KREBS WATCH — After frenzied speculation last week that he would be the next Trump administration official unceremoniously shown the door, CISA Director Chris Krebs remains on the job. In fact, on Saturday Krebs — who's been telling associates he expects to be fired — shot down another baseless claim about the 2020 election, tweeting:When President Trump fires someone, he or she remains so. And so it was with Mr. Krebs, according to Business Insider's peanut gallery:"Quick Election Security Disinfo Debunker: election-related servers WERE NOT recently seized in Europe by the US Army contrary to #disinfo rapidly spreading across social media. Don't buy it & think 2x before you share."That's not to say the weekend wasn't without drama for Krebs or the agency he helms. The New York Post sparked debate online after it reported that Acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf had refused to fire Krebs. The article, citing unnamed sources, says that Krebs earned President Donald Trump's ire not only for debunking false claims, but for keeping Matt Masterson, who served as U.S. Election Assistance Commission chair during the Obama administration, on as a senior adviser on election security; holding what's been dubbed a "watch party" at the agency's headquarters on election night; and being close with former DHS chief of staff Miles Taylor, who recently outed himself as "Anonymous."
But many, including a former top DHS lawyer, pointed out that only the president has the power to fire Krebs, suggesting the Post's story was planted by allies of Wolf, who has pushed to have the full Senate approve his nomination to be DHS chief.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren said Krebs "got fired because he did his job to protect our elections and stood up to Trump's conspiracy theories."President Trump followed up with a third tweet addressing the 2020 election, while the CISA persisted with its guarantees:
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, the ranking member on the Senate Rules and Administration Committee, which also oversees federal elections, called Krebs' firing "a gut punch to our democracy."
Rep. Adam Schiff, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said Trump was "retaliating against Director Krebs and other officials who did their duty. It's pathetic, but sadly predictable that upholding and protecting our democratic processes would be cause for firing,"
Sen. Angus King, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, "By firing him for doing his job, President Trump is harming all Americans — who rely on CISA's defenses, even if they don't know it."
Ciaran Martin, the founder and former head of the UK's National Cyber Security Centre, chimed in with international support: "He's been the best partner an ally could hope for."
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CISA stated:
"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. When you have questions, turn to elections officials as trusted voices as they administer elections."
"In the lead-up to the 2020 elections, we made significant enhancements to our policies to protect the integrity of the election. Most notably, this year, we updated our civic integrity policy to more comprehensively enforce labeling or removing of false and misleading information."Republican lawmakers specifically targeted Twitter over its October decision to suppress a New York Post story about a laptop allegedly belonging to Hunter Biden, son of Joe Biden, which contained illicit images, as well as emails that insinuated the former vice president was involved in his son's foreign business deals - something he has long denied. Dorsey admitted the suppression was "wrong."
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