh Gottheimer (NJ), Adam Gray (CA), Chrissy Houlahan (PA), Greg Landsman (OH), Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (WA), Josh Riley (NY), Eric Sorensen (IL), Tom Suozzi (NY), and Eugene Vindman (VA).
Rep. Kevin Kiley (I-CA), in his first vote since leaving the Republican Party, also voted with the Republicans in favor of the measure.

U.S. Customs And Border Patrol Monitor Canadian Border

A Straightforward Vote On Protecting Police Dogs — Dems Went Which Way?

Congress

Dogs

Horse

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illegal immigrants

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While taking questions from reporters on Thursday, President Donald Trump blindsided Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi with made a joke referencing the 1941 surprise attack initiated by the Empire of Japan on the American naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
The question, from one of the reporters in the Oval Office, was about the current joint operation in Iran undertaken by the United States and Israel — specifically, why President Trump had not spoken with allies in Europe or Japan prior to initiating an attack against the Iranian regime.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Q: &#8220;Why didn&#8217;t you tell U.S. allies…about the war before attacking Iran?&#8221;
President Trump: &#8220;We wanted surprise. Who knows better about surprise than Japan? Why didn&#8217;t you tell me about Pearl Harbor?&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/esV9iyvMiV">pic.twitter.com/esV9iyvMiV</a>
— CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/2034667305318187239?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 19, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;Japan and U.S. are very good friends,&#8221; the reporter began. &#8220;But one question: why didn&#8217;t you tell U.S. Allies in Europe and Asia, like Japan, about the war before attacking Iran? So we are very confused about — we, Japanese citizens —&#8221;
&#8220;Well, one thing, you don&#8217;t want to signal too much,&#8221; Trump replied, arguing that it was unwise to give away too much of the planning before taking military action. &#8220;You know, when we go in, we went in very hard, and we didn&#8217;t tell anybody about it because we wanted surprise. Who knows better about surprise than Japan? Why didn&#8217;t you tell me about Pearl Harbor? Okay? Right?&#8221;
Prime Minister Takaichi appeared to be slightly uncomfortable as several around the room began to laugh.
&#8220;He&#8217;s asking me — no, you believe in surprise I think much more so than us,&#8221; Trump continued, pivoting back to Iran. &#8220;But we had to surprise them and we did. And because of that surprise, we knocked out — the first two days, we probably knocked out 50% of what we — and much more than we anticipated.&#8221;
&#8220;So if I go and tell everybody about it, it&#8217;s no longer a surprise, right?&#8221; the president concluded.

