@pbsnews: President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the National Counterterrorism Center faced questions from a Senate committee on Wednesday – including queries over his past comments promoting conspiracies about the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., asked Joe Kent if he believed that the violence of the Jan. 6, which disrupted the counting of electoral votes to confirm Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election, was “intentionally organized or directed.” Kent said that it was “still under investigation. We're looking into whether elements of the government could have enhanced the criminal acuity of some of the rioters that day.” Kelly followed up by asking if Kent could confirm his past social media posts that claim the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and intelligence community “were involved in planning and directing the riot.” Kent responded that it “sounds like something I said. Yeah.” When Kelly asked for evidence to back up Kent’s claim, the nominee told the Senate Intelligence Committee member that “multiple confidential human informants” were in the crowd that day “directing, removing barriers, those types of things.” The FBI’s inspector general said in a report issued in December 2024 that there was no evidence “showing or suggesting that the FBI had undercover employees in the various protest crowds, or at the Capitol,” that day. The report said 26 FBI confidential human sources (CHSs) were in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6 for events related to the day. “None of these FBI CHSs were authorized to enter the Capitol or a restricted area, or to otherwise break the law on January 6, nor was any CHS directed by the FBI to encourage others to commit illegal acts on January 6,” according to the report. If he is confirmed by the Senate, Kent would be in charge of the agency responsible for maintaining intelligence on terror threats and information on known and suspected terrorists. The agency is under the overall purview of Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. #january6 #fbi #news #pbsnews #senate #nominee

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Thursday 10 April 2025 21:45:53 GMT