‘Treason’: Trump Orders Investigations Into Former Officials Who Led ‘Resistance’

On Wednesday, former President Donald Trump rescinded the security clearances of ex-CISA Director Chris Krebs and former DHS official Miles Taylor, while simultaneously ordering investigations into their actions during his administration.

During a signing session in the Oval Office, Trump authorized a series of executive orders and directives, including a Presidential Memorandum addressing Krebs. According to the memorandum, it “addresses his access to existing government clearances.”

Will Scharf, the White House staff secretary, clarified that the directive instructs the Department of Justice (DOJ) and “other aspects” of the federal government to “investigate some of the malign acts” allegedly committed by Krebs while serving as director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

“This is a man who weaponized his position against free speech in the election context, in the context of COVID-19,” Scharf emphasized. “This is another, similar Presidential Memorandum to the one you just signed. It addresses his access to government existing clearances he might have, and further instructs your Department of Justice, other aspects of your government, to investigate some of the malign acts that he participated in while he was still head of CISA.”

Krebs drew significant controversy after the 2020 election when he publicly declared the election was “the most secure in American history,” despite widespread concerns and calls for deeper investigations into alleged irregularities. Trump ultimately fired Krebs, later labeling him a “fraud” and a “disgrace.”

“I don’t know that I met him. I’m sure I met him, but I didn’t know him, and he came out right after the election — which was a rigged election, a badly rigged election. We did phenomenally in that election,” Trump said at the signing event.

According to a fact sheet released by the White House, the memorandum mandates that “the head of every federal agency immediately revoke any active security clearance held by Krebs.” It also extends to “any active security clearance held by individuals and entities associated with Krebs, including SentinelOne,” which will be suspended pending a review to determine if such clearances serve the “national interest.”

The order similarly targets Miles Taylor, ordering the DOJ to investigate him, especially concerning any security clearances tied to his position at the University of Pennsylvania, where he currently lectures. The directive calls for a review of whether those clearances are “consistent with national interest.”

Taylor, known for penning a 2018 New York Times op-ed under the pseudonym "anonymous" as a “senior administration official,” had claimed to be part of a group internally “resisting” Trump’s agenda. His identity was revealed in 2020, and he later joined CNN as a political commentator.

Commenting on Taylor, Trump remarked, “I think he’s guilty of treason if you want to know the truth,” as he formalized the action against him.

Separately, election security remains a major concern. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard revealed during a White House Cabinet meeting on Thursday that U.S. intelligence agencies have collected “evidence” showing vulnerabilities in electronic voting systems, suggesting they could be hacked to “manipulate” election results.

“We’ve got a long list of things that we’re investigating. We have the best of the best going after this. Election integrity being one of them. We have evidence of how these electronic voting systems have been vulnerable to hackers for a very long time and vulnerable to exploitation to manipulate the results of the votes being cast,” Gabbard stated.