President Trump Hosts Japan’s Prime Minister Takaichi At White House

Trump Defends Keeping Allies In The Dark With Unexpected Pearl Harbor Quip

Donald Trump

Japan

Media

Pearl Harbor

War Secretary Pete Hegseth called on the American public to lift up members of the United States Armed Forces — particularly those who might be in harm&#8217;s way — and received immediate criticism from CBS News anchor Margaret Brennan. But Hegseth&#8217;s request is far from unprecedented.
&#8220;Please pray for them, every day, on bended knee, with your family, in your schools, in your churches, in the name of Jesus Christ,&#8221; <a href="https://x.com/EricLDaugh/status/2034605561983959295?s=20">Hegseth said</a>, closing out a Thursday morning press briefing on Iran alongside other military leaders.
Brennan, anchor of CBS&#8217; &#8220;Face the Nation,&#8221; responded by <a href="https://x.com/margbrennan/status/2034604792157192668">saying</a>, &#8220;The Secretary of Defense tells the American public to pray for our troops on bended knee and invoke Jesus&#8217; name &#8230;&#8221;
Brennan also accused the administration of using &#8220;religious references as justification for war,&#8221; responding to Hegseth&#8217;s comments describing the Iranian regime&#8217;s strategy as &#8220;a violent, messianic Islamist ideology chasing some sort of apocalyptic endgame.&#8221;
But prayer on the battlefield — and calls to prayer from both military and political leaders for those engaged in the fight — is nothing new.
On June 6, 1944, then President Franklin Delano Roosevelt gave a radio address during which he invited the American people to <a href="https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/prayer-d-day">join him in prayer</a> for the Allied Forces as they stormed the beaches near Normandy, France. He finished that prayer by asking them to pray continuously for those men, both day and night, until their objective had been reached.
&#8220;Almighty God: Our sons, pride of our Nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our Republic, our religion, and our civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity,&#8221; Roosevelt began. &#8220;Lead them straight and true; give strength to their arms, stoutness to their hearts, steadfastness in their faith.&#8221;
Roosevelt went on to pray for strength and courage in battle and acknowledged that many of those for whom he prayed would not ever return home.
&#8220;Many people have urged that I call the Nation into a single day of special prayer,&#8221; he concluded. &#8220;But because the road is long and the desire is great, I ask that our people devote themselves in a continuance of prayer. As we rise to each new day, and again when each day is spent, let words of prayer be on our lips, invoking Thy help to our efforts.&#8221;
Months later, with Allied efforts to liberate Europe well underway, <a href="https://www.historyonthenet.com/when-patton-enlisted-the-entire-third-army-to-pray-for-fair-weather">General George S. Patton</a> stood ready to lead his Third Army into battle — but the weather was a problem. In early December of 1944, just days before Patton arrived at the besieged town of Bastogne, Belgium, the general called Monsignor James H. O’Neill, the head chaplain: &#8220;This is General Patton; do you have a good prayer for weather? We must do something about those rains if we are to win the war.&#8221;
Patton&#8217;s deputy chief of staff, Colonel Paul Harkins, described the conversation that followed:
<blockquote>
Patton: &#8220;Chaplain, I want you to publish a prayer for good weather. I’m tired of these soldiers having to fight mud and floods as well as Germans. See if we can’t get God to work on our side.”
O’Neill: “Sir, it’s going to take a pretty thick rug for that kind of praying.”
Patton: “I don’t care if it takes a flying carpet. I want the praying done.”
O’Neill: “Yes, sir. May I say, General, that it usually isn’t a customary thing among men of my profession to pray for clear weather to kill fellow men.”
Patton: “Chaplain, are you trying to teach me theology or are you the Chaplain of the Third Army? I want a prayer.”
</blockquote>
The resulting prayer was printed on cards and distributed to as many of Patton&#8217;s men as possible: &#8220;Almighty and most merciful Father, we humbly beseech Thee, of Thy great goodness, to restrain these immoderate rains with which we have had to contend. Grant us fair weather for Battle. Graciously hearken to us as soldiers who call upon Thee that, armed with Thy power, we may advance from victory to victory, and crush the oppression and wickedness of our enemies and establish Thy justice among men and nations.&#8221;
Patton later explained his emphasis on prayer to O&#8217;Neill, saying that he believed men could work and plan down to the last detail, but there was always an unknown factor in play: &#8220;I call it God. God has his part, or margin, in everything.&#8221;
&#8220;I wish you would put out a Training Letter on this subject of Prayer to all the chaplains; write about nothing else, just the importance of prayer,&#8221; Patton directed O&#8217;Neill. &#8220;Let me see it before you send it. We’ve got to get not only the chaplains but every man in the Third Army to pray. We must ask God to stop these rains. These rains are that margin that holds defeat or victory. If we all pray, it will be like what Dr. Carrel said, it will be like plugging in on a current whose source is in Heaven. I believe that prayer completes that circuit. It is power.&#8221;
When General Dwight D. Eisenhower was elected President of the United States, he too raised the nation and those alongside him in its leadership in private prayer. The <a style="font-size: 16px;" href="https://wallbuilders.com/resource/dwight-d-eisenhowers-inaugural-prayer/">handwritten words he prayed</a> before his inauguration in 1953 can be found at his presidential library.
&#8220;As we stand here, at this moment, my associates in the Executive Branch of government join me in beseeching that Thou will make full and complete our dedication to the service of the people in this throng and their fellow citizens everywhere. Give us, we pray, the power to discern clearly right from wrong and allow all our words and actions to be governed thereby and by the laws of this land,&#8221; he wrote. &#8220;Especially we pray that our concern shall be for all the people, regardless of station, race or calling. May cooperation be permitted and be the mutual aim of those who hold to differing political beliefs, so that all may work for the good of our beloved country and for Thy glory. Amen.&#8221;
One of the most famous examples of such prayer might be as <a href="https://www.ushistory.org/valleyforge/washington/prayer.html?srsltid=AfmBOoq3Fz4IWMbmDeWBfTzsQIhhby64psFLCaVW9wecIYn3p2rJrnsJ#google_vignette">much myth</a> as historical fact, but the story of then-General George Washington kneeling to pray at Valley Forge has nonetheless persisted as well. The story has several versions throughout history — none of which have ever been definitively confirmed or debunked — all suggesting that Washington knelt alone to pray for his beleaguered troops during the brutal winter as they camped just outside of Philadelphia. Different accounts claim that either the Marquis de Lafayette or a local resident happened upon the general in prayer, but the overall takeaway is the same: multiple accounts agree that Washington was known to leave the camp and spend time in solitude, whether that time was used for prayer or simply quiet reflection.

