John Ratcliffe (former Director of National Intelligence) refuted claims that three Chinese spy ballons were used to attack the United States. “transited” the United States during Donald Trump’s presidency.
A Chinese-made balloon was suspected to have traveled through the lower 48 before being brought down from the Carolinas. “unprecedented national security blunder of incalculable damage,”Ratcliffe stated this during a Fox News interview.
Anchor Maria Bartiromo then questioned Ratcliffe about what she claimed was the Department of Defense’s claim that three Chinese spy balloons were in U.S. territory during Trump’s administration. She said they weren’t shot down and they weren’t disclosed.
“It’s not true. I can refute it,”Ratcliffe answered. Ratcliffe replied that his views are supported by Trump Administration officials including ex-Defense Secretary Mark Esper who stated that he doesn’t recall Chinese surveillance satellites flying over the United States.
A senior U.S. defense officer stated that Chinese surveillance balloons were being used to monitor the government. “transited the continental United States briefly at least three times during the prior administration and once that we know of at the beginning of this administration, but never for this duration of time,”CNN.
Ratcliffe insisted the American people can refute the Biden administration’s claim for themselves.
“Do you remember during the Trump administration when photographers on the ground and commercial airline pilots were talking about a spy balloon over the United States that people could look up and see even with the naked eye and that the media that hated Donald Trump wasn’t reporting? I don’t remember that either because it didn’t happen,”He stated.
Trump denied it on Twitter on Sunday.
“The Chinese Balloon situation is a disgrace, just like the Afghanistan horror show, and everything else surrounding the grossly incompetent Biden Administration,”Trump wrote to Truth Social. “They are only good at cheating in elections, and disinformation — and now they are putting out that a Balloon was put up by China during the Trump Administration, in order to take the ‘heat’ off the slow moving Biden fools. China had too much respect for ‘TRUMP’ for this to have happened, and it NEVER did. JUST FAKE DISINFORMATION!”
The U.S. government first publicly acknowledged a suspected reconnaissance balloon on Thursday as it was spotted over Billings, Montana, near a military base that houses 150 Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles after it traveled above the Aleutian Islands and through Canada.
While China’s government claimed the balloon was a “civilian airship used for research, mainly meteorological purposes”It was essentially thrown off-course. The Pentagon rejected this explanation Friday and called it a misunderstanding. “maneuverable” surveillance balloon. Pentagon was also concerned that the shooting of the balloon over land might create a dust field which could pose a threat to those below.
A video captured the moment that Saturday’s balloon fell off South Carolina’s coast. Senior military personnel claim that an F-22 Raptor destroyed the balloon with one sidewinder missile A9X air-to-air. A recovery operation would be conducted, according to Pentagon. China’s foreign ministry responded by condemning the United States for “an excessive reaction that seriously violates international convention”Warning: Beijing “retains the right to respond further.”
Ratcliffe, a former U.S. congressman who served as the nation’s spy chief from May 2020 until the end of Trump’s administration in January 2021, called it an “incredibly successful intelligence operation”China. He said that other adversaries, such as Russia, Iran and North Korea, are also watching. “thrilled”They are amazed at the opportunities this situation offers.
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