Takeaways from intelligence officials’ testimony amid war with Iran | CNN Politics

Top Trump administration officials testified publicly Wednesday for the first time since the launch of the Iran war three weeks ago. Officials including Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and FBI Director Kash Patel testified in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee, where they were pressed on the administration’s often-confusing and contradictory claims about the Iran war and the underlying intelligence. The testimony came a day after the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, Joe Kent, became the highest-profile Trump administration official to resign over the war. Kent did so while suggesting the administration had lied about Iran posing an imminent threat. Here’s what to know from Wednesday’s hearing: The biggest question going into the hearing was what these officials would say about the Trump administration’s many dubious claims about the Iran war. These officials see the intelligence after all, and they were testifying under penalty of perjury. Wednesday, they repeatedly either contradicted Trump and the administration’s claims or failed to back them up. On Iran’s nuclear program, Trump has stated that Ira