A senior administration official told CNN on Sunday that it was only after President Joe Biden took office that it was found that three Chinese spy balloons had flown over the continental United States during the Trump administration. However, the official did not specify when or how the occurrences were found.
The individual stated that briefings on the Chinese surveillance operation, which the Biden administration believes has been deployed in countries spanning five continents over the past several years, would be made available to top officials in the Trump administration.
Following last week’s news that a Chinese surveillance balloon was spotted above Montana, the Pentagon has now claimed that similar events occurred during the Trump administration. Former Defense Secretary in the Trump administration, Mark Esper, responded on Friday he was “surprised” by the comments.
“I don’t ever recall somebody coming into my office or reading anything that the Chinese had a surveillance balloon above the United States,” he said.
The individual from the Biden administration has now claimed that the instances were not uncovered until after Trump had already left office. However, the official did not specify when or how those occurrences were uncovered.
On Sunday, CNN reported that the Pentagon briefed Congress on prior Chinese surveillance balloons that sailed between Texas and Florida during the Trump administration.
Currently, we understand there were incursions around Florida and Texas, but we don’t have clarification on what kind of devices were on these balloons or if these incursions occurred in territorial waters or overflew land,” Representative Michael Waltz stated.
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The senior administration official stated that an investigation into the capabilities of the balloon that was shot down on Saturday is still ongoing. However, “closely studying the balloon in flight has allowed us to better grasp this Chinese effort,” as the official put it.
Rep. Michael Waltz confirmed in a statement to CNN that “currently, we understand there were incursions near Florida and Texas, but we don’t have clarity on what kind of systems were on these balloons or if these incursions occurred in territorial waters or overflew land.”
After the balloon was seen over Alaska on January 28, the Biden administration came under fire from Republicans for waiting so long to shoot it down. According to a report from Sunday, Republicans in the House are considering passing a resolution this week condemning the Biden administration’s handling of the balloon.
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