[ad_1]
As the president continues to deny the reality he has lost, his intelligence chief is now saying that Trump’s election fraud allegations, which have been downright debunked, are being taken and amplified by foreign adversaries.
Their goal is “to undermine public confidence in our democratic processes,” John Ratcliffe, director of national intelligence, told CBS News in an interview, declining to say which countries.
Ratcliffe is a fierce Trump loyalist who has been accused of politicizing intelligence to fuel Trump’s attacks on the Russia inquiry. During the interview, he was able to sidestep his own thoughts on the fraud allegations by arguing that it was not a matter of intelligence, but rather of concern to national law enforcement .
Election security official went too far for Trump: After the Department of Homeland Security’s cyber agency said the election was the the safest in US history, its director, Chris Krebs, was tweeted sacked for what Trump called a “grossly inaccurate” statement.
“It is perfectly clear to me and to most Americans,” Krebs told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Friday, “that the election is over.”
“We have an elected president in Joe Biden and we have to move forward,” Krebs said. “We have to get over this. The damage that has been done to American confidence in the election – I hope we’re not at a point of no return, but we’re going to have a lot of work to do to restore confidence.”
His dismissal on November 17 was the culmination of two weeks of post-election debunking of Krebs and his cybersecurity and infrastructure security agency of the claims of the president and his supporters. CISA has continued to back down since Krebs was sacked, with two more posts this week on his “Rumor Control” page disputing allegations of ballot destruction and manipulation of voting systems.
“We will continue to post rumor control entries because we believe the situation warrants it and where we can actually make an impact,” CISA new acting director Brandon Wales said Thursday “until the end of this cycle . “
‘Confusing’ and ‘insulting’
Some of the administration officials Krebs worked most closely with in the election were more daring in their criticism of the president than others.
Election Assistance Commission Commissioner Ben Hovland called Trump’s claims “puzzling” and “insulting.”
With Trump claiming the voting machines have changed and removed votes for him, the EAC – which tests voting systems – released a statement Thursday that they “ have confidence in the state and local election administrators who organized the 2020 elections, and certified voting systems. by the EAC. “
The country’s top counterespionage official said on Wednesday he was concerned about post-election conspiracy theories, calling the elections “a fundamental basis upon which we have the capacity to live in an incredible democracy.”
Bill Evanina, who briefed the Trump and Biden campaigns on electoral threats, told an Aspen Cyber Summit panel that he was proud of the “unprecedented” cooperation between federal agencies, corporations, technology and social media, which has thwarted foreign attacks.
Creeping conspiracies
Intelligence officials who worked on the election, including the National Security Agency and General Paul Nakasone of the United States Cyber Command, have not and are unlikely to directly denounce the false statements of the President given the sensitivity of their positions and their focus on foreign threats. . But there is nothing but praise from the entire intelligence community for making things smooth.
Krebs, while head of a national agency, had a more direct role in areas where the president pushed conspiracy theories and became a more visible election security spokesperson than most. its national security counterparts.
He and others have denounced the “parody” of election workers across the country now receiving death threats over accusations that the election was rigged, fueled by Trump.
This week, one of Trump’s campaign lawyers said Krebs should be “pulled and quartered” for his comments and “pulled out at dawn and shot.”
Asked about the comment, Evanina said that “it’s just embarrassing me” as a public servant for decades.
“I think it’s totally inappropriate and disappointing for me as an American,” he said. People who work on elections, he added, “should have the ability to do it safely and securely and not be distressed because a party has lost, a party has won.”
[ad_2]
Source link