Category: US Politics

President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he fired Department of Homeland Security’s Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Chris Krebs in a tweet, after Krebs said the 2020 election was the most secure in the nation’s history.

Trump tweeted:

The recent statement by Chris Krebs on the security of the 2020 Election was highly inaccurate, in that there were massive improprieties and fraud – including dead people voting, Poll Watchers not allowed into polling locations, “glitches” in the voting machines which changed votes from Trump to Biden, late voting, and many more. Therefore, effective immediately, Chris Krebs has been terminated as Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

Krebs’ Twitter bio, even after Trump’s tweet at 7:07 p.m. ET, still read: “Director @CISAgov. http://CISA.gov/RumorControl. American voters decide American elections. Likes, retweets, follows ≠ endorsements.”

Krebs’ last tweet came earlier Tuesday, again disputing allegations of any election system manipulation.

Before that, Krebs had issued a number of tweets disputing any suggestions that the presidential election had been compromised in any way.

CISA released a statement on November 12 that said, “The November 3rd election was the most secure in American history. Right now, across the country, election officials are reviewing and double checking the entire election process prior to finalizing the result.”

“There is no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was in any way compromised,” it said, adding:

While we know there are many unfounded claims and opportunities for misinformation about the process of our elections. We can assure you we have the utmost confidence in the security and integrity of our elections, and you should too. When you have questions, turn to elections officials as trusted voices as they administer elections.

The tweets and statement came as the Trump campaign has been disputing election results in several states they say will change the outcome of the election.

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Officials in Wayne County, Michigan, which contains the city of Detroit, refused to certify the results of the Nov. 3 election after local representatives on the Board of Canvassers deadlocked in a 2-2 vote, sending the votes to state authorities for canvassing.

“Based on what I saw and went through in poll books in this canvass, I believe that we do not have complete and accurate information in those poll books,” board chairwoman Monica Palmer, a Republican, said, the Detroit News reported.

Board Vice Chairman Jonathan Kinloch, a Democrat, called the inaction “reckless and irresponsible.”

The Detroit News added:

A county board that fails to canvass within 14 days after the election must give all of its documentation to the Secretary of State’s office and Board of State Canvassers, which then has 10 days to complete the work, canvass and certify the results, according to the board’s canvassing manual.

If the state authorities cannot certify the result, the election and the selection of electors would have to be decided by the Republican-controlled state legislature.

Former Vice President Joe Biden currently leads President Donald Trump by roughly 150,000 votes in the state, over 2.5%. However, Trump led Biden by double digits on Election Day — before massive numbers of mail-in ballots were counted.

There have been various claims of irregularities in Michigan, particularly in Detroit. Some of these date to the August primary election. One eyewitness said that as many as 20,000 unverified absentee ballots were counted during the primary.

The Detroit News observed: “In August, 72% of Detroit’s poll books were found to be out of balance, a condition that precluded them from being used if a recount were requested.”

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). His newest e-book is The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency. His recent book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.

Kyle Olson contributed to this report.

British police busted up a baptism service on Sunday in London for breaching Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s draconian lockdown restrictions.

Police barred the Christan worshipers from entering into The Angel Church in Islington, stationing officers outside the entrance as well as parking two police vans and a car outside the evangelical church.

A Met spokesman said: “Officers explained that due to Covid-19, restrictions are in place preventing gatherings and that financial penalties can be applied if they are breached.”

“The pastor agreed not to proceed with the baptism or the in-person indoor service. A brief socially-distanced outdoor gathering was held instead which was agreed to by officers as a sensible compromise in the circumstances,” the spokesman said per Sky News.

The lead pastor of the church, Regan King (pictured above), said that his decision to hold the service was for “the greater good”.

“This is an essential service that we provide,” King said, adding: “It’s about loving our neighbour, and you can talk with a number of people here who are extremely vulnerable, homeless or on the verge of being very isolated.”

“We were told not to have a baptism and police began to block people from entering the church, so we decided to make other arrangements.”

An attendant of the baptism remarked: “While the restrictions allow people to go to the supermarket to get food, I think there needs to be consideration for spiritual food as well.”

Pastor Regan King (C), of the Angel church in north London, holds a service in near-by Myddelton Square Gardens on November 15, 2020, after coming to an agreement with the police to hold the service outside. – An evangelical church is defying lockdown restrictions to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus covid-19, by holding a public service on Sunday. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP) (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Boris Johnson placed England under a second national lockdown. Under the current coronavirus restrictions, Churches are banned from holding baptism or wedding services.

On Monday, in an open letter to faith leaders in London, Commander Catherine Roper, from the Metropolitan Police Service’s Crime Prevention, Inclusion & Engagement Command called for faith communities to continue abiding by the restrictions on gatherings.

“Upsettingly, however, there have been small pockets where religious venues have breached the regulations, potentially putting people in danger of spreading the virus. This is deeply regrettable and, in the interests of public safety, we have attended those incidents and ensured that crowds are dispersed,” Roper said.

On Friday, a group of over 100 church leaders launched a legal challenge against the British government, calling for the removal of limitations on religious services. The church leaders claim that the restrictions are in violation of Article 9 of the Human Rights Act, which protects religious expression.

The group also claimed that the government has failed to provide evidence that churches or religious gatherings have been responsible for spreading the Chinese virus.

The leader of the legal challenge, Pastor Ade Omooba said: “We have been left with no alternative but to pursue a judicial review on this crucial issue and at this significant moment for the freedom to worship in church in this country.”

A former honorary chaplain to The Queen, Dr Gavin Ashenden added: “This period has been punctuated by attempts by the government to control, restrict and prohibit the actions of Christian worshippers.”

“From the assassination of the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1170 through to the execution of both Protestant and Catholic dissenters in the 16th century, Christians have fought and died for the right to worship and order their spiritual and civic affairs according to their consciences,” Ashenden said.

Follow Kurt Zindulka on Twitter here: @KurtZindulka