Hegseth Confirmation Hearing TW

Left Targets Hegseth For Asking Americans To Pray — The History Lesson They’re Ignoring

CBS News

Christianity

Dwight D. Eisenhower

George Patton

Pete Hegseth

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CIA Director John Ratcliffe said during a Wednesday hearing that the United States had moved on the Iranian regime in part because of the &#8220;alarming&#8221; rate at which Iran was building and stockpiling weapons that could have eventually been fired at Americans or American allies.
Ratcliffe took questions from members of the Senate Intelligence Committee on the reasons President Donald Trump&#8217;s administration had viewed Iran as an imminent threat, saying the regime had been pressing onward with missile development at a rate that American defenses would not have been able to match.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
NEW: According to CIA Director Ratcliffe, Iran was developing missiles “at rates that were alarming” and faster than the United States could build defenses. <a href="https://t.co/AXrGBsgtfM">pic.twitter.com/AXrGBsgtfM</a>
— Kassy Akiva (@KassyAkiva) <a href="https://twitter.com/KassyAkiva/status/2034300261104033882?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
When asked by Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) whether Iran was continuing production of both short and midrange ballistic missiles, Ratcliffe&#8217;s answer was a definitive yes.
&#8220;Yes &#8230; continuing to develop them, and at rates that were alarming,&#8221; Ratcliffe confirmed.
&#8220;And what about our ability to respond to those? We have very good defensive capabilities, but it takes time for us to build our defensive capabilities,&#8221; Rounds continued. &#8220;Were they building their offensive capabilities while they were negotiating with us at a faster rate than we could build defensive capabilities?&#8221;
&#8220;Yes,&#8221; Ratcliffe declared.
&#8220;Were they continuing to work at and deliver additional resources to terrorist organizations that were affiliated with them in the region?&#8221; Rounds pressed onward.
&#8220;Yes,&#8221; was Ratcliffe&#8217;s reply.
Rounds noted once again that all of this was taking place while Iran was supposedly negotiating with the United States.
&#8220;So in other words, while they were supposedly diplomatically working with us during that entire time, they were continuing with regard to their nuclear intentions, they were building additional missile systems to deliver — or conventional weapons systems — to threaten their neighbors,&#8221; Rounds pieced it all together, saying that the end result could have been far more dangerous when eventually the United States would have been forced to go in and &#8220;clean&#8221; things up.
Rounds further stated that he agreed with the Trump administration&#8217;s assessment that, if such a thing were possible, it would be &#8220;safer&#8221; for the United States to deal with the threat posed by Iran before such capabilities could be fully realized.
&#8220;I agree with that,&#8221; Ratcliffe said.

Missiles, drones, satellite-carrying rockets and air defence systems on display in Iran

CIA Director Lifts Lid On What Iran Was Quietly Building At Blistering Pace

CIA Director: Iran Was Making Weapons At An 'Alarming' Rate, U.S. Defenses Couldn't Keep Up

John Ratcliffe

Senate Intelligence Committee

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani used a St. Patrick&#8217;s Day event to complain about &#8220;genocide&#8221; in Gaza, arguing that the Irish and Palestinians could relate over their shared histories marked by oppression.
Mamdani joined former Irish President Mary Robinson at a breakfast honoring Irish New Yorkers, and he used his remarks to praise Robinson for her support for Palestinians.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Mamdani rips &#8216;genocide&#8217; in Palestine during St. Patrick’s Day event <a href="https://t.co/qXhjOmqn2e">https://t.co/qXhjOmqn2e</a> <a href="https://t.co/2jP4BHzOWp">pic.twitter.com/2jP4BHzOWp</a>
— New York Post (@nypost) <a href="https://twitter.com/nypost/status/2033917935010390095?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 17, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;I say this as over the past few years, as we’ve witnessed a genocide unfold before our eyes, there has been deafening silence from so many. For those who have long cared about universal human rights and the extension of them to Palestinians, silence, however, is nothing new – for Palestinians are so often left to weep alone,&#8221; Mamdani said. &#8220;Yet former President Robinson has never been silent.&#8221;
&#8220;The story of the Irish, both in Ireland and in New York City, is at one time a story of oppression, of subjugation, and of discrimination,&#8221; Mamdani said, arguing that it was &#8220;no coincidence&#8221; that the Irish would see their own history reflected in Gaza. &#8220;Who can better understand those who weep than those who have been made to weep for so long?&#8221;
Robinson, who served as President of Ireland from 1990-1997, followed Mamdani&#8217;s lead, and after saying that St. Patrick&#8217;s Day was a time to celebrate Irish culture and traditions, it was also a time to remember all those who may yet be &#8220;living under the shadow of war and suffering.&#8221;
&#8220;For many Irish people, these realities resonate deeply, as the mayor has said. Our own history holds memories of famine, exile and conflict. Perhaps because of that, many recognize echoes of Ireland’s past and the suffering of others today and the pain of displacement and the enduring human longing for dignity, justice, and self-determination,&#8221; she said.
Mamdani referenced Irish support for a Palestinian state in his official message to New Yorkers as well.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Happy St. Patrick&#8217;s Day, New York. <a href="https://t.co/DPCGPlFbE2">pic.twitter.com/DPCGPlFbE2</a>
— Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@NYCMayor) <a href="https://twitter.com/NYCMayor/status/2033925083853385985?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 17, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Celebrity Sightings In New York – March 17, 2026

