Trump claims fired cybersecurity expert Chris Krebs was 'excoriated' during his Senate hearing. He wasn't.


President Trump is once again trying to discredit his former cybersecurity expert Christopher Krebs.
After Krebs, who Trump fired last month after he debunked claims and conspiracies voter fraud in 2020 election, testified for the Senate, the president tweeted that Krebs was "excoriated" by Republicans on the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee. But as a publicly available livestream of the hearing made clear, that's just not what happened.
It's true that parts of Krebs' hearing got a little heated, like when committee chair Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.) inflated claims of election fraud and ranking member Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) called him out for "running down a rabbit hole" of "false allegations."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
But the closest thing to an attack on Krebs came when Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said the former official didn't have standing to claim this was "the most secure election in history," at least when it comes to domestic threats to the election. There were claims of fraud spread in Trump supporters' lawsuits, but Attorney General William Barr affirmed they didn't significantly affect the election.
And overall, Krebs spent most of the hearing doing what got him fired: making it clear there was no evidence widespread fraud or illegal voting took place in the 2020 election and altered its results.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
Trump U-turns on weapons to Ukraine
Speed Read Unhappy with Putin, Trump decides the US will go back to arming Ukraine against Russia's attacks
-
Ukraine scrambles as Trump cuts weapons deliveries
Speed Read The halting of weapons shipments was driven by Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby, a Ukraine funding skeptic
-
IAEA: Iran could enrich uranium 'within months'
Speed Read The chief United Nations nuclear inspector, Rafael Grossi, says Iran could be enriching uranium again soon
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?
today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024
-
Iran nukes program set back months, early intel suggests
Speed Read A Pentagon assessment says US bombing of Iranian nuclear sites only set the program back by months, not years. This contradicts President Donald Trump's claim.
-
Trump says Iran and Israel agreed to ceasefire
Speed Read This followed a night of Israeli airstrikes on Tehran and multiple waves of missiles fired by Iran
-
Israel strikes Iran, killing military and nuclear chiefs
Speed Read Israeli officials said the attack was a 'preemptive' strike on Iran's nuclear program
-
Israel deports Thunberg after seizing Gaza aid boat
speed read The Swedish activist was delivering food and medical aid to Palestine, highlighting the growing humanitarian crisis there