Chuck Darwin<p>Donald Trump on Wednesday signed directives targeting two former government officials who criticized him during his first term, </p><p>calling one of them a traitor and saying they should be investigated.</p><p>One of Trump's directives named <a href="https://c.im/tags/Christopher" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Christopher</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/Krebs" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Krebs</span></a>, his former cybersecurity chief, and said any security clearance he has would be revoked.</p><p>A second presidential memorandum targeted <a href="https://c.im/tags/Miles" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Miles</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/Taylor" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Taylor</span></a>, who was a top official at the Department of Homeland Security during Trump's first term <br>and anonymously wrote a 2019 book criticizing the then-president.</p><p>The order stripped Taylor of any security clearance he might have and ordered the Justice Department to investigate him.</p><p>"I think it's a very important case, <br>and I think he's guilty of treason, <br>if you want to know the truth, but we'll find out," <br>said Trump as he signed the order on Taylor.</p><p>In response, Taylor said via text message: <br>"I said this would happen. Dissent isn’t unlawful. It certainly isn’t treasonous. <br>America is headed down a dark path."</p><p>Krebs had questioned Trump's claims of election fraud in the 2020 presidential election in which he lost to Democrat Joe Biden.</p><p>The order signed on Wednesday called for a review of Krebs' activities as a government employee, <br>including his leadership of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, <br>a White House fact sheet said.</p><p>"We're going to find out about this guy too because this guy is a wise guy," said Trump, <br>calling Krebs "a disgrace."</p><p>Krebs did not immediately reply to a request for comment.</p><p>Trump fired Krebs in a November 17, 2020, tweet, five days after CISA posted a statement saying the 2020 election was <br>"the most secure in American history." </p><p>Trump has falsely claimed that Biden's win resulted from fraud.</p><p>After leaving government, <br>Krebs co-founded the Krebs Stamos Group, a cybersecurity consultancy, <br>along with former Facebook Chief Security Officer Alex Stamos.</p><p>Cybersecurity firm SentinelOne acquired the consultancy in November 2023, <br>and Krebs became SentinelOne's chief intelligence and public policy officer.</p><p>Trump's order said security clearances for individuals at Sentinel One would also be revoked pending review. </p><p>A spokesperson for SentinelOne declined to comment.<br><a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-signs-orders-targeting-two-ex-officials-who-criticized-him-2025-04-09/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">reuters.com/world/us/trump-sig</span><span class="invisible">ns-orders-targeting-two-ex-officials-who-criticized-him-2025-04-09/</span></a></p>