NYC’s Mamdani Uses St. Paddy’s Day Event To Complain About ‘Genocide’ In Gaza

NYC's Mamdani Uses St. Paddy's Day Event To Complain About 'Genocide' In Gaza

Ireland

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Zohran Mamdani

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard laid out her defense for President Donald Trump and his decision to take action, alongside Israel, against the Iranian regime.
Gabbard argued that it was her job to ensure that the president had the best and most accurate information possible, but it was Trump&#8217;s responsibility alone to determine what does and does not constitute an &#8220;imminent threat&#8221; against the United States.
&#8220;Donald Trump was overwhelmingly elected by the American people to be our President and Commander in Chief. As our Commander in Chief, he is responsible for determining what is and is not an imminent threat, and whether or not to take action he deems necessary to protect the safety and security of our troops, the American people and our country,&#8221; Gabbard posted on Tuesday.
&#8220;The Office of the Director of National Intelligence is responsible for helping coordinate and integrate all intelligence to provide the President and Commander in Chief with the best information available to inform his decisions,&#8221; she continued. &#8220;After carefully reviewing all the information before him, President Trump concluded that the terrorist Islamist regime in Iran posed an imminent threat and he took action based on that conclusion.&#8221;
Gabbard&#8217;s statement comes just hours after Joe Kent announced his resignation as the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, claiming that there was no &#8220;imminent threat&#8221; to the United States and that Trump had been pushed by Israel into waging war against the Iranian regime.
Kent, according to an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/joe-kent-wasnt-involved-in-iran-war-planning-intel-official-says">intelligence official</a> who spoke with The Daily Wire&#8217;s Mary Margaret Olohan, had been excluded from planning and briefings regarding the war with Iran. That same official refuted earlier reporting stating that Gabbard had been advised to fire Kent, but had failed to do so.
&#8220;Intelligence official tells @realDailyWire that it’s true that Joe Kent wasn’t part of the planning of the Iran war or briefings on the war,” Olohan <a href="https://x.com/MaryMargOlohan/status/2033953793629401411" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. “It is not true that DNI’s Tulsi Gabbard was asked by the White House to fire Kent, source says— if she had been asked to do so, she would have fired him.”

