In a Thursday tweet, Christopher Krebs - until Thursday the head of the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISC) - described the Thursday press conference held by Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani and other Republicans as some of the “most dangerous" television in US history.
“That press conference was the most dangerous 1 hr 45 minutes of television in American history. And possibly the craziest. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you’re lucky,” he tweeted.
That press conference was the most dangerous 1hr 45 minutes of television in American history. And possibly the craziest. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you’re lucky.
— Chris Krebs (@C_C_Krebs) November 19, 2020
Krebs’ tweet references a press conference held by members of Trump’s legal team at the Republican National Committee headquarters in Washington DC on Thursday. During the press conference, GOP members continued to claim that voter fraud, corrupted voting machines and election interference impacted the election's projected results.
"I know crimes, I can smell them. You don’t have to smell this one, I can prove it to you, 18 different ways. I can prove to you that he won, Pennsylvania, by 300,000 votes. I can prove to you that he won Michigan, probably 50,000 votes," Giuliani declared during the conference, while promising additional lawsuits in Georgia, Arizona and potentially New Mexico, NBC News reported.
Trump announced Krebs’ firing in a Thursday tweet, suggesting that Krebs’ assertion that the election was secure was “highly inaccurate”, and claiming “massive improprieties and fraud” in the election.
...votes from Trump to Biden, late voting, and many more. Therefore, effective immediately, Chris Krebs has been terminated as Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 18, 2020
The claims by Trump and his legal team continue after the CISC on November released a statement calling the election “the most secure in American history” and stating that there “is no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was in any way compromised.”
“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. When you have questions, turn to elections officials as trusted voices as they administer elections,” the statement added.
During October and November, there have emerged unsubstantiated claims of ballots found in drainage ditches in Pennsylvania, ballots in Phoenix marked with sharpies being disqualified, and thousands of voters in Michigan casting ballots under deceased people's names. Those claims have been called into question.
In a Friday interview with Fox News' Laura Ingraham, a person claiming to be a Nevada poll worker and requesting anonymity stated without providing evidence that he or she had witnessed voting fraud at a polling location.
“I’m not going to say which party does it but thousands of votes are gathered, and they come in, and then they’re dumped in a location, and then all of a sudden you lose elections that you think you’re going to win,” the anonymous person claimed.
Election officials from both political parties as well as international observers have confirmed that there have been no serious irregularities in the 2020 US presidential election.
