“Significant Bad-Faith Actor”: Trump Pulls Security Clearance For Ex-CISA Director Chris Krebs, Orders Investigation Into Censorship

The Trump administration has pulled security clearances for former CISA head Chris Krebs and ex-DHS official Miles Taylor and has ordered investigations into their actions while in office.

For a refresher, the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) was reportedly in direct contact with platforms like Twitter throughout the 2020 election cycle, which one DJS official told the NY Times “was the biggest change that helped shore up digital defenses in [2020] election management systems.”

The White House issued the following statement regarding Krebs:

Christopher Krebs, the former head of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), is a significant bad-faith actor who weaponized and abused his Government authority. Krebs’ misconduct involved the censorship of disfavored speech implicating the 2020 election and COVID-19 pandemic. CISA, under Krebs’ leadership, suppressed conservative viewpoints under the guise of combatting supposed disinformation, and recruited and coerced major social media platforms to further its partisan mission. CISA covertly worked to blind the American public to the controversy surrounding Hunter Biden’s laptop. Krebs, through CISA, promoted the censorship of election information, including known risks associated with certain voting practices. Similarly, Krebs, through CISA, 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. Krebs skewed the bona fide debate about COVID-19 by attempting to discredit widely shared views that ran contrary to CISA’s favored perspective.

The statement further notes that this type of abusive conduct “violates the First Amendment and erodes trust in Government, thus undermining the strength of our democracy itself,” and that those who engage in or support such conduct must not have continued access to our Nation’s secrets.“

The order also suspends security clearances held by those in Krebs’ orbit, including individuals working at American “AI” cybersecurity company, SentinelOne.

Furthermore, Trump directed AG Pam Bondi and DHS head Kristi Noem “to take all appropriate action to review Krebs’ activities as a Government employee, including his leadership of CISA.”

This review should identify any instances where Krebs’ conduct appears to have been contrary to suitability standards for Federal employees, involved the unauthorized dissemination of classified information, or contrary to the purposes and policies identified in Executive Order 14149 of January 20, 2025 (Restoring Freedom of Speech and Ending Federal Censorship). As part of that review, I direct a comprehensive evaluation of all of CISA’s activities over the last 6 years, focusing specifically on any instances where CISA’s conduct appears to have been contrary to the purposes and policies identified in Executive Order 14149.

Miles Taylor, meanwhile, served as the chief of staff to the Homeland Security Secretary under the first Trump administration – and then wrote a book and a NYT op-ed under the pen name “Anonymous” – of which Trump said: “I think he’s guilty of treason if you want to know the truth.”

In response to having his security clearance revoked, Taylor posted on X: “Dissent isn’t unlawful. It certainly isn’t treasonous.”

I said this would happen.

Dissent isn’t unlawful. It certainly isn’t treasonous. America is headed down a dark path.

Never has a man so inelegantly proved another man’s point.

— Miles Taylor (@MilesTaylorUSA) April 9, 2025

Which was not met with much sympathy on the right…

I said this would happen.

Dissent isn’t unlawful. It certainly isn’t treasonous. America is headed down a dark path.

Never has a man so inelegantly proved another man’s point.

— Miles Taylor (@MilesTaylorUSA) April 9, 2025

I hope you get exactly the kind of justice that was dealt out by your fellows against the January 6 martyrshttps://t.co/gpJAORSLSV

— Michael Malice (@michaelmalice) April 9, 2025