Chris Krebs has been called by Democrats who treated the hearing with contempt.
Chris Krebs, the former head of the Department of Homeland Security’s cybersecurity agency – fired by President Donald Trump after stating there was no evidence of electoral fraud – will testify Wednesday before a GOP-controlled senate committee claiming the investigation should continue make unfounded claims about the 2020 election.
The “Investigation into 2020 Election Irregularities” hearing was announced last week by Ron Johnson, chairman of the Senate for Homeland Security and Government Affairs, and received immediate backlash from Democrats who argued that the holding of a committee to challenge the election results. , would be harmful to democracy.
The hearing comes just a day after Senate majority group leader Mitch McConnell first publicly stated that Joe Biden is president-elect, with many Republicans behind him.
Krebs, who came to the public’s attention after Trump fired him via tweet for claiming the November election was the “safest in US history,” was called as a witness by the committee’s top Democrat Senator Gary Peters. , D-Mich.
“I am shocked by the choice of many of my colleagues to help spread the president’s lies and false stories about the outcome of the 2020 election,” Peters said in a statement. “This is not just any party political issue – repeating these falsehoods erodes public confidence in these fair and free elections, lays the foundation for weakening public confidence in future elections, encourages our opponents and undermines our democracy and the peaceful transition of force. “
Senate Leader Chuck Schumer, who called on Johnson and Senate Leader Mitch McConnell to cancel the committee meeting last week, citing concern that questioning the election results would be detrimental to democracy.
“To use a senate committee to spread misinformation about our own elections is incomprehensible,” Schumer said last week.
Johnson stands at his hearing and is calling famed attorney and former special counsel Ken Starr, who defended Trump at the impeachment hearing in January, to join the panel on Wednesday.
In a statement scheduling the hearing last week, Johnson said that while he acknowledges that issues related to the integrity of the election are raised in court, many Americans do not trust that the 2020 election results were “legitimate” .
“That is not a sustainable situation for our country,” Johnson wrote. “The only way to resolve suspicions is with full transparency and public awareness.”
There is no evidence of widespread voter fraud. Trump’s legal team has filed dozens of legal proceedings in court, none of which have succeeded so far.
In the time since the Electoral College certified Biden’s victories, many Republicans have publicly acknowledged Biden’s victory. Even Johnson himself reportedly admitted on Tuesday that the election was all but settled during an interview with a local Wisconsin reporter.
Johnson said “yes” when asked if the election was legitimate, according to the local sales outlet. Johnson argued there were irregularities, but nothing that could destroy the election results.
At least one Republican on the committee has said he will not attend the hearing: Senator Mitt Romney, R-Utah.
“I’m not going there,” Romney said on CNN on Tuesday. “I don’t think it’s productive at this stage.”