Chinese spy balloons under Trump not discovered until after Biden took office

[Jose Garcia]

Source: CNN

The transiting of three suspected Chinese spy balloons over the continental US during the Trump administration was only discovered after President Joe Biden took office, a senior administration official told CNN on Sunday.

The official did not say how or when those incidents were discovered.

The official said that the intelligence community is prepared to offer briefings to key Trump administration officials about the Chinese surveillance program, which the Biden administration believes has been deployed in countries across five continents over the last several years.

After the Biden administration disclosed last week that a suspected Chinese spy balloon was hovering over Montana, the Pentagon said that similar balloon incidents had occurred during the Trump administration. In response, former Trump administration Defense Secretary Mark Esper told CNN on Friday that he was "surprised" by that statement.

Read more: https://amp-cnn-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2023/02/05/politics/chinese-spy-balloons-trump-administration/index.html?amp_gsa=1&amp_js_v=a9&usqp=mq331AQIKAGwASCAAgM%3D#amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&aoh=16756781650241&csi=0&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&ampshare=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2023%2F02%2F05%2Fpolitics%2Fchinese-spy-balloons-trump-administration%2Findex.html

[Ford_Prefect]

1. It seems that Congress wasn't informed either. Alternate site for same story below.

Same story from CNN posted at MSN, if you can't get to the CNN version:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/chinese-spy-balloons-under-trump-not-discovered-until-after-biden-took-office/ar-AA179dkA

How this got buried and why? Who at DOD or DHS decided it wasn't important enough to inform either the White House or any of the relevant Senate and House committee members?

Who made the decision to effectively ignore them?

[mgardener]

10. Or

Who didn't trust Trump?
And what he would or would not do?

[Ford_Prefect]

16. That seems rather implicit in my questions. They might not tell Trump or were told not to.

Or the information was deemed not appropriate for him.

But to not inform ANYONE of the responsible members of Congress is way beyond to pale. By that I mean members of the relevant intel and foreign affairs committees. There are key members who are to be informed about this kind of thing and it seems they were not. Rather unusual it seems to me.

I can't wait to hear their take on it.

[DENVERPOPS]

26. Much much worse than this

Does anyone remember when Trump decided we needed new spy planes, and then had our existing ones immediately destroyed?????

Even though it would take FIVE PLUS years to design and build new ones.......

This balloon shit is a one, on a scale of one to a million............

[Ford_Prefect]

27. Donnie was and is Putin's willing tool and does whatever he's told to do, the more inconvenient to

American interests and security the better.

The balloon issue remains an open question only because we don't know what data was gathered by them.

You'd think that someone in the intel apparatus would have had a few useful ideas about that before today based on the kind of array hung below the balloon. This even though Trump and his acolytes weren't informed.

[DENVERPOPS]

28. In WWII

The Japanese send aloft weather balloons destined to drop on our forests in the Pacific North West. In reality they were NOT weather balloons, they were, in fact, large incendiary devices meant to cause huge forest fires to destroy entire forests in the U.S. North West...

Not to stir things up, but what if, these fake weather balloons were dropping "something" across areas of the U.S.????

The Chinese got away with trying the "weather balloons" at least three times during the Trump Admin..........

When it comes to China, Russia, NK, (Republicans) etc etc, nothing is above suspicion these days.....

[former9thward]

31. No "spy" planes were destroyed.

Maybe that is why you did not provide a link to that claim.

[DENVERPOPS]

33. Former!

Oklahoma City Free Press is one of many sources.................Google it for a number of reports on it.......................

"But people who do not know about Open Skies should pay attention now, because Trump made the United States’ withdrawal from the treaty official on Nov. 22 and ordered the aircraft used for that operation destroyed, a pair of specially outfitted OC-135Bs. They are not just to be decommissioned, but melted down or crushed into chop-shop blocks so that they cannot be used again."

I look at who is writing the info I read, it wasn't Oklahoma Free Press, but it was some very credible source.......Everyone was blown away when Trump said that "we needed new aircraft to update our spy planes"....which was okay........ But then, interestingly, he ordered the IMMEDIATE destruction of the two we had.................ALL Military Planes are sent to the bone yard in Arizona? in this case they would have stripped it of all electronics and spy equipment, then parked it in that boneyard. Trump, wanted them cut up immediately for some "strange"? reason.......

When it happened, it prompted me to research the SR-71 Blackbird info which revealed some other really fascinating things..........

[DENVERPOPS]

34. I am compelled to add something

to the comment above...........

Anyone who thinks that we know most of what is going on, is beyond Naive................

I once said to my son that we don't know a thousandth of what is going on and he replied: "And we probably don't want to know" LOL..

Truer words were never spoken............Just look at the un-fathomable plethora of things being revealed 20-30-40-50-or hundreds of years after they occurred.

I think the other thing that I hear most often, is why isn't the press reporting this??????????? Hell, 80+% of all major news media in the U.S. Radio-TV-Cable-Newspapers-Magazines are owned and operated by Uber Rich individuals or Corporations.............
THAT has been EXTREMELY visible for over the 40 years I have been actively watching it, and has been blatantly and flagrantly obvious these past 6+ years....

My favorite thought, about the mess we are currently in, could best be a book, titled: WHILE THE NATION SLEPT........period...

[former9thward]

35. No planes were destroyed and no order was given to do so.

1) Open skies was not a spy mission. It was surveillance over the U.S. by Russia and over Russia by the U.S. These were AGREED upon flights with AGREED upon routes and AGREED upon times. The Russians broke the treaty and so it was ended.

2) The planes were not spy planes and not equipped as ones. They were to check compliance with the nuclear treaty.

