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By Reuters 
1 hour ago
Joseph Menn and Christopher Bing
San Francisco / Washington – President Donald Trump fired top cybersecurity official Chris Krebs in a message on Twitter Tuesday, accusing him without evidence of making a “highly inaccurate” statement stating that the November 3 elections were safe and rejecting the allegations. of fraud.
Trump has made discredited accusations that the election was “rigged” and has refused to admit defeat to President-elect Joe Biden. His campaign has filed a series of lawsuits in battle states, though election officials from both parties have said they see no evidence of serious wrongdoing.
Reuters reported last week that Krebs, who worked to protect the election from hackers but provoked the ire of the Trump White House for efforts to discredit the disinformation, had told his associates that he expected to be fired.
Trump said on Twitter that Krebs had assured people in a “highly inaccurate” statement that the elections had been safe when there were “massive fraud and misconduct – including people killed voting, Poll Watchers not allowed in polling places” and Voting machine errors Shifted votes from Trump to Biden.
Dozens of election security experts released a letter on Monday saying the allegations of major hacks were unfounded and absurd at first glance.
Twitter placed warning labels on Trump’s posts, noting: “This claim about voter fraud is in dispute.”
Krebs headed the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) since its inception two years ago.
He enraged the White House over a website run by CISA called “Rumor Control,” which debunks misinformation about the election, according to the three people familiar with the matter.
A CISA spokesperson said the agency had no comment.
Krebs received no notification of Trump’s plan to fire him, according to a person familiar with the matter, and learned of the decision via Twitter.
CISA chief executive Brandon Wales is expected to replace Krebs as the agency’s acting director on Wednesday, an agency official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
Wales has held multiple positions within DHS under the Trump administration and is not seen as a partisan figure, a former colleague said.
Last week’s Reuters report drew a great deal of support from security experts across the country, who praised Krebs for his bipartisan work over the past two years.
The White House’s discontent with Krebs grew over the past year, according to two former US officials, as Trump criticized the security of voting by mail and Krebs’ agency responded by saying it represented a safe way to vote. Voting by mail hit a record this year due to voter concerns about the coronavirus pandemic.
On his own Twitter account, Krebs did not back down, writing: “It’s an honor to serve. We did well. Stand up for yourself today, make sure tomorrow.”
White House officials had previously complained about CISA content rejecting false claims about the election, including that Democrats were behind a massive voter fraud scheme. CISA officials refused to remove accurate information.
Among other things, a Krebs associate said the White House was angered by a post rejecting a conspiracy theory that falsely claimed that a supercomputer and intelligence agency program, supposedly called Hammer and Scorecard, could have changed the votes at the national level. There is no such system, according to Krebs, election security experts and former US officials.
A spokeswoman for President-elect Joe Biden said: “Chris Krebs should be commended for his service in protecting our elections, not fired for telling the truth.”
Trump’s move was also swiftly denounced by security officials and White House critics.
“Krebs was doing important work defending critical infrastructure and fighting misinformation,” said Harri Hursti, an expert on e-voting security. “His firing is very disappointing and appears to be an attempt to undermine the great work that he and others at DHS / CISA have been doing.”
Democrat Adam Schiff, who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, said: “CISA and Director Krebs have worked diligently to safeguard our elections, provide vital support to state and local election officials, and inform the American people. about what was true and what was not. “
Independent Senator Angus King said Trump was “firing Krebs simply for doing his job.”
“I hope that President-elect Biden will acknowledge Chris’s contributions and consult with him as the Biden administration charts the future of this critically important agency,” King said.
Senator Ben Sasse, who has been a critic of Trump, was one of the first Republicans to reject the decision.
“Chris Krebs did a very good job, as state election officials across the country will tell him, and obviously he shouldn’t be fired,” Sasse said in a statement.
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