President Donald Trump's firing of Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Director Christopher Krebs will affect far more than the ongoing arguments about the results of the presidential election, former CIA Director John Brennan said Wednesday.
"I think it's very troubling," Brennan told MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell. "Chris Krebs carried out his responsibilities quite capably. Also, I think he showed great leadership in terms of trying to debunk and refute all the specious allegations out there about fraudulent activity during this election, at least from the computer and technical side."
Krebs, who was the top cybersecurity official in the Department of Homeland Security, was fired after saying the recent election was the "most secure" in history, which went against Trump's claims of voter fraud.
"But this is also very disruptive of the U.S. government's cybersecurity activities because our cybersecurity vigilance should not end with the election," said Brennan. "Chris Krebs and his organization were working very well with the NSA and other elements of the intelligence community to try to keep our technical infrastructure safe from these types of foreign intrusions that could do great damage to us, not just politically but also economically."
Brennan also slammed Trump's call this week to pull troops from Afghanistan and Iraq, because he made the move without briefing presumptive presidential elect Joe Biden or consulting key allies that have troops on the ground in those countries.
"This is consistent with what his behavior has been in the past, which has been rash and impulsive," said Brennan.
He said he also doesn't know how many of those who are left behind will be conducting "worthwhile missions" that would make a difference for Afghanistan or Iraq.
"Unfortunately, the way this White House operates, decides to move forward with decisions and actions before thoroughly discussing and reviewing those implications of such actions," said Brennan. "I'm hoping the congressional committees will be asking for those explanations, because, on the face of it, it looks like this is just, again, another rash decision by Donald Trump to try to wield the authority of the president, however he may deem fit."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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