National Counterterrorism Center chief Joe Kent’s investigation into whether or not alleged Charlie Kirk assassin Tyler Robinson had assistance from “a foreign power or another entity” set off alarm bells with FBI officials, who raised concerns that Kent was “potentially interfering with the investigation and the prosecution of the suspect,” the New York Times reported Tuesday.
According to the report, Kent went through FBI material related to the assassination of Kirk, which was granted to him by a lower-level FBI official. FBI Director Kash Patel was reportedly not aware of the request and was “troubled” by Kent’s inquiry.
Some Trump administration officials are reportedly concerned that Kent’s investigation could provide more ammo for Robinson’s defense.
Kent serves as one of the closest advisers to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. The report explained that “tensions over Mr. Kent’s work had persisted for some time” and resulted in a set of meetings at the White House to “ameliorate tensions between the F.B.I. and Ms. Gabbard’s office.”
The New York Times reported:
Mr. Patel was troubled that Mr. Kent had gone through F.B.I. material related to the case, according to the people knowledgeable on the matter. Mr. Kent’s efforts were a topic at a White House meeting that included Mr. Patel, Mr. Kent and his direct superior, Ms. Gabbard. Top Justice Department officials, Vice President JD Vance and the White House chief of staff, Susie Wiles, were also there, according to several of the people who spoke to The New York Times about the matter.
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But multiple people said tensions over Mr. Kent’s work had persisted for some time and were part of a broader set of issues between Ms. Gabbard’s office and other administration agencies. The meeting that Mr. Kent attended at the White House was one of two intended to ameliorate tensions between the F.B.I. and Ms. Gabbard’s office, the people briefed on the matter said. The earlier one, which focused on multiple issues including the killing of Mr. Kirk, was so tense that little was accomplished, they added.
“The F.B.I. and intelligence community under the direction of President Trump will leave no stone unturned in the investigation of the assassination of our friend, Charlie Kirk,” Patel and Gabbard said in a joint statement about the incident.
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