Trump Campaign Lawyer Resigns from D.C. Journalistic Organization After Saying Ex-Cybersecurity Chief Should Be “Shot”

Joseph diGenova, a lawyer for President Donald Trump’s campaign, has resigned from the Washington, D.C.-based Gridiron Club, a journalistic organization, after he stoked controversy after he said the federal government’s former cybersecurity chief should be “shot.”

“We were dismayed by his comments and we felt that they were, on top of everything else, just antithetical to what the club is about,” said Gridiron Club president Craig Gilbert, who is the Washington bureau chief for The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “It’s a social club — we’re all about fellowship and goodwill.”

Earlier this week, diGenova said Christopher Krebs, the nation’s former federal cybersecurity chief, should be shot for disputing the president’s unfounded claims of voter fraud.

“Anybody who thinks the election went well, like that idiot Krebs who used to be the head of cybersecurity.,” diGenova said during an appearance on “The Howie Carr Show.” “That guy is a class A moron. He should be drawn and quartered. Taken out at dawn and shot.”

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Krebs commented on the controversy during a “Today” show appearance, saying diGenova had used “dangerous language.”

“It’s certainly more dangerous language, more dangerous behavior,” Krebs said.

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

diGenova has claimed his comments were “in jest.”

“I, of course, wish Mr. Krebs no harm. This was hyperbole in a political discourse,” he told The Washington Post, adding that he has no “ill will” toward the Gridiron Club.

“I was happy to be a member,” he added. “It’s their club, and we’re at a strange time in American history, and I guess I was canceled.”

President Donald Trump fired Krebs last month after Krebs pushed back against the president’s claims that the election was fraudulent.

There is no evidence of widespread election fraud.

A recent statement from the federal Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), part of a joint statement from the Election Infrastructure Government Coordinating Council and the Election Infrastructure Sector Coordinating Executive Committees, revealed the agencies found “no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was in any way compromised.” The statement went on to refer to the 2020 general election as “the most secure in American history.”

Alan Herrera

Alan is a writer, editor, and news junkie based in New York.