Trump ‘Without Question’ Trying to Overhaul Election System, Warns His Ex-Cybersecurity Head
Christopher Krebs, Donald Trump's ex-cybersecurity chief, said that the former president is trying to overhaul the U.S. election system.
"Without question. It's happening at four different levels, both state legislatures and state elected officials, some of the folks running for secretary of state in Arizona and Georgia," he said during an appearance on CBS News' Face the Nation Sunday. "But we're also seeing [it] in the U.S. Congress."
Krebs also noted that GOP leaders no longer have power over the party's voter base.
"They [Republicans] have activated and lost control of their voting base, the people that are going to put them in power," he said.
.@C_C_Krebs, a self-described lifelong republican, tells @margbrennan GOP is "afraid to speak up because they're afraid the former president is going to try to primary them."
Adds, "this is a death spiral. They've lost control and they don't have the ability to rein it back in." pic.twitter.com/APqsxohnFu
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) October 10, 2021
According to Krebs, Republican leaders are reluctant to admit that President Joe Biden won the 2020 election in fear that Trump will "try to primary them."
"The minority whip [Rep. Steve Scalise] was on Fox News this morning with Chris Wallace and he was talking about how the election was effectively stolen and he will not admit that [President] Biden won," he said. "It's gotten out of control. So again, this is a death spiral. They've lost control and they don't have the ability to rein it back in."
During an interview on Sunday on Fox News, anchor Chris Wallace asked Louisiana Republican Rep. Scalise to weigh in on Trump's allegation of election fraud and whether he thought the 2020 election was "stolen." Scalise claimed that "a number of states" didn't comply with laws that regulate elections and that they didn't follow the Constitution.
Newsweek contacted Trump's representatives and Scalise's office for comments but didn't hear back in time for publishing.
In November 2020, Trump fired Krebs from his position with the Department of Homeland Security for speaking against claims of election fraud. At the time, Krebs described the election as "the most secure in American history."
Around a month later, Krebs sued Trump campaign lawyer Joe DiGenova for defamation and emotional distress. His lawsuit came after DiGenova called for his execution during an appearance on Newsmax in November. The lawyer said at the time that Krebs "should be drawn and quartered."
Photo by Greg Nash-Pool/Getty Images/The Norwegian Nobel Institute
In July, Krebs pointed out that misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine was similar to that surrounding the 2020 presidential election.
"What we are seeing here is an ecosystem of information purveyors. Some of this is politically motivated. Some of it is the anti-vax community. Some of it is profiteering. And I tend to believe that there's a lot of that going on here," he said then.
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