According to those with knowledge of the situation, the special counsel’s office has enquired about a briefing held at the White House on February 14, 2020, during which federal authorities reassured then-President Donald Trump of the security and integrity of the American electoral process.
Three individuals claimed that they were questioned by the special counsel’s office over the meeting with Trump in the White House. At the White House meeting, two of those sources were present.
The FBI, Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) were among the agencies represented at the briefing that explained why it is so difficult for fraud or hacking to alter the outcome of a U.S. election.
According to two people with knowledge of the conversation, Trump was open to the message and expressed interest in holding a news conference on the subject, though he never did. The two sources claimed that the Special Counsel’s office, which is looking into attempts to rig the 2020 election, has been speaking with them since May.
In his role as CISA’s director, Chris Krebs concentrated on the nation’s election infrastructure and measures to thwart any meddling or hacking by foreign governments. While he was in charge, the organization launched a “rumor control” website that disproved some of the untrue conspiracy theories about the 2020 election that Trump circulated after losing.
Krebs was questioned by the special counsel’s office, a person with knowledge of the situation said.
Because Krebs requested that the voting systems be secured, Krebs and Trump notably disagreed after the 2020 election. The CISA and other election security organizations released a statement on November 12, 2020, referring to the election as “the most secure in American history.”
The statement read, “There is no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was compromised in any way.”
After five days, Trump dismissed Krebs by tweet.
The briefing occurred a day after Shelby Pierson, the director of election security for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), informed the House Intelligence Committee that Russia supported Trump in the 2020 presidential election.
