Mnuchin refuses to condemn Trump’s election lie, Cybereason backs him



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Steven mnuchin

Kevin Dietsch | Getty Images

Cybereason CEO sits alongside Steven Mnuchin, whose company has invested in the business, after Trump’s former Treasury Secretary refused to admit ex-President Donald Trump was spreading a lie about rigging. 2020 elections.

In an interview with CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Wednesday morning, Mnuchin was repeatedly asked to admit that Trump was lying about the 2020 election. Each time he dodged the question, attempting to change the subject on the investment of his company in the Israeli cybersecurity company.

“I am focused on our investments, on the future of our business,” Mnuchin said. He said he stayed out of the 2020 campaign and its aftermath.

After being asked one last time about Trump’s electoral lie, he said he believed American democracy worked – and that he hoped Trump would consider running for re-election.

“We have a great democracy. It works. It worked. I hope the president [Trump] is planning to run on the road again, ”said Mnuchin, a wealthy businessman, investor and cinema financier.

Trump has continued to push what has come to be known as “the big lie” in statements to the media and in interviews with sympathetic television hosts, such as Maria Bartiromo of Fox Business.

The House of Representatives, including several members of Republican Congress, voted to impeach Trump for stoking the deadly Jan.6 riot on Capitol Hill, which followed a “Stop the Steal” rally, the president headlined of the time. The pro-Trump invaders – some of whom chanted “Hang Mike Pence,” who was vice president – delayed congressional certification of Joe Biden’s election victory.

The Senate acquitted Trump after he stepped down, although several GOP senators voted in favor of the conviction.

Mnuchin was joined for the “Squawk Box” interview with Cybereason CEO Lior Div, announcing that the former Treasury Secretary’s new private equity firm was leading a $ 275 million investment in the company.

Div suggested in a follow-up statement to CNBC that Mnuchin’s responses were misinterpreted and that his position would have no bearing on the company’s business relationship with the former Treasury Secretary’s office, Liberty Strategic Capital.

“With all due respect, I don’t think that’s what the secretary said and, whatever the case, it certainly doesn’t affect his relationship with Cybereason,” Div said in a statement provided to CNBC by a company spokesperson on Wednesday.

“We have no political motivation and chose to work with Liberty because of their massive network and the understanding of financial and government markets that Secretary Mnuchin and General Dunford bring to Cybereason. For example, the executive order issued by the The Biden administration has accelerated the importance of EDR solutions like ours in the public market, and Liberty has the connections to help accelerate our go-to-market strategy in the federal sector. “

A Cybereason spokesperson did not respond to requests for further comment.

The statement is the latest example of how companies plan to speak out on political issues, especially if it concerns their investors and employees.

After the passage of laws deemed restrictive by critics in Georgia, companies have felt compelled to respond. Several did, including Major League Baseball, which moved its all-star game from Georgia to Colorado.

In a recent example of the push, Toyota stopped giving campaign contributions to Republican lawmakers who challenged the election results.

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