Former top U.S. cybersecurity official Chris Krebs says there was no evidence of voting machines being manipulated in the 2020 presidential election.
Krebs, who was recently “terminated” by President Donald Trump, was asked about the allegations made by Trump’s re-election team that there was voter fraud in the election. CBS News’ Scott Pelley noted allegations of foreign interference.
Krebs told Pelley, “So all the votes — all votes in the United States of America are counted in the United States of America. I don’t — I don’t understand this claim. All votes in the United States of America are counted in the United States of America. Period.”
When asked about the allegation that voting machines were “corrupted by mysterious actors in Venezuela,” Krebs responded, “So again, there’s no evidence that any machine that I’m aware of has been manipulated by a foreign power. Period.”
Krebs was previously heading the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
He added, “We can go on and on with all the farcical claims alleging interference in the 2020 election, but the proof is in the ballots.”
“The recounts are consistent with the initial count, and to me, that’s further evidence, that’s confirmation that the systems used in the 2020 election performed as expected, and the American people should have 100% confidence in their vote.”
See Kreb’s comments below:
There’s no evidence that voting machines were manipulated by foreign actors says Chris Krebs, the former director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, in his first interview since President Trump fired him.
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) November 27, 2020
Sunday, on 60 Minutes. https://t.co/hGN4sWWZfE pic.twitter.com/1YTjmbcPOb
When Trump made known on Twitter that he fired Krebs, he accused the U.S. top election cybersecurity official of making a “highly inaccurate” statement when he said there “is no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was in any way compromised.”
Pelley also noted Trump’s tweet during the “60 Minutes” interview, “The recent statement by Chris Krebs on the security of the 2020 election was highly inaccurate in that there were massive improprieties and fraud.”
He asked Krebs, “Do you remember what the president said at the end of that tweet?” Krebs responded, “Oh, I was terminated? Yes. I recall that.”
When he was asked if he was surprised by Trump firing him, Krebs said, “I don’t know if I was necessarily surprised. It’s not how I wanted to go out.”
Some Republican Congress members came out in support of Krebs after Trump’s decision to fire him, including Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), who said, “Chris Krebs did a really good job — as state election officials all across the nation will tell you — and he obviously should not be fired.”
