A new report released Sunday revealed at least two separate incidents of Chinese spy balloons flying over or near U.S. states over the last several years.
“A Chinese spy balloon crashed into the Pacific off the coast of Hawaii four months ago,” reported Fox News correspondent Lucas Tomlinson. “Fox News has also learned at least one Chinese spy balloon flew over portions of Texas and Florida during the Trump administration.”
EXCLUSIVE: A Chinese spy balloon crashed into the Pacific off the coast of Hawaii four months ago, U.S. officials say.
Fox News has also learned at least one Chinese spy balloon flew over portions of Texas and Florida during the Trump administration.
— Lucas Tomlinson (@LucasFoxNews) February 5, 2023
Tomlinson said on “Fox News Sunday” that the alleged Chinese spy balloon that flew over the U.S. under the previous administration was “never previously acknowledged publicly.”
Former President Donald Trump responded to the report by claiming that it was not true, describing it as “disinformation.”
Several former Trump administration officials responded to the report by saying that they were never briefed on a Chinese spy balloon flying over the U.S.
Former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe said on Fox News’s “Sunday Morning Futures” that the report was not true.
Other top Trump administration officials who either denied that it happened or said they were not aware of it happening include former national security adviser John Bolton, former national security adviser Robert O’Brien, former acting Director of National Intelligence Ric Grenell, and former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper.
The news comes after the U.S. military used an F-22 Raptor on Saturday to take out a Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina using a single air-to-air AIM-9X Sidewinder missile that was fired at an altitude of approximately 58,000 feet. The decision to shoot down the spy balloon came after President Joe Biden allowed it to fly thousands of miles over the continental U.S. during the last several days.
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