Trump fires DHS cyber chief Chris Krebs who defended 2020 vote security

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Chris Krebs
Screenshot from CISA video posted on YouTube

President Donald Trump on Tuesday fired Department of Homeland Security (DHS)  Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) director Christopher Krebs who had rejected the chief executive’s claims of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 U.S. election.

In a series of tweets about election security, Trump said Krebs’ termination was “effective immediately.”

“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, 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.

The tweets were flagged by Twitter as “disputed.”

CISA declares Nov. 3 election is the “most secure in American history”

Krebs served as Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, a branch of the DHS tasked to protect the 2020 election from fraud and hacks.

President Trump’s announcement comes in the wake of a recent joint statement from CISA and other committees that declared the Nov. 3 vote as the “most secure in American history.”

“There is no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was in any way compromised,” they said in a statement on Nov. 12. “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.”

California Rep. Ted Lieu immediately took to Twitter to blast President Trump, saying there was no reason for the Trump appointee to lie “when he concluded the elections were secure and fair.” He added, “@realDonaldTrump fired Krebs for telling the truth. @POTUS can keep firing people, but he can’t change the fact that he lost the presidential election.”