Ex-DHS Staffer Chris Krebs Sues Trump Lawyer Who Said He Should Be Shot

Topline

Former U.S. cybersecurity director Chris Krebs, who was fired by President Trump after calling the 2020 election “the safest in history,” has filed a lawsuit against the Trump campaign lawyer who called for his execution, accusing members of the president’s legal team of engaging in a “calculated and pernicious conspiracy” to defame and injure Republicans defending the election. 

Key Facts

In the lawsuit—filed Tuesday by the firm Walden, Macht & Haran in Maryland—Krebs, a lifelong Republican, accuses Joe diGenova and the Trump campaign of defamation and the infliction of emotional distress. 

diGenova, a former U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, called for Krebs’ execution during an interview with conservative cable network Newsmax late last month, saying that Krebs should be “drawn and quartered” and “taken out at dawn and shot” for repeatedly labeling the 2020 election as secure. 

Krebs is seeking monetary damages and for the video to be removed from Newsmax’s archives, with the lawsuit noting that his family has been forced to leave their home and Krebs’ children are terrified because of an onslaught of death threats in which Krebs is accused of being a traitor. 

But more than that, the lawsuit accuses the Trump campaign and Newsmax of engaging in a “calculated and pernicious conspiracy” that’s harmed Republicans like himself, Gov. Doug Ducey of Arizona and Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia, who have refused to comply with Trump’s requests to overturn the election’s results in their states, while boosting ratings for Newsmax and fundraising for Trump’s campaign.

Chief Critic 

“Newsmax, the campaign and diGenova have a symbiotic relationship,” says the lawsuit. “Newsmax disseminated and amplifies the campaign’s and diGenova’s attacks on perceived political threats and allegations of election stealing, which pleases viewers, prompts endorsements from President Trump, increases ratings, supports the political goals of the campaign, and helps raise more money from duped supporters.” 

Crucial Quote 

In an interview with The New York Times about the lawsuit, Krebs said that the lawsuit was filed to encourage other members of the Republican party to stand up against Trump. “We need to make it clear that these behaviors are not acceptable in a civil society,” said Krebs.  

Key Background

Krebs was appointed by Trump in 2018 to head the newly-formed Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency. After the president announced his dismissal in a tweet, several Senate Republicans broke with Trump and vouched for Krebs’ work. Despite the threat from diGenova, which the lawyer has since dismissed as a joke, Krebs has doubled down on his defense of the election, condemning voter fraud claims coming from Trump as “upsetting” and “an apparent attempt to undermine confidence in the election, to confuse people, to scare people” in an interview with CBS’s 60 Minutes the next day. 

Further Reading 

“Ex-DHS Staffer Chris Krebs Considering Legal Action After Trump Lawyer Calls For His Execution” (Forbes) 

“Who Is Joe diGenova, The Trump Lawyer Who Called For Chris Krebs’ Execution?” (Forbes)

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