EXCLUSIVE: Charlie Kirk Assassination Scandal Explodes — FBI and Intelligence Chiefs at War Over 'Snooping' That Could Derail Murder Trial

FBI Director Kash Patel is outraged Joe Kent, who heads the National Counterterrorism Center, was poking around into the murder of conservative icon Charlie Kirk, as he fears it will derail the criminal case against accused assassin Tyler Robinson, according to The New York Times.

RadarOnline.com can reveal the firestorm between the two federal agencies erupted after Patel learned Kent was poring over FBI files to track down leads to ensure foreign or domestic actors or funds were not involved in Kirk's murder.

Suspicions were raised because Robinson had scrawled anti-fascist messages on unfired bullet casings found at his sniper's nest.

Patel also reportedly feared that the government might have to turn the files over to Robinson's defense lawyers, which could scuttle the prosecution's case.

As readers know, Kirk, the 31-year-old cofounder of the right-wing group Turning Point USA, was killed by a single bullet to the neck as he led a September 10 rally at Utah Valley University.

After an intensive 33-hour manhunt, authorities collared Robinson, a 22-year-old Utah native. He was captured on doorbell cameras speaking into his cell phone after fleeing the campus, sparking conspiracy theories he may have been part of a hit squad.

Patel himself fanned the flames of other rumors by claiming that two men thought to be working security and standing behind Kirk at the event had been seen making a series of "hand gestures" or "potential signals" before Tyler fired the deadly shot using his grandfather's German-made World War I-era rifle.

Kent is a Donald Trump loyalist who's a former CIA agent and a close advisor to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.

The conflict between Patel and Kent triggered an intense roundtable meeting attended by the two men as well as Gabbard, Vice President JD Vance, the president's chief of staff Susie Wiles and other Department of Justice bigwigs who are concerned that any potential findings could sabotage the criminal case that paints Robinson as the lone gunman.