Latest news with #Krebs
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Former aide who refuted Trump's false 2020 election claims is under federal investigation
A former senior cybersecurity official who refuted President Donald Trump's lies that the 2020 election was 'rigged' is under federal investigation, according to a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson. Chris Krebs is facing an unspecified government investigation, the DHS spokesperson said. As a result, Krebs was expelled from a U.S. customs program that allows expedited clearance for pre-approved American travelers at airports, known as Global Entry. 'Chris Krebs is under active investigation by law enforcement agencies," the DHS spokesperson told NBC News. "That is a fact disqualifying him for global entry.' Officials declined to say why Krebs was under investigation or which federal agencies were leading the probe. CNN first reported Krebs' suspension from the Global Entry program. The White House referred NBC News to the DHS and Justice Department for comment. The Justice Department declined to comment. Krebs, who served as head of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency during Trump's first term, declined to comment. Trump fired Krebs after he said in a statement that the 2020 election was the 'most secure in American history.' Krebs added, 'There is no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was in any way compromised.' The investigation of Krebs comes after President Trump issued a memorandum on April 9 directing the attorney general and the homeland security secretary to 'take all appropriate action to review' Krebs' activities during his time in government. The memo also revoked Krebs' security clearance. The memo targeting Krebs, and a similar memo naming former senior DHS official Miles Taylor, marked an escalation in President Trump's campaign of retribution against perceived political enemies. It was the first time the president had requested possible government investigations against individuals. The presidential memorandum accused Krebs of seeking to suppress 'conservative viewpoints' on social media about the 2020 election and the COVID-19 epidemic, by allegedly coercing social media platforms under the 'guise of combatting supposed disinformation.' The memo claimed 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 has repeatedly claimed that the 2020 election was 'stolen' but there is no evidence that the vote was plagued by widespread fraud. More than 50 lawsuits brought by Trump or his allies alleging fraud and irregularities have been withdrawn, dismissed or denied by state and federal judges. After Trump signed the memorandum last month cancelling Krebs' security clearance, Krebs stepped down from his role at the cyber security firm SentinelOne to prepare his legal defense. Security clearances are crucial for employees working on federal cyber security contracts. Over 40 cybersecurity experts signed an open letter on April 29 condemning what they called 'the political persecution' of Krebs. 'By placing Krebs and SentinelOne in the crosshairs, the President is signaling that cybersecurity professionals whose findings do not align with his narrative risk having their businesses and livelihoods subjected to spurious and retaliatory targeting," the letter stated, "the same bullying tactic he has recently used against law firms." This article was originally published on
NBC News
02-05-2025
- Politics
- NBC News
Former aide who refuted Trump's false 2020 election claims is under federal investigation
A former senior cybersecurity official who refuted President Donald Trump's lies that the 2020 election was 'rigged' is under federal investigation, according to a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson. Chris Krebs is facing an unspecified government investigation, the DHS spokesperson said. As a result, Krebs was expelled from a U.S. customs program that allows expedited clearance for pre-approved American travelers at airports, known as Global Entry. 'Chris Krebs is under active investigation by law enforcement agencies," the DHS spokesperson told NBC News. "That is a fact disqualifying him for global entry.' Officials declined to say why Krebs was under investigation or which federal agencies were leading the probe. CNN first reported Krebs' suspension from the Global Entry program. The White House referred NBC News to the DHS and Justice Department for comment. The Justice Department declined to comment. Refuting Trump's election fraud claims Krebs, who served as head of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency during Trump's first term, declined to comment. Trump fired Krebs after he said in a statement that the 2020 election was the 'most secure in American history.' Krebs added, 'There is no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was in any way compromised.' The investigation of Krebs comes after President Trump issued a memorandum on April 9 directing the attorney general and the homeland security secretary to 'take all appropriate action to review' Krebs' activities during his time in government. The memo also revoked Krebs' security clearance. The memo targeting Krebs, and a similar memo naming former senior DHS official Miles Taylor, marked an escalation in President Trump's campaign of retribution against perceived political enemies. It was the first time the president had requested possible government investigations against individuals. The presidential memorandum accused Krebs of seeking to suppress 'conservative viewpoints' on social media about the 2020 election and the COVID-19 epidemic, by allegedly coercing social media platforms under the 'guise of combatting supposed disinformation.' The memo claimed 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 has repeatedly claimed that the 2020 election was 'stolen' but there is no evidence that the vote was plagued by widespread fraud. More than 50 lawsuits brought by Trump or his allies alleging fraud and irregularities have been withdrawn, dismissed or denied by state and federal judges. After Trump signed the memorandum last month cancelling Krebs' security clearance, Krebs stepped down from his role at the cyber security firm SentinelOne to prepare his legal defense. Security clearances are crucial for employees working on federal cyber security contracts. Over 40 cybersecurity experts signed an open letter on April 29 condemning what they called 'the political persecution' of Krebs. 'By placing Krebs and SentinelOne in the crosshairs, the President is signaling that cybersecurity professionals whose findings do not align with his narrative risk having their businesses and livelihoods subjected to spurious and retaliatory targeting," the letter stated, "the same bullying tactic he has recently used against law firms."