Karoline Leavitt Holds Daily White House Press Briefing

Tulsi Gabbard Sides With Trump On Iran, Underscores Commander-In-Chief Role

Tulsi Gabbard Defends Trump's Decision To Take Action In Iran

Tulsi Gabbard

Joe Kent claimed on Tuesday that he did not believe the Iranian regime had presented an &#8220;imminent threat&#8221; to the United States prior to President Donald Trump&#8217;s decision to attack — but he sang a very different tune in 2020, when he called for the elimination of Iran&#8217;s nuclear capabilities.
Kent announced that he was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/joe-kent-wasnt-involved-in-iran-war-planning-intel-official-says">leaving his post</a> as director of the National Counterterrorism Center, and claimed in his resignation letter he could not &#8220;in good conscience&#8221; support the joint U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran, at least in part because there was no &#8220;imminent threat&#8221; to the United States from the regime.
But in January of 2020, when a U.S. strike ordered by President Trump eliminated top Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani, Kent argued on social media that the president — to his way of thinking — had not gone far enough.
On January 7, four days after Soleimani was killed, Kent appeared to <a href="https://x.com/joekent16jan19/status/1214778671564611584">address</a> the threats coming from Iran promising retaliation for the strike on their general: &#8220;We remain in striking distance by choice for no clear benefit. We should crush their ballistic &amp; nuke capes and get out of Iraq, with sanctions to follow. Cut Iran off from funds and targets. Let them deal with proxies looking for $ &amp; their protesters. We don&#8217;t need IZ (Iraq) or IR (Iran).&#8221;
One day later, on January 8, Iran launched a dozen ballistic missiles at two targets in Iraq: Al Asad Airbase and another site near Irbil.
&#8220;Trump’s restraint shows that he wants a deal with Iran &amp; his red line is American loss of life &amp; IR nuke development. Our fundamental venerability remains — Troops in striking range of IR weapons &amp; proxies w/ no vital US mission,&#8221; Kent <a href="https://x.com/joekent16jan19/status/1214960125200330752">posted</a> on the 8th, adding, &#8220;I personally think we should have crushed their ballistic &amp; nuke capes, but Trump has a plan, he has definitely earned the confidence of any clear eyed observer.&#8221;
Even as recently as 2024, Kent&#8217;s posture toward Iran was far more in line with President Donald Trump&#8217;s current actions than with his own resignation letter that would come less than two years later.
On October 7, 2024 — one year after Iranian-backed Hamas terrorists crossed the border into Israel and slaughtered more than one thousand Israelis — Kent blamed former President Joe Biden&#8217;s administration for allowing Iran access to the kind of money that could fund such an operation.
&#8220;October 7th b/c happened Biden/Harris gave Iran access to over 100 billion,&#8221; Kent <a href="https://x.com/joekent16jan19/status/1843402393461182550">posted</a>. &#8220;Trump used diplomacy to build the Abraham accords, cut off Iran’s funding &amp; killed key terrorists. America &amp; our allies were safe &amp; there was less war. No more neocons, no appeasement, Trump ‘24.&#8221;
Just a few weeks earlier, he took a <a href="https://x.com/joekent16jan19/status/1840425323743395853">similar tone</a>: &#8220;Iran’s goal in orchestrating 7 Oct was to break up the Abraham accords because the historic alliance isolated Iran’s terror regime. Trump used a balance of diplomacy, economic pressure &amp; targeted strikes to contain Iran. The embodiment of peace through strength. Israel’s dismantling of Hezbollah would have been much more challenging, if not impossible had Trump not taken out Iran’s terror mastermind Qasim Solemani.&#8221;
On March 17, 2026, however, Kent claimed in his <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/top-intel-official-joe-kent-quits-over-iran-strikes-claims-israel-controls-trump">resignation letter</a> that Iran posed no &#8220;imminent threat&#8221; to the United States and that Trump was taking action against the regime because he was being pushed into it by Israel.
&#8220;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,&#8221; he wrote.
&#8220;Who got to Joe Kent?&#8221; Steve Guest <a href="https://x.com/SteveGuest/status/2033947809758548390?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2033947809758548390%7Ctwgr%5E3399c8bcd88c7621f5a833b70157ac50cef0ca02%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitchy.com%2Fsamj%2F2026%2F03%2F17%2Fold-posts-come-back-to-haunt-joe-kent-n2426119">wondered</a>.

House Homeland 12/11/25

Joe Kent, Circa 2020: ‘I Personally Think [Trump] Should Have Crushed Their Ballistic & Nuke Capes’

Joe Kent, Circa 2020: 'I Personally Think [Trump] Should Have Crushed Their Ballistic & Nuke Capes'

ballistic missiles

Nuclear Weapons

Social Media

President Donald Trump took a brief question from a French reporter on Monday, and immediately proceeded to jab at French President Emmanuel Macron as he answered.
The reporter asked Trump whether or not he&#8217;d been in contact with Macron about plans to force the Iranian regime back and reopen the Strait of Hormuz — in order to allow oil tankers and other ships to pass — and Trump said that Macron had rated an &#8220;eight&#8221; on a scale from zero to ten.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Reporter: Have you been speaking with President Macron about the coalition to reopen the Strait of Hormuz?<a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a>: &#8220;Yeah, I have spoken to him. He&#8217;s been, on a scale of 0-10, I&#8217;d say he&#8217;s been an 8. Not perfect — but it&#8217;s France.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/VqCGUHUFDa">pic.twitter.com/VqCGUHUFDa</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/2033590292209860933?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 16, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;Have you been speaking with President Macron about the coalition to reopen the Strait of Hormuz?&#8221; the reporter asked.
&#8220;Yeah, I have spoken to him. He&#8217;s been, on a scale of 0-10, I&#8217;d say he&#8217;s been an 8. Not perfect — but it&#8217;s France,&#8221; Trump said with a laugh. &#8220;We don&#8217;t expect perfect.&#8221;
The reporter, undeterred, forged ahead: &#8220;Are you confident that France will help with the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz?&#8221;
Trump nodded. &#8220;Yeah, I mean, sure. He&#8217;s going to — I think he&#8217;s going to help, I&#8217;ll let you know. I spoke to him yesterday.&#8221;
&#8220;I don&#8217;t do a hard sell on them, because my attitude is we don&#8217;t need anybody,&#8221; the president continued. &#8220;We&#8217;re the strongest nation in the world. We have the strongest military by far in the world; we don&#8217;t need them!&#8221;
Trump went on to say that, in some cases, he asked foreign leaders for their assistance not because he thought he needed the help, but because he wanted to see how they might react to the question: &#8220;I&#8217;ve been saying for years that if we ever did need them, they won&#8217;t be there. Not all of them, but they won&#8217;t be there.&#8221;
The president went on to say that he&#8217;d been shocked when the United Kingdom had seemed reluctant to send ships.
&#8220;You don&#8217;t want to do it, we&#8217;ve been with you, you&#8217;re our oldest ally,&#8221; Trump aimed his response at the United Kingdom. &#8220;And we spend a lot of money on NATO and all of these things to protect you.&#8221;

