Did Trump Know About Chinese Spy Balloons?

Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

(TargetLiberty.org) A number of intelligence officers who served under former President Trump have stated that they were aware of the instances of Chinese spy balloons crossing into U.S. airspace.

The Wall Street Journal’s report stated that there were some officials who had known of the high-flying objects and had suspected that they had come from China. A Pentagon assessment had been inconclusive on whether the balloons had been linked to Beijing. They also added that information regarding the incidents had not been widely shared throughout the Trump administration.

During the Trump administration, at least three suspected Chinese surveillance balloons entered U.S. airspace. One such incident also occurred during the start of the Biden administration.

However, several former Trump officials have noted that they had not been informed about the balloons entering the U.S. airspace and have expressed frustration over not being told about the incidents at the time.

The Biden administration briefed former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former National Intelligence Director John Ratcliffe, and former national security adviser Robert O’Brien on Wednesday about the Chinese balloon surveillance program as well as on all of the different incidents. John Bolton, the former national security adviser was also briefed about the incidents separately.

The revelation about the program comes only a couple of weeks after a Chinese spy balloon spent a week traveling across the U.S. before being shot down by the U.S. military off the coast of South Carolina.

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