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Rogue DOJ Investigation Of Columbia Protestors Alarmed Federal Judge
A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM's Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version. In an important new story, the NYT reveals for the first time that senior Trump DOJ official Emil Bove directed the Civil Rights Division to investigate pro-Palestinian protestors at Columbia University. The bulk of the article focuses on the 'anger and alarm' of career prosecutors over the politically motivated and meritless investigation. But the episode from the story that most stands out is the refusal of a federal magistrate judge in Manhattan to approve a search warrant against the protestors. After the search warrant application had already been denied once for an insufficient showing of probable cause, chief magistrate judge Sarah Netburn gave it a second look. What she did next shows a real breakdown at DOJ: Judge Netburn not only rejected the request for a search warrant, but she also ordered the government to abide by a special condition: Should prosecutors ever try to refile such an application before another federal judge, they had to include a transcript of the sealed discussions in her court, these people said. Netburn's unusual condition suggests she had found the Trump DOJ's submission of probable cause not just lacking but egregious in either its form or substance. Not only that, but the proceedings in her court must have gone so far off the rails that she wanted any other judge who later got involved to have the benefit of reading the transcript of what transpired. The implication, as I take it, is that there's nothing the Trump DOJ can do to wash away the stink of its initial search warrant application. The one-the-record response to the NYT story from Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche is also highly unusual and deeply disturbing. He managed to confirm the investigation, discuss evidence, and impugn career prosecutors in a single statement. 'This is a false story fabricated by a group of people who allowed antisemitism and support of Hamas terrorists to fester for several years, standing by but doing nothing,' Blanche said, while denouncing DOJ attorneys as 'deep state terrorist sympathizers who stood by as members of the Jewish faith were targeted across the country.' Nothing about this story is normal. The first inkling that something was up came when Chris Krebs lost his Global Entry status. Now the Trump administration is confirming that Kreb's membership in the program was revoked because he is under federal investigation of some kind. The public confirmation of the investigation is itself unusual and fits into the pattern of retribution. Earlier this month, Krebs had the dubious distinction of being targeted by a Trump executive order devoted exclusively to him. It revoked his security clearance and directed a 'review' of Krebs by the attorney general and secretary of homeland security. It is not clear whether the current investigation is an outgrowth of the executive order. Krebs served as the head of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency until President Trump fired him in the aftermath of the 2020 election for declaring it to have been the most secure in history. Some signs have emerged that Senate Republicans are feeling less than enthusiastic about the nomination of acting D.C. U.S. Attorney Ed Martin to the permanent position. Martin, a GOP political operator with no experience as a prosecutor, has run amok as acting U.S. attorney in one of the country's most important jurisdictions, violating traditional DOJ guidelines, engaging in ethically questionable behavior for a prosecutor, and using the office for political ends. Still, no GOP senator has come out against the nomination. In a historically significant decision, U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. of Brownsville became the first judge to rule on the substance of President Trump's invocation of the Alien Enemies Act against Venezuelan nationals who are members of the transnational Tren de Aragua gang. But while Rodriguez, a Trump appointee, found that Trump had exceeded the scope of the wartime statute, he did so in a relatively narrow way that showed considerable deference to the President and potentially left the door open to this or future presidents being able to craft AEA invocations in a way that would avoid judicial scrutiny. Rodriguez ultimately found that the the activities of Tren de Aragua in the United States as described in Trump's proclamation failed to constitute an 'invasion' or 'predatory incursion,' as required by the statute. But he declined to look behind the proclamation's claim that Tren de Aragua is controlled by Venezuela, accepting the assertion at face value, and thus finding that it satisfied the requirement that the invasion be 'by any foreign nation or government.' This was one trial judge in one district in Texas. The Fifth Circuit and then likely the Supreme Court will get their own bites at the apple in either this case or some combination of other AEA case. I am very hesitant to center coverage of due process violations on the victim because the merits or demerits of any particular victim is beside the point. While some victims are more sympathetic than others, the rule of law protects everyone. It's not earned or deserved. Especially while the Trump administration is engaging in a vicious propaganda campaign against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, focusing on the particulars of his life story can inadvertently accept the premise that his worthiness, as we judge it, matters. With this preamble out of the way, the NYT does have a well-reported deep dive on Abrego Garcia and his legal case. Without naming President Trump, Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson defended the judiciary against political attack last night at a conference in Puerto Rico, telling the audience: 'The attacks … impact more than just individual judges who are being targeted. Rather, the threats and harassment are attacks on our democracy, on our