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Charlie Kirk is the Founder and President of Turning Point USA, the largest and fastest growing conservative youth activist organization in the country with over 250,000 student members, over 150 full-time staff, and a presence on over 2,000 high school and college campuses nationwide. Charlie is also the Chairman of Students for Trump, which aims to activate one million new college voters on campuses in battleground states in the lead up to the 2020 presidential election. His social media reaches over 100 million people per month and according to Axios, he is one of the "top 10 most engaged" Twitter handles in the world. He is also the host of “The Charlie Kirk Show,” which regularly ranks among the top news shows on Apple podcast charts.
Andrew Kolvet Addresses Joe Kent Resignation and Leaked Text Messages After Charlie Kirk's Murder
Andrew Kolvet breaks his silence on the controversy surrounding Joe Kent's resignation from the Trump administration, confirming he provided private text messages to Kent during the investigation into Charlie Kirk's murder. Kolvet explains why he shared the sensitive group chat screenshots, his decision to keep them private when Kent suggested making them public, and his dismay when they were leaked anyway, fueling conspiracy theories about Israel's alleged involvement in Kirk's death. With Kent's departure sparking intense debate about leaking and trust, Kolvet sets the record straight on what he knows and what remains unknown.
Andrew Kolvet wanted to address something that emerged over the weekend, a storyline that has been building for the past week following Joe Kent's resignation. The situation has consumed media attention, with President Trump being asked about it repeatedly. The central question that Kolvet wanted to tackle: was Joe Kent leaking certain information?
A clip from the weekend went viral, and Kolvet felt compelled to respond directly. In the clip, allegations were made that screenshots from a private group chat were passed from Kolvet to Joe Kent, and then from Kent to Candace Owens. The clip stated that Kolvet was in the chat group as one of nine people, and that he initially denied providing the screenshots but later admitted on his show that he gave them to someone in the government.
Confirming What He Can Confirm
Kolvet acknowledged that the word "verified" in the viral clip was doing a lot of heavy lifting. However, he wanted to confirm what he could actually confirm: yes, in the immediate aftermath of Charlie Kirk's murder, he did provide the group chat screenshots to Joe Kent.
Kolvet emphasized that they don't throw around accusations recklessly. Unlike many people online, they try to be responsible in keeping with Charlie's spirit and the way they choose to operate. In a spirit of looking at every lead and turning over every stone, they wanted everybody who needed to know to be aware of anything they knew.
The Context: Conspiracy Theories After Charlie's Murder
To understand the significance of these text messages, it's important to know what they were referring to. After Charlie Kirk's murder, text messages from a private group chat were made public and used to launch a major conspiracy theory—that Israel or Jewish people had Charlie murdered. This conspiracy theory spread widely on platforms like TikTok and became something Kolvet and others have had to address repeatedly.
Kolvet made it clear: they do not believe this conspiracy theory. However, they have been accused of not being interested in the truth or of trying to hide something. The actual fact, according to Kolvet, is that behind the scenes they have given everything they know, every single piece of information, to help find the truth. Providing the screenshots to Joe Kent was one example of this.
What Happened With the Screenshots
Kolvet explained that he was told he could trust Joe Kent, so he provided the screen grabs to him. What happened to them after that point, he genuinely doesn't know. He wanted to make that very clear.
Eventually, Joe Kent messaged Kolvet and suggested that he make those screen grabs public. Kolvet declined because the messages were shared privately, and he didn't want to be reckless with them in public. There could have been innocent people on that group chat who would then be harmed by public exposure.
Fast forward another week or two, and the screenshots were made public anyway. That's what Kolvet knows: Joe Kent suggested they be made public, Kolvet declined, and then they were made public regardless.
Can He Prove Joe Kent Leaked Them?
Kolvet was careful to state the limitations of what he knows. Can he 100% categorically say that Joe Kent leaked them? No. But those are the facts. Maybe somebody on Kent's team leaked them, maybe they got passed around to others, maybe somebody else entirely was responsible. But those are the facts of the matter, and that's what Kolvet knows.
The reason they're bringing this up now is because with Kent's departure from the administration, there's been a lot of debate over what it means. People have been arguing whether he was a leaker, and some have even suggested he might be a criminal who should be indicted. Kolvet made it clear they're not saying that, but the issue has come up and his name is being tossed around as if he did something untoward.
No Regrets About Seeking the Truth
Kolvet stated he doesn't regret providing the information to Joe Kent. He regrets that the screenshots were leaked to the public. He was told that he could trust Kent, that the information was private and would be guarded, solely to look into any possible leads. They did similar things with a bunch of different information because they want the truth to come out.
They're not blocking anything or hiding information. They don't even care if the answer turns out to be something really terrible. They want the truth and they want justice. Kolvet and his team believe that Tyler Robinson killed Charlie Kirk and that law enforcement got their guy. They have additional questions, but they're committed to finding answers.
However, whoever shared that screen grab publicly committed an egregious breach, and obviously they're not happy about it. But as Kolvet put it, you can't put the paste back in the tube. It's done.
Preserving Charlie's Privacy and Trust
Kolvet wanted to be very clear about the facts: Joe Kent was one of the people who had the screenshots. It was a very, very small group of people. Maybe one of Kent's team members leaked them, maybe it was someone else. But Kent did suggest that the screenshots be shared publicly, and Kolvet declined.
The reason for declining was simple: Charlie had every opportunity to say publicly what he believed. He did not say these things publicly. So it would be wrong for Kolvet to put words in his mouth. The group chat was something private, so they wanted to keep it private. Kolvet believes that's being in keeping with being a good friend—preserving somebody's trust in their privacy.
Setting the Record Straight
Now everybody knows the facts: yes, Joe Kent had the screenshots. Yes, he suggested leaking them. Kolvet can't prove that Kent was the one who ultimately leaked them, but those are the facts. With all the noise being made about allegations of leaking in the week following Kent's resignation, Kolvet felt it was necessary to address this directly.
Kolvet stated he has nothing else, no other information beyond this piece of the puzzle. He's not going to recklessly tarnish somebody's reputation if he doesn't have all the facts. But now that his name is being brought into the controversy, he wanted to address it head-on and set the record straight on exactly what he knows and what he doesn't know.
