Chris Krebs on what upset him most about firing
Chris Krebs, the former director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency who publicly countered President Trump's claims of election interference, says he regrets not being able to say goodbye to his team before the president fired him. In his first interview since his dismissal, airing Sunday on 60 Minutes, Krebs reiterates that the election process was the most secure in history and that his public firing by America's leader was "not how I wanted to go out."
In an excerpt from the interview that aired on "CBS This Morning," correspondent Scott Pelley reads back to Krebs part of the statement about the security of the election released by Krebs' former agency.
"'The November 3rd election was the most secure in American history... There is no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes or changed votes or was in any way compromised,'" Pelley says.
"Yeah, I stand by that," Krebs says.
"The president tweeted after that statement, quote, 'The recent statement by Chris Krebs on the security of the 2020 election was highly inaccurate in that there were massive improprieties and fraud,'" Pelley continues. "Do you remember what the president said at the end of that tweet?"
"Oh, I was terminated? Is that-- yes. I recall that," Krebs says.
"Were you surprised?" Pelley asks.
"I don't know if I was necessarily surprised. It's not how I wanted to go out. I think I-- the thing that upsets me the most about that is I didn't get a chance to say goodbye to my team. And I'd worked with them for three and a half years, in the trenches. Building an agency, putting CISA on the national stage. And I love that team. And I didn't get a chance to say goodbye, so that's what I'm most upset about," Krebs says.
The interview will air Sunday night on 60 Minutes following NFL coverage on CBS.
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