Former cybersecurity chief hints at legal action against Trump attorney who said he should be ‘shot’

Former federal cybersecurity chief Christopher Krebs, who was fired last month for contradicting President Donald Trump’s election-related conspiracy theories, suggested Tuesday that he may pursue legal action against a Trump campaign attorney who said he should be “shot.”

“It’s certainly more dangerous language, more dangerous behavior,” Krebs told NBC’s “Today” show, referring to the incendiary remarks from Joe DiGenova — one of the lawyers pursuing the president’s effort to overturn the results of the election.

“The way I look at it is that we’re a nation of laws, and I plan to take advantage of those laws,” Krebs said. “I’ve got an exceptional team of lawyers that win in court, and I think they’re probably going to be busy.”

Pressed on whether comments such as DiGenova’s could be met with legal action, Krebs replied: “We’re taking a look at all our available opportunities.”

DiGenova’s attack against Krebs came on a Monday episode of the “The Howie Carr Show,” during which he criticized the former director of the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency for concluding that the election was conducted securely.

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

Trump ousted Krebs last month after his agency, CISA, shared a statement issued by a group of federal officials, election supervisors and voting technology vendors — including a CISA representative — deeming the 2020 election to be the “most secure” in U.S. history.

In the days before his dismissal, Krebs had privately expressed that he expected to be fired by the White House because of his bid to debunk disinformation being spread, in large part, by Trump and other Republicans.

Asked Tuesday whether he worried about his own safety in the wake of DiGenova’s attack and others, Krebs said he was “not going to give them the benefit of knowing how I’m reacting to this. They can know that there are things coming, though.”