President Trump on Tuesday night fired his administration’s most senior cybersecurity official responsible for securing the presidential election, Christopher Krebs, who had systematically disputed Mr. Trump’s false declarations that the presidency was stolen from him through fraudulent ballots and software glitches that changed millions of votes.
The announcement came via Twitter, the same way Mr. Trump fired his defense secretary last week and has dismissed other officials throughout his presidency.
Mr. Trump seemed set off by a statement released by the Department of Homeland Security late last week, the product of a broad committee overseeing the elections, that declared the 2020 election “the most secure in American history.”
“The recent statement by Chris Krebs on the security of the 2020 Election was highly inaccurate,” Mr. Trump wrote a little after 7 p.m., “in 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.”
He said Mr. Krebs “has been terminated” as the director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, a post to which Mr. Trump himself had appointed him.
Mr. Krebs, 43, a former Microsoft executive, has been hailed in recent days for his two years preparing states for the challenges of the vote, hardening systems against Russian interference and setting up a “rumor control” website to guard against disinformation.
The foreign interference so many feared never materialized; instead, the disinformation ultimately came from the White House.
Only two weeks ago, on Election Day, Mr. Krebs’s boss, Chad F. Wolf, the acting secretary of homeland security, had praised Mr. Krebs’s work. But behind-the-scenes efforts by Mr. Wolf and others to keep Mr. Trump from firing Mr. Krebs apparently failed.
Mr. Krebs did not immediately respond to questions for comment. But after his termination, he tweeted from his personal account: “Honored to serve. We did it right. Defend Today, Secure Tomorrow. #Protect2020”
Latest Stories
-
Tiger Woods’ son Charlie, 15, hits first hole-in-one
4 minutes -
‘¢25m is just a drop in the ocean’ – WAEC on delayed results
9 minutes -
NPP’s Central Regional Chair, Robert Kutin dead
15 minutes -
Global Football Festival promises football museum and music experience on December 27
17 minutes -
Saudi warnings about market attack suspect were ignored
18 minutes -
Trump threatens to try to regain control of Panama Canal
25 minutes -
Court orders police to determine gender of accused
30 minutes -
Ghana’s gold production to rise marginally by 3% in 2025 – Deloitte
33 minutes -
A man’s suicide leads to clamour around India’s dowry law
33 minutes -
Asante Gold Corporation enters into $500m agreement with Fujairah Holdings LLC
38 minutes -
ECG Power Queens support Ho Female Prison
2 hours -
Don’t appoint a new EC Chair; allow Jean Mensa to work – Prof. Stephen Adei to Mahama
2 hours -
Bayer Leverkusen’s Jeremie Frimpong arrives in Ghana for visit
2 hours -
‘It will be disastrous if Mahama removes the Chief Justice’ – Prof. Stephen Adei
2 hours -
Jean Mensa must step down as EC Chair – APC and Movement for Change assert
3 hours