TOPSHOT-FRANCE-G7-SUMMIT

‘Not Perfect, But It’s France’: Trump Uses French Reporter’s Question To Jab At Macron

'Not Perfect, But It's France': Trump Uses French Reporter's Question To Jab At Macron

Emmanuel Macron

Global Politics

Joy Reid did a side-by-side comparison of the United States and Iran, and her overall takeaway was that if American women were better off than their Iranian counterparts, they were not better off by much.
Reid, who was ousted from her regular gig with liberal network MSNBC before NBC News jettisoned the now rebranded cable news network (MS NOW), argued that the United States had secret police just like Iran and was just as oppressive when it came to how women were treated — although she listed off the &#8220;oppressive&#8221; policies impacting American women and did not mention one of the many that affect Iranian women. The only real difference, she claimed, was that American oppression came at the hands of Christians and Iran&#8217;s oppressive regime was rooted in Islam.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Joy Reid: America is a Christian form of Iran &amp; women may have be better off there <a href="https://t.co/mDAheewOPU">pic.twitter.com/mDAheewOPU</a>
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) <a href="https://twitter.com/EndWokeness/status/2033542969509191976?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 16, 2026</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;We get told, particularly when it comes to Arabs and Muslims and Africans, that people are just diabolically evil for no reason, right? That they do things because they hate our freedoms. We were told this about Iraq, that they just hated us for no damn reason at all,&#8221; Reid said, suggesting that the narrative was invented out of whole cloth in order to justify American actions.
&#8220;Now, I’m not saying that that regime is not bad, but, by the way, our regime is not good,&#8221; Reid continued. &#8220;Our regime has secret police. They have secret police. Our regime is oppressing women, taking away abortion rights, taking away women’s rights in like 26 states — some states where they’re trying to have the death penalty for having an abortion.&#8221;
Reid acknowledged briefly that the Iranian rulers &#8220;also oppress women,&#8221; but omitted the <a href="https://iranhumanrights.org/2025/03/gender-apartheid-in-iran-is-crushing-womens-lives-and-futures/">extent of that oppression</a>. A number of the regime&#8217;s laws — and the punishment for breaking them — only apply to women.
<ul>
<li>Women must adhere to a mandatory dress code that requires covering their hair, arms, and legs in public. The regime&#8217;s so-called “morality police” — along with surveillance cameras — enforce the rule, and women who disobey could face hefty fines, prison sentences of five to 15 years, or be barred from travel. In 2022, for example, the morality police arrested Mahsa Amini for allegedly wearing her hijab improperly, and she died after they brutally beat her. Nationwide protests followed.</li>
<li>Women can be arrested or thrown in prison for social media posts showing them without their hijabs or for posting dance videos online.</li>
<li>Women must also wear a hijab when appearing in films or on television, because Iranian law requires the covering in all public media.</li>
<li>Women are not permitted to sing solos in front of mixed audiences, meaning that female performers are restricted to performing at female-only events or recorded performances.</li>
<li>Women have often been banned from attending men’s sporting events, especially soccer matches, leading to a number of women being arrested for dressing as men in order to attend such events.</li>
<li>Many women require permission from a father or male guardian to marry, regardless of their age at the time, if it is their first marriage.</li>
<li>Girls can legally be married at 13, but a younger girl can be forced to marry if her father or a judge decrees it.</li>
<li>Married women are not permitted to leave the country or obtain a passport without first getting written permission from their husbands.</li>
<li>A woman’s testimony in court is only worth half of a man’s testimony.</li>
<li>Women typically inherit less than men, meaning that daughters usually receive only half the inheritance that would be given to sons.</li>
<li>The Iranian constitution bars women from ever becoming president, and women are not permitted to become judges.</li>
<li>Married women can be legally barred from holding a job if their husbands claim that their work conflicts with their family obligations.</li>
<li>Men can file for and obtain divorces for any reason, but women risk losing inheritances and child custody — and are rarely granted divorces anyway.</li>
</ul>
Reid, clearly unbothered by that, went on to claim, &#8220;They have the highest rate of women who are in STEM careers. We’re kicking women out of the military, out of university. We’re saying that DEI means women can’t be hired for high positions in the sciences.&#8221;
While it has been claimed in viral social media posts that 70% of STEM graduates in Iran are women, data from the <a href="https://databrowser.uis.unesco.org/view#indicatorPaths=UIS-EducationOPRI%3A0%3AFOSGP.5T8.F500600700.F&amp;geoMode=countries&amp;geoUnits=IRN%2CUSA&amp;browsePath=EDUCATION%2FUIS-EducationOPRI%2Fgraduates&amp;timeMode=range&amp;view=line&amp;chartMode=single&amp;tableIndicatorId=FOSGP.5T8.F500600700.F&amp;chartHighlightSeries=&amp;chartHighlightEnabled=true&amp;chartIndicatorId=FOSGP.5T8.F500600700.F">United Nations</a> shows that 25% of Iran&#8217;s STEM graduates are female.
&#8220;So we’re marginally better,&#8221; Reid concluded. &#8220;And we’re doing it for Christianity, they’re doing it for Islam, right? So, it’s like we don’t get told those things because it would take away the kind of American exceptionalism narrative that makes it easy to take our people and send them off to die in a war that we have nothing to do with, that we don’t want.&#8221;
The Daily Wire&#8217;s Isabel Brown fired back at Reid, saying, &#8220;Forgive my Christian ignorance but when was the last time a woman was BEATEN TO DEATH BY THE MORALITY POLICE for a sliver of her hair showing in a Christian country?&#8221;

