Donald Trump has fired a top elections official after he said the 2020 election was the “most secure in American history.”
Chris Krebs, the director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, was fired by the president in a tweetstorm on Tuesday night.
“The recent statement by Chris Krebs on the security of the 2020 Election was highly inaccurate, in that there were massive improprieties and fraud – including dead people voting,” Trump tweeted.
“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 continued.
“Therefore, effective immediately, Chris Krebs has been terminated as Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency,” he ended.
Just minutes after finding out he was fired via Twitter, Krebs himself took to the platform and issued a final statement.
“Honored to serve. We did it right. Defend Today, Secure Tomrorow (sic). #Protect2020,” he tweeted.
“The November 3rd election was the most secure in American history,” read a CISA statement released last week.
“Right now, across the country, election officials are reviewing and double checking the entire election process prior to finalizing the result.”
The statement continued, noting that close elections prompt a recount of ballots to identify and correct any mistakes or errors. “There is no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was in any way compromised,” the statement continued.
“While we know there are many unfounded claims and opportunities for misinformation about the process of our elections, we can assure you we have the utmost confidence in the security and integrity of our elections, and you should too,” the statement ended.
“When you have questions, turn to elections officials as trusted voices as they administer elections.”
Sources close to Krebs said as early as last week he believed he would soon be fired following the release of the CISA statement.
Trump also fired Krebs’ deputy Matt Travis, who will leave this week.
Earlier today, Krebs took to Twitter to share data that any claims of voter fraud were untrue.
“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,” read his tweet.
Krebs retweeted Georgetown University professor and scientist Matt Blaze, who shared a link to a letter penned by him and his colleagues entitled, “Scientists say no credible evidence of computer fraud in the 2020 election outcome, but policymakers must work with experts to improve confidence.”
The president has been purging those least loyal to him in recent weeks following the election that found Joe Biden the president-elect. He fired Defense Secretary Mark Esper in a tweet last week as well.
Trump, citing Krebs’ recent statement of the election’s security as being inaccurate, has resisted conceding the election to Biden and claimed there was widespread voter fraud in the election despite the evidence proving otherwise.
Krebs, a former Microsoft executive, ran CISA since it was first created following Russian interference in the 2016 election through the November election.
Members of both parties praised Krebs for his coordinated response in federal, state, and local efforts to defend electoral systems from any interference – foreign or domestic.
Although Krebs defended the November 3 election, he kept a relatively low profile and struck down allegations of fraud or political bias in the election.
He even was seen sometimes as refuting the president, despite the fact CISA’s parent department, the Department of Homeland Security, is often seen as being too closely aligned with Trump.
Despite CISA’s statement, Krebs attempted to avoid directly criticizing the president even as he contradicted misinformation often coming from Trump and his supporters, saying, “It’s not our job to fact check the president” the day before the election.
Under Krebs’ leadership, CISA has worked with officials across the United States as well as private companies to secure election processes operate as routine. The agency even is praised in Congress, where members proposed a $2billion increase of its annual budget.