“You cannot just revoke the clearance without going through the process, even if you’re the president. The first thing that should happen is there should be a security review, maybe interrogatories, then a statement of reasons, and then you respond to the statement of reasons.”
— Dan Meyer, Equity Partner,
Tully Rinckey PLLC
This adds a layer of complexity to what will likely be a lengthy administrative and legal process facing both Krebs and SentinelOne. “You cannot just revoke the clearance without going through the process, even if you’re the president. The first thing that should happen is there should be a security review, maybe interrogatories, then a statement of reasons, and then you respond to the statement of reasons,” Meyer said. “If you’re a contractor, you can eventually go in front of a judge, have a hearing, and appeal, and the judge makes the final decision on the clearance.”
Retribution for Krebs’ role in vouching for the 2020 election
Chris Krebs, the founding director of CISA who is well-respected among cybersecurity professionals, was fired by Trump in 2020 for vouching for the integrity of the 2020 election, which Trump lost to Joe Biden.
In his order, Trump offers a litany of disjointed allegations against Krebs, whom he calls a “bad faith” actor. He accuses Krebs of denying that the 2020 was rigged, “blinding” the American public about the controversy over Hunter Biden’s laptop, and skewing “the bona fide debate about COVID-19.”