/https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/5fc502d0997be68e251cb6d1/0x0.jpg?cropX1=0&cropX2=6720&cropY1=433&cropY2=4213&w=1200&resize=1200,675&ssl=1 "‘The Proof Is In The Ballots’: Fired U.S. Cyber Security Director Debunks Trump’s Voter Fraud Claims")
Topline
Chris Krebs, the former head of the cybersecurity agency overseeing critical election infrastructure who was fired unceremoniously by President Trump earlier this month after defending the integrity of the 2020 election, slammed continued attacks coming from the Trump camp as a “dangerous” attempt to undermine democracy, insisting that the American people should have “100% confidence” in the election’s results.
“We did it right,” said Chris Krebs, a lifelong Republican, who Trump fired from his position … [+]
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Key Facts
“There is no foreign power that is flipping votes, there is no domestic actor flipping votes,” said Krebs during a Sunday evening interview on CBS’ “60 Minutes”: “We did it right … This was a secure election.”
Krebs, a lifelong Republican appointed by Trump to run the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) two years ago, was fired by the president on Twitter after labeling the election the “most secure in American history.”
Krebs told CBS that he stands by his claim, categorically debunking the president’s garbled voter fraud allegations—which range from claims of dead people casting ballots to votes being “deleted” or “switched” by election technology provider Dominion Voting Systems—as “farcical.”
Krebs described what he’s seen since the election as upsetting, pointing to a 90-minute press conference held by Trump’s attorney Rudy Giuliani on Nov. 19 as “an apparent attempt to undermine confidence in the election, to confuse people, to scare people.”
The former CISA director also denounced attacks and death threats against election officials resulting from the president’s allegations as a “travesty,” labeling election workers as “real patriots” for standing up to Trump.
Crucial Quote
“I have confidence in the security of this election because I know the work that we’ve done for four years,” said Krebs. “I know that any attacks on the election were not successful.”
Chief Critic
After the interview aired on Sunday evening, Trump took to Twitter to criticize “60 Minutes’” producers for not reaching out to the White House for a comment. The show’s media representative did not immediately confirm this claim with Forbes. “Our 2020 Election, from poorly rated Dominion to a country FLOODED with unaccounted for mail-in ballots, was probably our last secure EVER!” the president wrote.
Key Background
Trump last week finally allowed his administration to cooperate with the transition of power to President-elect Joe Biden. Nonetheless, the president has continued to contest the outcome of the election on social media and in the courts, where the vast majority of his lawsuits have failed. Election officials across the country have echoed Krebs’ assurance that the vote was safe from foreign and domestic interference and recounts in battleground states haven’t unearthed any evidence to support the president’s claims. A recount in Wisconsin that cost the Trump campaign $3 million concluded Sunday by netting a total of 87 votes for Biden in two of the state’s counties that officials say were fraud-free. A second recount in Georgia, which follows a hand recount and audit that turned up no instances of voter fraud, is currently underway. As Inauguration Day nears, the president is running out of avenues to continue challenging the election.
Further Reading
“Trump Claims FBI And Justice Department May Have Helped Rig Election” (Forbes)
“All The Elections Trump Has Claimed Were Stolen Through Voter Fraud” (Forbes)
“‘I’m Sick Of It’: GOP Rep. Denver Riggleman Unloads On Republican Colleagues, Trump” (Forbes)
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