President Trump on Wednesday ordered a federal investigation into Chris Krebs, the former director of U.S. cybersecurity agency CISA.
In a new executive order, Trump instructed the Department of Homeland Security, which houses CISA, and the U.S. Attorney General to investigate Krebs, who was fired by the Trump administration in November 2020 soon after he publicly debunked Trump’s claims that there were voting irregularities during the presidential election. The order also revokes Krebs’ security clearance.
The executive order claims, among other things, that Krebs “falsely and baselessly denied that the 2020 election was rigged and stolen, including by inappropriately and categorically dismissing widespread election malfeasance and serious vulnerabilities with voting machines.”
Trump and his associates have long claimed voting irregularities during the 2020 election, without evidence. Trump launched a series of lawsuits after losing the election in 2020, and nearly all of them failed.
Established during the first Trump administration, CISA oversees federal cybersecurity defense and the security of U.S. critical infrastructure, including election systems. Under Krebs’ tenure, CISA began combating mis- and disinformation related to election integrity and voter fraud, much of which was sparked by Russian efforts in 2016 aimed at casting doubt on the U.S. electoral process.
The Trump order claims that Krebs violated the First Amendment, a constitutional rule that prohibits government interference of free speech and expression, by allegedly exceeding his authority as CISA director in countering the election falsehoods.
The order also strips anyone who works at SentinelOne, the cybersecurity company that Krebs now works at, of their security clearances.
SentinelOne spokesperson Karen Master told TechCrunch in an email that the company “will actively cooperate in any review of security clearances held by any of our personnel,” and said that the company has fewer than 10 employees with security clearances. The spokesperson said the clearance revocations are not expected to have a material effect on the company’s business.
Krebs is the latest in a list of former U.S. government officials who have been stripped of their security clearances by the Trump administration. Many of them worked during Trump’s first term and have been subsequently critical of its actions.
Also on Wednesday, Trump signed a separate executive order similarly revoking the security clearance of a former Homeland Security official turned whistleblower, who had penned an anonymous op-ed article critical of Trump’s policies during his first term.
Zack Whittaker is the security editor at TechCrunch. You can send tips securely via Signal and WhatsApp to +1 646-755-8849. He can also be reached by email at zack.whittaker@techcrunch.com. You can also submit files and documents securely via SecureDrop.
