When telling the truth is costly

The firing of Krebs, a former Microsoft Corp. executive who was nominated by Trump in 2018 to become the first director of DHS’ Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, is solely about trying to prop up a discredited narrative by a sulking incumbent who can’t accept his defeat.

By

Opinion

November 19, 2020 - 8:47 AM

Christopher C. Krebs, director of the Homeland Security Department's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and Robert Strayer, deputy assistant secretary of State for cyber and international communications and information policy in the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs speak before the Senate Judiciary Committee on May 14, 2019, in Washington, D.C. Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images/TNS

As soon as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security distributed a statement defending the integrity of the 2020 election, calling it “the most secure in American history,” two things were certain: President Trump’s claims of widespread voter fraud were exposed as totally false. And somebody was going to get fired.

The other shoe came thudding to the floor on Tuesday evening when Trump announced the abrupt dismissal of Christopher Krebs, America’s top cybersecurity official.

“The recent statement by Chris Krebs on the security of the 2020 Election was highly inaccurate,” the president tweeted, “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. Therefore, effective immediately, Chris Krebs has been terminated.”

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