"The November 3rd election was the most secure in American history. Right now, across the country, election officials are reviewing and double checking the entire election process prior to finalizing the result. When states have close elections, many will recount ballots. All of these processes are part of our election infrastructure, and each is . . . adding to the security and resilience of our election results."
— CISA joint statement, November 12, 2020, signed by Chris Krebs and the members of the Election Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center Government Coordinating CouncilTrump created CISA in 2018 — it was signed into law with bipartisan support specifically to protect critical infrastructure, including elections, from cyberattacks. Krebs had been its director since the beginning, serving under Trump. After the 2020 election, when the Trump campaign and allies began making claims of widespread fraud, Krebs and CISA's Election Infrastructure ISAC ran a "Rumor Control" website fact-checking false claims being made about the election's security. This website directly contradicted claims made by the Trump campaign. Trump fired Krebs days after the joint statement was issued.
Trump's firing tweet said: "The recent statement by Chris Krebs on the security of the 2020 Election was highly inaccurate, in that there were massive improprieties and fraud — including dead people voting, Poll Watchers not allowed into polling locations, 'glitches' in the voting machines which changed…" All of these specific claims had been investigated and rejected by election officials, courts, and Krebs's own agency. Krebs later told 60 Minutes: "I know there's an overwhelming amount of evidence that the systems were secure." He later sued Trump after Trump threatened him with prosecution in his second term.
This post distinguishes between documented facts, allegations, and analysis. Where motive, intent, corruption, or illegality remains disputed in the public record, the text attributes that judgment to court findings, official records, direct quotes, or the reporting linked below.
- CISA joint statement — November 12, 2020; "most secure election in American history"; publicly available at CISA.gov and archived.
- Trump firing tweet — November 17, 2020; "highly inaccurate"; archived.
- Krebs 60 Minutes interview — November 29, 2020; "overwhelming amount of evidence that the systems were secure."
- CISA Rumor Control website — documented by Washington Post, AP; directly fact-checked Trump campaign claims about election fraud.