Christopher Krebs, the former U.S. cybersecurity official whom President Trump fired recently for rejecting his claims of election interference, stood by his assessment in an interview out Friday.
Mr. Krebs, who served as the first director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, or CISA, until he was fired Nov. 17, discussed his termination with CBS for its “60 Minutes” program.
Billed as his first interview since being terminated over Twitter, Mr. Krebs said he still believes in his assessment about the security of the presidential race that soon led to him losing his job.
Mr. Trump has made repeated unproven claims of election fraud in the aftermath of the race being called for Democratic challenger Joseph R. Biden, who is accordingly set to take his place on Jan. 20.
CISA subsequently touted a joint statement it signed on Nov. 12 that called the election “the most secure in American history” and said “no evidence” existed of any voting systems being compromised.
Mr. Trump responded the following week by saying the joint statement shared by CISA was “highly inaccurate” and that he was accordingly terminating Mr. Krebs effective immediately.
Speaking to CBS, Mr. Krebs maintains the race was the most secure in U.S. history.
“Yeah, I stand by that,” Mr. Krebs told CBS.
A brief excerpt from the interview was published online ahead of a longer version airing on the program Sunday.
Discussing for the first time his firing, which happened amid public reports about his exit from CISA being imminent, Mr. Krebs said he was not exactly surprised by upset about how it happened.
“It’s not how I wanted to go out,” said Mr. Krebs. “I think I — the thing that upsets me the most about that is I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to my team. And I’d worked with them for three and a half years, in the trenches.
Building an agency, putting CISA on the national stage. And I love that team. And I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye, so that’s what I’m most upset about.”
The statement that Mr. Trump cited in announcing his decision to fire Mr. Krebs was signed by CISA’s assistant director and other members of the Election Infrastructure Government Coordinating Council.
“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,” they said in the statement. “When you have questions, turn to elections officials as trusted voices as they administer elections.”
Mr. Trump has cited various unproven claims and conspiracy theories to explain his projected loss to Mr. Biden. The president has failed so far to offer any evidence of rampant fraud, however.
