US president Donald Trump signed two memoranda on Wednesday directing the justice department to investigate former officials Miles Taylor and Chris Krebs, while also targeting the law firm Susman Godfrey involved in litigation against his allies.
The move marks a sharp escalation in Trump’s campaign to punish critics from his first term. Taylor and Krebs had both publicly criticised Trump, with Taylor even authoring an anonymous 2018 op-ed.
Both Taylor and Krebs served in Trump’s first term and later became his outspoken critics. Trump also revoked any remaining security clearances for the two.
Miles Taylor, a former official at the department of homeland security, became widely known after he admitted to writing a 2018 anonymous op-ed in The New York Times. The piece described internal efforts to resist Trump’s decisions, calling some of them dangerous. Taylor also published a book under the pen name “Anonymous” and revealed his identity in 2020. On Wednesday, Trump accused him of treason and spying.

Taylor responded on X, saying, “Dissent isn’t unlawful. It certainly isn’t treasonous. America is headed down a dark path.”
Chris Krebs, who led the cybersecurity and infrastructure security agency, was fired by Trump after he said the 2020 election was secure. Krebs had publicly contradicted Trump’s claims of election fraud.
Susman Godfrey, the law firm Trump targeted, had represented Dominion Voting Systems in its defamation lawsuit against Fox News. That case ended in a nearly $800 million settlement. The new order bars the firm from using federal facilities or resources.
Trump has previously taken similar actions against firms and individuals, some of which are being challenged in court.
With inputs from agencies.