The Biden administration planned to keep the Chinese spy balloon that traveled across North America this year a secret from the public and even from Congress — and only came clean after civilians saw the massive white orb over Montana, according to a damning new report.
“Before it was spotted publicly, there was the intention to study it and let it pass over and not ever tell anyone about it,” a former senior US official told NBC News Friday, nearly 11 months after the balloon penetrated American airspace and began a meandering week-long tour of sensitive military sites.
When the North American Aerospace Defense Command saw the huge spycraft enter US airspace over Alaska Jan. 27, commander Gen. Glen VanHerck called Gen. Mark Milley, President Biden’s top military adviser, to flag the administration on the alarming intrusion.
But Biden himself was not informed until Jan. 31, and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin was too “focused” on a diplomatic trip to Asia to pay heed, according to multiple officials in the administration and Congress.
“They weren’t paying attention,” a senior U.S. official said.
By then, the balloon — the size of three school buses and equipped with solar panels and a payload of surveillance devices — had traversed half of Canada and re-entered the US over Montana, while transmitting data it collected from military sites back to Beijing.
The Biden administration remained silent until several Americans sighted the orb far overhead.
When the Billings Gazette, a local Montana paper, published photos of the strange craft on Feb. 2, the story sparked national outrage. --->READ MORE HERE
 |
| Getty Images |
A US official claimed that the President "wasn't paying attention" despite warnings from the military.
US President Joe Biden planned to cover up the shooting of the Chinese spy balloon in January to hide it from public knowledge, it has been reported.
It also alleged that Mr Biden only went public with the story once civilians had seen the huge orb floating over Montana.
Speaking to NBC News, a senior US official said: “Before it was spotted publicly, there was the intention to study it and let it pass over and not ever tell anyone about it."
The balloon hovered over American airspace and snapped images of US military sites.
Commander Gen. Glen VanHerck called Gen. Mark Milley, President Biden’s top military adviser, to warn the White House of what was happening.
However, the news didn't reach Mr Biden until January 31.
Meanwhile, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin was reportedly too “focused” on a trip to Asia to to take notice of the spy balloon.
A senior US official said: “They weren’t paying attention."
By this point, the balloon had traveled across half of Canada and then re-entered the US over Montana. --->READ MORE HERE
If you like what you see, please "Like" and/or Follow us on FACEBOOK here, GETTR here, and TWITTER here.
No comments:
Post a Comment