Tag: Christopher Krebs

‘We have to stop this!’: Ex-Trump official slams Republicans to their faces over election misinformation

AlterNet logo

Republican Christopher Krebs, who formerly headed a cybersecurity agency at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, was among the witnesses who testified on Wednesday during a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing that addressed alleged “irregularities” in the 2020 election. During his testimony, Krebs only made it clear to Republican senators that he saw no evidence of the type of widespread voter fraud that President Donald Trump and his allies have been alleging — he also called out the extremists who have been threatening election officials.

Krebs discussed the voting equipment that was used in the election, emphasizing that there was no reason to believe that such equipment swung votes to President-elect Joe Biden as some Trump allies have been claiming.

“I’m seeing these reports that are factually inaccurate continue to be promoted,” Krebs told Sen. Ron Johnson and other members of the Homeland Security Committee. “That’s what rumor control is all about. That’s what I’m continuing to do today based on my experience and understanding in how these systems work. We have to stop this! It’s undermining confidence in democracy.” Continue reading.

Ex-election security chief Christopher Krebs sues Trump campaign, lawyer for defamation

Christopher Krebs, the government’s former election security chief who was fired for describing the November vote as the most secure in history, sued the Trump campaign and one of the president’s lawyers for defamation Tuesday, claiming that the attorney falsely characterized his remarks as treasonous while suggesting that Krebs be “taken out at dawn and shot.”

In the legal action filed in a Maryland state court, Krebs characterized Joseph diGenova’s statements during a Nov. 30 Newsmax broadcast as “shockingly irresponsible and dangerous.”

The former Department of Homeland Security official asserted that diGenova’s commentary was especially troubling because it was “released into the current climate of political toxicity and instability, in which public officials across the country…are being targeted with acts and threats of violence simply for performing their public duties.” Continue reading.

Top cybersecurity official ousted by Trump

The Hill logo

President Trump ousted Christopher Krebs, the top U.S. cybersecurity official, on Tuesday evening, disagreeing with Krebs’s statement affirming the security of the 2020 election.

Trump, who has refused to accept his loss to Democrat Joe Biden in the presidential election earlier this month, said on Twitter that Krebs had been terminated “effective immediately.” Trump said a recent statement by the cyber chief about the security of the election was “highly inaccurate” and claimed, without evidence, that “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,” the president wrote. “Therefore, effective immediately, Chris Krebs has been terminated as Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.” Continue reading.