2024 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture™ Presented By Coca-Cola® – Day 3 – Ernest N. Morial Convention Center

Joy Reid Says Iranian Women Are As Free As Americans — The Brutal Reality Says Otherwise

Joy Reid Compares U.S. And Iran Side By Side, Concludes America Is Just Barely Better

Joy Reid

United States

Women

Women's Rights

Democrats and the legacy media have been spinning since the very beginning of President Donald Trump&#8217;s military actions against the Iranian regime. Over the span of two weeks, they have pulled out all the stops to win the battle of narratives and convince the world that it was wrong to strike Iran — or if it was right to strike Iran, this was the wrong time. And if it was the right time to strike Iran, then Trump is doing it wrong.
For those who don&#8217;t spend their Sunday mornings glued to the television — and their Sunday afternoons attempting to dig through a week&#8217;s worth of network and cable news media spin — The Daily Wire has compiled a short summary of what you may have missed.
On ABC News, for example, Martha Raddatz spoke with Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA). He agreed that Iran was &#8220;a problem,&#8221; but immediately pivoted to argue that &#8220;war&#8221; was not the proper response to every problem. He then went on to draw a comparison between Iran and previous military actions in Libya, Iraq, and Afghanistan — and he argued that they were all essentially the same.
&#8220;Yes, Iran is a problem. A problem that needs to be contained. But what we should have learned from Muammar Gaddafi and Saddam Hussein and the Taliban is, you can have a threat and not have a military solution that’s going to make it better.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
BREAKING: Rep. Adam Smith tells Martha Raddatz that “war is not always the answer to a problem.”
“Yes, Iran is a problem. A problem that needs to be contained. But what we should have learned from Muammar Gaddafi and Saddam Hussein and the Taliban… <a href="https://t.co/C5oi0rvSQy">pic.twitter.com/C5oi0rvSQy</a>
— Axel Vesa (@AxelVesa1) <a href="https://twitter.com/AxelVesa1/status/2033209072921481404?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 15, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Smith also offered a comparison to Venezuela and the recent operation to extract former President Nicolás Maduro, adding, &#8220;Iran is not Venezuela. We can’t just fly in, snatch the president and make things change.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Rep. Adam Smith on President Trump’s foreign policy: “Iran is not Venezuela. We can’t just fly in, snatch the president and make things change.” <a href="https://t.co/LLgvsyy61S">https://t.co/LLgvsyy61S</a> <a href="https://t.co/ns5XiVOxU0">pic.twitter.com/ns5XiVOxU0</a>
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/2033191028044271657?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 15, 2026</a></blockquote>
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On CNN&#8217;s &#8220;State of the Union,&#8221; anchor Jake Tapper brought in former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who promptly declared that the action in Iran was proof that &#8220;this is clearly amateur hour at the Pentagon and in the White House.&#8221;
Buttigieg, after claiming that former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden had secured nuclear deals that prevented Iran from gaining access to nuclear weapons, argued that President Trump had rushed into war because he was unable to get &#8220;a better deal&#8221; and had done so without any kind of planning or preparation.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Pete Buttigieg on the war with Iran: &#8220;This is clearly amateur hour at the Pentagon and in the White House&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/liOQlGQ50w">pic.twitter.com/liOQlGQ50w</a>
— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) <a href="https://twitter.com/CNNSOTU/status/2033192256820121841?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 15, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Tapper took a pause to defend the media&#8217;s oppositional stance, arguing that he and others doing the same were not being critical because they wanted the United States to lose, but because they were just doing their jobs.
&#8220;Every reporter that I know wants the United States to succeed in every way, and the way that reporters help that happen is by asking questions of people in power and not blindly cheering on leaders who take the nation to war,&#8221; he claimed.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
