On January 27, a telephonic exchange occurred between General Mark Milley and NORAD chief General Glen VanHerck, as reported by Fox News on a Saturday. The news outlet referenced an NBC News report indicating that the administration had initially expressed a desire to keep information about a certain device hidden from both Congress and the general public.
According to NBC News, a former official elaborated on the situation, stating, “Before it was spotted publicly, there was the intention to study it and let it pass over and not ever tell anyone about it.” This suggests that there was a preliminary plan to observe the device without publicizing its presence or disclosing the information to Congress.
A senior official from the Biden administration refuted claims of an attempt to conceal the spy balloon, asserting that any confidentiality measures were primarily aimed at safeguarding intelligence assets related to the identification and tracking of the balloon. The official emphasized that there was no intention to withhold information from Congress at any stage of the incident.
Following General VanHerck’s conversation with General Milley, U.S. military jets deployed from Alaska utilized targeting pods to investigate the contents of the object. It was confirmed that the balloon, identified as a Chinese spy balloon, did not carry offensive weapons but was equipped with an extensive payload of surveillance equipment.
President Joe Biden reportedly ordered the balloon, which traversed the entire continental United States, to be shot down. This decision was made after reports suggested that the balloon had gathered intelligence from sensitive military sites, as reported by Breitbart News.
Contrary to initial claims, the balloon was not intercepted until February 4, after it had completed a multi-day journey across states, potentially over other sensitive military locations, and exited over South Carolina into the Atlantic Ocean, according to Breitbart News’ April report.
The incident was captured on video, revealing the moment when the spy balloon descended from the sky:
In June, it was reported that President Biden disclosed “sensitive” U.S. intelligence related to China during a fundraising event with American donors. According to Breitbart News, at the California fundraiser, Biden shared with attendees the information that U.S. intelligence agencies had gathered about the Chinese spy balloon incident earlier in the year. This revelation allegedly caught U.S. officials off guard, adding a layer of intrigue to the unfolding narrative surrounding the incident.