system of government and they ultimately risk undermining our Constitution and the rule of law.' Public Broadcasting: After attempting to remove three of the five board members of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting earlier, President Trump issued a new executive order Thursday purporting to cut off federal funding for PBS and NPR. USAID: Assessing the real-world toll of the dismantling of U.S. foreign aid IMLS: Judge temporarily blocks Trump administration from dismantling the Institute of Museum and Library Services. A new Ben Terris profile offers a disturbing look at the deterioration of Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA). The Pentagon inspector general has expanded its investigation of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth misuse of Signal (and mishandling of national defense information) to the second group chat that included his wife and brother, the WSJ reports. Shuffling Signal-addict Mike Waltz out of his role as national security adviser and into the gauntlet of a Senate confirmation hearing to be UN ambassador is one twist in this reality TV presidency I can get on board with:
CNN
02-05-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Chris Krebs kicked off CBP's Global Entry program
Chris Krebs', President Donald Trump's former director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, membership in Global Entry has been revoked. Krebs, who has repeatedly attested to the security of the 2020 election, told CNN he finds it hard to believe this isn't another act of retribution from the administration. On Wednesday afternoon, Krebs received an email saying that his Trusted Traveler Program status had changed. He logged into the program and learned his Global Entry program membership had been revoked, he told CNN. Global Entry is the US Customs and Border Protection program that gives low-risk travelers expedited clearance when they arrive in the US. Trump earlier this month stripped Krebs of any existing security clearance he may still hold since leaving office and ordered the Justice Department to probe the former official. CNN has reached out to the White House and Department of Homeland Security for comment. Krebs, a Republican appointee in his first term, received bipartisan praise for telling the truth about the 2020 election, which aroused the ire of Trump, whose lies about the election led to the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. On April 9, Trump signed an executive order instructing his government to punish Krebs in various ways, including ordering the attorney general to investigate him, though there is no evidence he has committed any crime. Time magazine recently asked the president if his order wasn't exactly what he accused President Joe Biden's administration of doing to him. 'I think Chris Krebs was a disgrace to our country,' Trump said. 'I think he was — I think he was terrible. By the way, I don't know him. I'm not — I don't think I ever met him. … I know very little about Chris Krebs, but I think he was very deficient.'
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump admin ups its attacks on Chris Krebs by booting him from CBP's Global Entry program
The presidential administration's war on truth has continued full speed ahead this week, with Donald Trump calling for investigations into pollsters and media outlets over unflattering polls and pressuring Amazon not to notify customers how much his tariffs are increasing the price of products. And these days, few people are being targeted in Trump's crusade against reality quite like Chris Krebs, his former head of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Trump and his administration have targeted him for having the gall to publicly debunk Trump's lies about the 2020 presidential election. Earlier this week, my MSNBC colleague Steve Benen highlighted Krebs' outspokenness as he fights Trump's authoritarian executive order demanding that the Justice Department probe his time leading CISA. And then CNN reported Wednesday that the Trump administration has taken additional steps to make life harder for Krebs by pulling his membership in U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Global Entry program, which allows people to re-enter the country easily. According to CNN: Chris Krebs', President Donald Trump's former director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, membership in Global Entry has been revoked. Krebs, who has repeatedly attested to the security of the 2020 election, told CNN he finds it hard to believe this isn't another act of retribution from the administration. On Wednesday afternoon, Krebs received an email saying that his Trusted Traveler Program status had changed. He logged into the program and learned his Global Entry program membership had been revoked, he told CNN. Global Entry is the US Customs and Border Protection program that gives low-risk travelers expedited clearance when they arrive in the US. Trump earlier this month stripped Krebs of any existing security clearance he may still hold since leaving office and ordered the Justice Department to probe the former official. Republicans have targeted CISA in their yearslong effort to discredit people who dispel disinformation and identify foreign attempts to manipulate Americans. The Trump administration has slashed millions of dollars from CISA's budget and vowed to establish new priorities. If there's been one constant throughout Trump's second term, I'd argue it's his administration's angst toward truth-tellers — or, simply put, people whose adherence to facts undercuts Trump's political goals. I think it's fair to say we saw this when Trump blew up at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for saying Americans will eventually 'feel' the impact from Russia's war against his country. We've seen this in Trump's aforementioned attacks on the free press and a private company that considered shining light on the impact of his destructive tariffs. And now Krebs is the target of the president's wrath for refusing to accept his warped reality as truth. This article was originally published on
