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Former election security chief Chris Krebs hints at taking legal action against Trump's campaign lawyer who said he should be 'shot'

Dec 2, 2020, 04:33 IST
Business Insider
Christopher Krebs, former director of the Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, testifies during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on May 14, 2019.Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call
  • Chris Krebs is considering taking legal action against Joe diGenova, a campaign lawyer for President Donald Trump, who said the former cybersecurity official should be "shot."
  • "I've got an exceptional team of lawyers that win in court and I think they're probably going to be busy," Krebs told NBC News.
  • Calling Krebs an "idiot" and a "class-A moron," diGenova said on Monday that "he should be drawn and quartered. Taken out at dawn and shot."
  • DiGenova walked back his comments on Tuesday, saying, "It was obvious that my remarks were sarcastic and made in jest."
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Chris Krebs, the US's former cybersecurity chief, is considering taking legal action against one of President Donald Trump's campaign lawyers who said he should be "shot."

"It's certainly more dangerous language, more dangerous behavior," Krebs said in an NBC News interview on Tuesday, referring to comments made by Trump's attorney, Joe diGenova. "And the way I look at it is that we're a nation of laws and I plan to take advantage of those laws. I've got an exceptional team of lawyers that win in court and I think they're probably going to be busy."

Trump fired Krebs from his role as director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency on November 17, after the agency released a statement that defied the president's claims of voter fraud and said that the 2020 election "was the most secure in American history."

DiGenova, who serves on Trump's legal team fighting the election results, targeted Krebs during an episode of the "Howie Carr Show" on Monday.

"Anybody who thinks the election went well, like that idiot Krebs who used to be the head of cybersecurity, that guy is a class-A moron," diGenova said. "He should be drawn and quartered. Taken out at dawn and shot."

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Asked by Savannah Guthrie, the host of NBC's "Today" show, whether he would pursue legal action against the comments, Krebs said on Tuesday: "We're taking a look at all our available opportunities."

"I'm not going to give them the benefit of knowing how I'm reacting to this," he added. "They can know that there are things coming, though."

Meanwhile, DiGenova walked back his remarks and claimed that he was joking.

"For anyone listening to the Howie Carr Show, it was obvious that my remarks were sarcastic and made in jest," diGenova said in a statement, according to CNN. "I, of course, wish Mr. Krebs no harm. This was hyperbole in a political discourse."

DiGenova appeared at a November 19 news conference alongside Trump's other attorneys, Rudy Giuliani and Jenna Ellis, who continue to staunchly defend the president's baseless allegations of a rigged election. After losing multiple challenges in the courts, Trump's legal team traveled to Arizona and Pennsylvania in an attempt to push their Republican-led state legislatures to overturn the election results. The six battleground states that determined the election outcome — Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Nevada — have already certified President-elect Joe Biden as the victor.

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