Donald Trump fires election cybersecurity director Christopher Krebs
Without presenting evidence, the president claimed the 2020 election that he lost was 'inaccurate' and fired the man in charge of its security.
Several days ago, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency — a section of the Department of Homeland Security that, among other things, works on election security — issued a statement saying “The November 3rd election was the most secure in American history. Right now, across the country, election officials are reviewing and double checking the entire election process prior to finalizing the result. When states have close elections, many will recount ballots. All of the states with close results in the 2020 presidential race have paper records of each vote, allowing the ability to go back and count each ballot if necessary. This is an added benefit for security and resilience. This process allows for the identification and correction of any mistakes or errors. There is no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was in any way compromised.”
ICYMI: On allegations that election systems were manipulated, 59 election security experts all agree, "in every case of which we are aware, these claims either have been unsubstantiated or are technically incoherent." #Protect2020 https://t.co/Oj6NciYruD
— Chris Krebs #Protect2020 (@CISAKrebs) November 17, 2020
At the time, CISA director Christopher Krebs reportedly told people he expected President Donald Trump would fire him for undermining the president’s claim of widespread fraud in the election, and today the president tweeted that he has done just that. According to Trump, “The recent statement by Chris Krebs on the security of the 2020 Election was highly inaccurate, in that there were massive improprieties and fraud.” After the firing was announced, Krebs tweeted from his personal account “Honored to serve. We did it right.”
Honored to serve. We did it right. Defend Today, Secure Tomrorow. #Protect2020
— Chris Krebs (@C_C_Krebs) November 18, 2020
Under the direction of Krebs, CISA has actively pushed back against baseless rumors and conspiracy theories surrounding the election. The Rumor Control page provides factual information refuting claims spread by people including the president about things that supposedly happened November 3rd.
In 2018, @CISAKrebs (@C_C_Krebs) spoke about elections, cybersecurity, and disinformation at the @AtlanticCouncil.
"The overall purpose of an election is to convince the loser they lost…so this peaceful transition of power [can occur]."
Thank you for serving, Chris. pic.twitter.com/G6j3ytN2uc— Graham Brookie (@GrahamBrookie) November 18, 2020
...votes from Trump to Biden, late voting, and many more. Therefore, effective immediately, Chris Krebs has been terminated as Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 18, 2020