Christopher Krebs oversaw the defense of the 2020 elections — and vouched for their integrity afterward.
President Donald Trump on Tuesday fired Christopher Krebs, the U.S. government’s top cybersecurity official, after he spent weeks contradicting the election-related conspiracy theories that Trump and his allies have promoted to deny the legitimacy of President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.
Krebs, the director of the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, oversaw the defense of the 2018 and 2020 elections, as well as the protection of federal computer networks and critical infrastructure facilities such as hospitals and power plants.
In tweets posted Tuesday evening, Trump claimed that a recent statement issued by Krebs’ agency and several partners, which reassured Americans that the 2020 election had been conducted securely, “was highly inaccurate.”
“There were massive improprieties and fraud — including dead people voting, Poll Watchers not allowed into polling locations, ‘glitches’ in the voting machines which changed … votes from Trump to Biden, late voting, and many more,” Trump tweeted, though those claims are false. “Therefore, effective immediately, Chris Krebs has been terminated.”
Krebs, one of the few Trump appointees with nearly universal bipartisan support, spent years navigating his new agency through DHS’s leadership turmoil and the administration’s political controversies. At the same time, he built relationships with fellow officials and private security experts to reform and promote the government’s cyber mission.
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President Donald Trump has fired DHS cybersecurity chief Chris Krebs, who led efforts to defend last week's election against foreign interference and rejected Trump's baseless claims of rampant voter fraud https://t.co/ZQdHgjHsg7
— POLITICO (@politico) November 18, 2020One thing President Trump appears not to have learned during his term in office: Firing people does not silence them.
— Josh Campbell (@joshscampbell) November 18, 2020
Krebs tweets -> https://t.co/QOP6kTLX4A
— Zeke Miller (@ZekeJMiller) November 18, 2020
A source close to @C_C_Krebs says he always knew he might get in trouble for telling the truth while the president was spreading lies and conspiracy theories about the election.
That said…
1/— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) November 18, 2020
3/ Krebs learned he had been fired when he read the president’s tweet this evening.
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) November 18, 2020
Trump just fired the guy from his own DHS who said the election was clean. Because of course. https://t.co/rtD1wbbbZO
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) November 18, 2020
Hahahaha.
As predicted. https://t.co/OKrI7RCOFX
— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) November 18, 2020
Sen. Sasse (R-NE) on Krebs firing: pic.twitter.com/pbJNZMF57v
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) November 18, 2020
Last tweet from the just-fired head of the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency https://t.co/7ULlulT24A
— Julian Sanchez (@normative) November 18, 2020
It’s been an honor to work under @CISAKrebs to advance the state of election security. Election security is not political. Director Krebs should be commended for his nonpartisan approach to protecting democracy and ensuring a secure 2020 election.
— Jack Cable (@jackhcable) November 18, 2020
US Government head of cyber security at DHS, fired for sharing the facts and truth about the election despite the desire for the opposite from the president, who is pushing lies and conspiracy theories: https://t.co/1yBavm7gru
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) November 18, 2020
Chris Krebs did nothing wrong and everyone with even the slightest bit of perspective knows it.
— Jeff B., who on earth is this guy?? (@EsotericCD) November 18, 2020
"He left a legacy of success that reinforces the Cyberspace Solarium Commission's recommendations to strengthen CISA, maintain auditable paper trails for voting, and provide cyber education so Americans can better spot disinformation."
— Stephen Hayes (@stephenfhayes) November 18, 2020
I expect Mr. Krebs will land on his feet. There are still places in this country where integrity matters and I believe his willingness to risk it all to tell the truth will be a resume enhancer. He will be hired somewhere or he can start his own cybersecurity firm or??? The possibilities are endless.
In defending democracy, do or do not, there is no try. This is the way. #Protect2020 @HamillHimself @PedroPascal1 https://t.co/nhF4FrVqhT
— Chris Krebs (@C_C_Krebs) November 18, 2020
Rep. Adam Kinzinger: "There's like a loyalty purge going on in the last month in the White House." pic.twitter.com/bPmSXUdw53
— The Hill (@thehill) November 18, 2020
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