Trump campaign lawyer Joe DiGenova said during an appearance on Newsmax on Monday that a recently fired top election official should be shot.
DiGenova, who made the remarks during an appearance on the “Howie Carr Show,” was talking about Chris Krebs, the former head of U.S. cybersecurity. The remarks were widely condemned on social media.
“Anybody who thinks the election went well, like that idiot Krebs who used to be the head of cybersecurity,” said DiGenova, “that guy is a class A moron. He should be drawn and quartered. Taken out at dawn and shot.”
WATCH:
VIDEO of former U.S. Attorney Joe diGenova, who is now a member of the Trump legal team, saying on Newsmax that former Trump cybersecurity chief Chris Krebs “should be drawn and quartered. Taken out at dawn and shot.” pic.twitter.com/hbJUy76ixQ
— Daniel Chaitin (@danielchaitin7) December 1, 2020
“Trump fired Krebs nearly two weeks ago after the former director of the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency attested that the 2020 elections were among the safest in history,” Politico reported. “The president, whose personnel decisions have a record of being weighted by his perception of loyalty, fired Krebs by tweet, insisting that the election had been stolen from him.”
“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,” Trump claimed in a series of tweets announcing the Krebs’ firing. “Therefore, effective immediately, Chris Krebs has been terminated as Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.”
…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.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 18, 2020
Trump’s decision to terminate Krebs came after Krebs released a statement about the 2020 elections, saying that they were secure.
The statement was a joint statement made by the members of Election Infrastructure Government Coordinating Council (GCC) Executive Committee – Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Assistant Director Bob Kolasky, U.S. Election Assistance Commission Chair Benjamin Hovland, National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) President Maggie Toulouse Oliver, National Association of State Election Directors (NASED) President Lori Augino, and Escambia County (Florida) Supervisor of Elections David Stafford – and the members of the Election Infrastructure Sector Coordinating Council (SCC) – Chair Brian Hancock (Unisyn Voting Solutions), Vice Chair Sam Derheimer (Hart InterCivic), Chris Wlaschin (Election Systems & Software), Ericka Haas (Electronic Registration Information Center), and Maria Bianchi (Democracy Works).
The statement said [emphasis original]:
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.
When states have close elections, many will recount ballots. All of the states with close results in the 2020 presidential race have paper records of each vote, allowing the ability to go back and count each ballot if necessary. This is an added benefit for security and resilience. This process allows for the identification and correction of any mistakes or errors. There is no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was in any way compromised.
Other security measures like pre-election testing, state certification of voting equipment, and the U.S. Election Assistance Commission’s (EAC) certification of voting equipment help to build additional confidence in the voting systems used in 2020.
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.
This report has been updated to include additional background information.