A new leak has rocked Washington’s intelligence community — and it centers on Joe Kent, President Trump’s nominee for the nation’s top counterterrorism post. Leaked emails show Kent pushed intel officers to rewrite reports on a violent Venezuelan gang, igniting a fierce debate over political influence in national security. Kent Urged Alteration of Reports on Venezuelan Gang Ties Joe Kent, a former Green Beret and Tulsi Gabbard’s chief of staff, is under fire after leaked communications revealed he pressured U.S. intelligence officials to modify assessments about the Tren de Aragua (TDA) gang. The intent, according to the emails, was to align findings with Trump’s hardline immigration stance. “We need to do some rewriting so this document is not used against the DNI or POTUS,” Kent wrote in a now-public email. The February 26 intelligence assessment contradicted the Trump administration’s claims that the Maduro regime in Venezuela was sending TDA gang members into the U.S. Officials found no credible evidence that the regime had a policy of facilitating the gang’s migration. Kent’s emails show he pushed for revisions that would strengthen the case for using wartime powers to deport over 100 Venezuelans. Internal Clash Between Facts and Policy Despite the pressure, the final version of the intelligence memo, released publicly on May 5, concluded that the Venezuelan government “probably does not have a policy” of aiding TDA operations. That finding clashed directly with statements made by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who backed the FBI’s more aggressive position over the broader intelligence community’s conclusion. OFFICIAL PUSHED TO REWRITE INTELLIGENCE SO IT COULD NOT BE 'USED AGAINST' TRUMP "We need to do some rewriting… so this document is not used against the DNI or POTUS." – Joe Kent One-sentence summary: A top aide to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard pressured… — ??? ????? (@bob_weeks) May 21, 2025 Rubio declared the assessment “wrong” and stood “100% with the FBI,” while Gabbard’s office responded by firing two top intelligence officials — a move critics are calling retaliatory and politically motivated. Kent’s Nomination Now in Question Kent, a strong Trump loyalist who previously ran for Congress, is awaiting Senate confirmation to lead the National Counterterrorism Center. But Democrats are calling for a pause in the nomination, citing serious concerns about political interference in intelligence work. One of Kent’s leaked emails made clear his priority: “Flooding our nation with ‘migrants,’ particularly those associated with a violent gang, is an act of hostility — even if the Venezuelan government isn’t directly directing TDA operations.” Did you know that the CIA has used ANTHROPOLOGISTS as undercover agents for decades? This unique field facilitated the ability to send agents into countries around the world without raising suspicion It leaves one to wonder if certain Anthropologists today are Intelligence… pic.twitter.com/Kxxvx2LlX0 — Jimmy Corsetti (@BrightInsight6) May 1, 2025 The remark underscores Kent’s push to support Trump’s America First immigration crackdown, even when the intelligence didn’t back it up. As pressure mounts in Washington, this controversy could become a defining test of how far politics is allowed to influence the intelligence community — and whether integrity still stands at the core of national security analysis. Sources: Tulsi Gabbard’s right-hand man Joe Kent under scrutiny after leaked emails surface. What is the controversy? – The Economic Times Counterterrorism nominee Joe Kent under scrutiny as emails show he pushed for edits to intelligence assessment – CBS News