Former CISA director Chris Krebs announced on Wednesday that he intends to challenge a federal investigation launched against him by former President Donald Trump. Krebs, who led the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) from its establishment in 2018 until Trump fired him in November 2020, told The Wall Street Journal that he would step down from his current role at cybersecurity firm SentinelOne in order to fully confront the allegations brought forth in the Trump-ordered investigation.
The investigation alleges that Krebs “falsely and baselessly denied” Trump’s assertions that the 2020 presidential election was rigged. Additionally, as part of Trump’s directive, Krebs was officially stripped of his national security clearance.
Describing the situation to the Journal, Krebs characterized the investigation as an alarming example of governmental power being wielded as a tool for punishing dissent and intimidating critics. He framed his decision to resign and fight back as a necessary stance against what he views as political retaliation, stating plainly, “It’s about the government pulling its levers to punish dissent, to go after corporate interests and corporate relationships.”
Krebs was dismissed from his CISA post shortly after publicly disputing Trump’s claims of widespread electoral fraud and declaring the 2020 election secure. His vocal rejection of election conspiracy theories had positioned him among numerous former government officials who have publicly voiced opposition to Trump’s political maneuvers.
His resistance adds momentum to a broader backlash from academic institutions, law firms, and former administration officials against recent Trump administration actions targeting political and personal critics.