TAPPER: “Every reporter that I know wants the United States to succeed in every way, and the way that reporters help that happen is by asking questions of people in power and not blindly cheering on leaders who take the nation to war.” <a href="https://t.co/KtfZYSnBJU">pic.twitter.com/KtfZYSnBJU</a>
— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) <a href="https://twitter.com/CNNSOTU/status/2033185159428591690?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 15, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Margaret Brennan, on &#8220;Face the Nation,&#8221; spoke to several who reinforced the Democrat-driven narrative that the Trump administration was in over its head in Iran.
Former CIA operative Joey Gannon told her that Iran had moved to keep supreme leadership in the Khamenei family because it sent a signal to the world that the regime still had complete control.
&#8220;So, he was a gatekeeper for the supreme leader&#8217;s office in the past. He has strong ties to the IRGC and the Basij, he knows how power actually operates, and he is, effectively, a symbol of continuity right now,&#8221; he explained.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Former CIA operative Jonny Gannon says the decision to appoint Motjaba Khameini as the new supreme leader “is the message from the regime that they are still in control.”
Mojtaba Khamenei is clearly not a charming public face; what he is is a systems operator,” he says. “So, he… <a href="https://t.co/oP6zveXtvO">pic.twitter.com/oP6zveXtvO</a>
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) <a href="https://twitter.com/FaceTheNation/status/2033222131090084297?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 15, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Samantha Vinograd, an Obama administration alum, took the same posture when she argued that Iran was essentially outwitting the United States strategically.
&#8220;The Iranian regime has demonstrated an incredible capacity to be flexible and adaptive,&#8221; she said, adding, &#8220;They played a long game here. They have invested in propaganda and tools in this country, as well as hiring people to do their dirty work for them, to such an extent that I am concerned that they have the intent and capability to, if not direct attacks here in the homeland, to inspire them .&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Former Homeland Security official Samantha Vinograd says “the Iranian regime has demonstrated an incredible capacity to be flexible and adaptive” in the way they carry out attacks.
“They played a long game here. They have invested in propaganda and tools in this country, as… <a href="https://t.co/GgKqrE9CEG">pic.twitter.com/GgKqrE9CEG</a>
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) <a href="https://twitter.com/FaceTheNation/status/2033219553694503149?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 15, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) told Brennan that he did not believe the Iranian regime — despite a 47-year record of Iran and its proxies killing over 1,000 American service members and civilians and a recent boast that the regime had nearly enough enriched uranium for almost a dozen nuclear bombs — posed an &#8220;imminent threat&#8221; to the United States. What&#8217;s more, Warner argued that Iran did not pose an immediate threat to Israel — despite Iranian proxies in Hamas and Hezbollah striking Israeli targets on a regular basis.
&#8220;There was no imminent threat to the United States, and I don&#8217;t believe there was even an imminent threat to Israel from Iran,&#8221; Warner declared. &#8220;Over a period of time, particularly with the ballistic missile capability, Israel would be more under threat. The decision to go to war in this case was a choice by President Trump.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) says he stands by the 2025 Annual Threat Assessment by U.S. intelligence leaders who testified at the time that Iran had not reauthorized their nuclear weapons program.
“There was no imminent threat to the United States, and I don&#8217;t believe there was… <a href="https://t.co/MLJA4YT5Gc">pic.twitter.com/MLJA4YT5Gc</a>
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) <a href="https://twitter.com/FaceTheNation/status/2033215927228002331?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 15, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Virginia Kruta