Joe Kent’s wife Heather Kaiser wrote for a left-leaning outlet whose editor reportedly received payments from sanctioned Iranian broadcaster

Heather Kaiser, wife of Joe Kent, has supported her husband following Kent’s resignation as director of the US National Counterterrorism Center over his objections to the ongoing Iran war. On social media platform X, Kaiser reposted and pinned Kent’s resignation message. This led some social media users to speculate about her influence on Kent’s political views.

Kent announced his resignation in a letter addressed to Donald Trump, stating, "I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran,” and adding, “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.” She married Kent in 2023, following his unsuccessful campaigns for Congress in 2022.

Also Read: Meet Joe Kent, Army veteran and ex-CIA officer who resigned from Trump administration over Iran war

Writings and links to The Grayzone

Kaiser has written for The Grayzone in 2023, a publication founded in 2015 by Max Blumenthal. The outlet is known for its anti-war stance and has frequently published content critical of Israel and US foreign policy.

According to a 2024 report written by Joseph Menn in The Washington Post, the website’s (Grayzone) managing editor reportedly received payments from Iran’s state-run broadcaster PressTV, which was sanctioned by the US back in 2021.

“Many of its articles strike a leftist tone, and its coverage has been positive toward Russia, Syria, and other authoritarian states,” The Washington Post summarizes.

Artist and military background

Beyond her writing, Kaiser is a visual artist with a background in military service who rejects the use of AI in her work, stating that “all of my artwork is original," and in her website saying that she does “not now and never have used Artificial Intelligence (AI)” in any form. She served nearly 11 years on active duty in the US Army, including deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, before leaving service in 2018.

She later pursued art full-time, working as a photography assistant, ceramics apprentice, and historic interpreter. She has received scholarships from institutions including Peter’s Valley School of Craft and Penland School of Craft.

Kaiser earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 2007 and later completed a Master of Art in Studio Art, with a focus on sculpture, in 2019 from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.