Donald Trump on Tuesday fired top election security official, who had rejected the president’s yet to be substantiated claims of “massive” fraud in the November 3 US elections.
BBC reports that President Trump said he “terminated” Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (Cisa) chief Chris Krebs for his “highly inaccurate” remarks on vote integrity.
Mr Trump has refused to concede the US election, and has made unsubstantiated claims of “massive” voter fraud.
Election officials said the vote was the “most secure” in US history.
Mr Krebs is the latest official to be dismissed by the US president following his defeat, with Defense Secretary Mark Esper also shown the door amid reports Mr Trump doubted the Pentagon chief’s loyalty.
There is speculation in Washington DC that before Mr Trump leaves office in January, CIA director Gina Haspel and FBI director Christopher Wray could also be for the chopping block.
Like many others fired by Mr Trump, Mr Krebs reportedly only learned he was out of a job when he saw the president’s tweet on Tuesday.
But following his dismissal, the former Microsoft executive appeared to have no regrets.
He had run the agency from its inception two years ago in the aftermath of alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
To guard against potential cyber-threats, Cisa works with state and local election officials and the private companies that supply voting systems, while monitoring ballot tabulation and the power grid.
(BBC)