30 The planes were not destroyed and there was no order given to do so. They were to be given to a foreign ally.

4) This occurred very late in the Trump administration and If Biden wanted to counter the order he has had two years to do so.

[DENVERPOPS]

36. I will take your word.....................

I will, just for fun, try to find more about the whole matter........

[sl8]

29. But this article says that they hadn''t even been discovered.

How would they notify anyone before they had been discovered?

[cutroot]

2. Which is a better indicator of incompetence?

That he knew and did nothing or that he was clueless

[smb]

3. Maybe Chump Was Kept Out Of The Loop For Fear He'd Nuke China Or Something nt

[Javaman]

9. That's what I was thinking or

He would give them Alaska to appease them with one of his “great” negotiation tactics

[FailureToCommunicate]

4. TFG wasn't interested in the daily briefings. Maybe if they'd been illustrated, he...

might have noticed a drawing of a big balloon.

[BumRushDaShow]

5. Here is a working link for the OP

https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/05/politics/chinese-spy-balloons-trump-administration/index.html


CBS radio has been reluctantly reporting it "publicly" although I had seen DU reports several days ago.

The tepid mention about the prior instances eventually happened after the whole "balloon" topic hit the Sunday shows.

Republicans Sidestep Questions On Chinese Balloons During Trump Years
Story by Sanjana Karanth • Yesterday 2:21 PM

Republicans are criticizing the Biden administration’s handling of a suspected surveillance balloon from China that entered U.S. airspace this past week ― while sidestepping questions about similar incidents happening several times under former President Donald Trump.

(snip)

Citing an unidentified senior Pentagon official, the Defense Department said in a statement on Saturday that Chinese balloons “briefly transited the continental United States at least three times during the prior administration.” The Associated Press reported that officials also spoke of another such incident earlier in the Biden administration. None of those four incidents reportedly lasted as long as this week’s, and it has not been confirmed whether the previous balloons were shot down.

(snip)

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/republicans-sidestep-questions-on-chinese-balloons-during-trump-years/ar-AA178CBx?li=BBnbfcL

At the DOD briefing on Sat. (2/4/23) it was mentioned -

Senior Defense Official and Senior Military Official Hold an Off-Camera, On-Background Press Briefing Update on the High-Altitude Surveillance Balloon
Feb. 4, 2023

(snip)

PRC government surveillance balloons 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. We spoke directly with Chinese officials through multiple channels, but rather than address their intrusion into our airspace, the PRC put out an explanation that lacked any credibility.

(snip)

https://www.defense.gov/News/Transcripts/Transcript/Article/3288618/senior-defense-official-and-senior-military-official-hold-an-off-camera-on-back/

[Alexander Of Assyria]

8. What happene to the debris from the balloon? What did Pentagon find??

Any idea, anyone?

[BumRushDaShow]

13. They are still out there recoveing it

Last I heard it spread out into a 7 mile debris field. Navy divers have been out there doing recovery ops (the water is "relatively shallow" ).

I found this (that linked to a tweet by a former Pentagon correspondent) - https://news.usni.org/2023/02/04/3-navy-warships-fbi-now-hunting-for-wreckage-of-chinese-spy-balloon-off-south-carolina

3 Navy Warships, FBI Now Hunting for Wreckage of Chinese Spy Balloon off South Carolina

By: Sam LaGrone
February 4, 2023 5:28 PM • Updated: February 4, 2023 6:02 PM

(snip)

The Raptor from the 149 Fighter Squadron, based at Langley Air Force Base, used a single AIM-9X Sidewinder, fired from 58,000 feet in the air, to shoot down the balloon that was operating at 62,000 feet, a senior military official told reporters on Saturday afternoon. The remains of the surveillance balloon, about the size of three school buses, is spread over a seven-mile debris field in shallow water in the Atlantic, a senior military official told reporters.

Guided-missile destroyer USS Oscar Austin (DDG-79), guided-missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea (CG-58) and amphibious warship USS Carter Hall (LSD-50) are on station near the crash site. Coast Guard cutters and boats are also on the scene to assist in the recovery, a message left with a Coast Guard Atlantic Area spokesman was not immediately returned.

Navy divers are currently embarked aboard the warships off the coast, a Navy official confirmed to USNI News. FBI counter-intelligence agents are also part of the investigation, Pentagon officials said Saturday.

“We have… capable Navy divers to go down if needed. We’ll also have unmanned vessels that can go down to get the structure and lift it back up on the recovery ship,” the senior military official said.
“We’ll have the FBI on board as well, under the counterintelligence authorities for categorizing and assessing the platform itself.” According to the same senior military official, a Navy salvage ship will be on station within the next two days.

(snip)

https://news.usni.org/2023/02/04/3-navy-warships-fbi-now-hunting-for-wreckage-of-chinese-spy-balloon-off-south-carolina

Link to tweet

Marcus Weisgerber
@MarcusReports
·
Follow
The military jets using the call sign “FRANK” is significant. Frank Luke Jr. was an American fighter ace in World War I better known as the “Arizona Balloon Buster.” He is credited with shooting down 14 German surveillance balloons https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Luke
Aircraft Spots
@AircraftSpots
Chinese high-altitude surveillance #balloon:

USAF F-22s FRANK01 & 02 launched from Langley AFB, VA joining up with KC-135R #AE04B3 57-1473 GASMN02 for aerial refueling.
Image
2:42 PM · Feb 4, 2023

And that guy referenced an aircraft monitor and photograher's twitter account who found a set of pics from someone in the area -

Link to tweet

Scott Lowe
·
Feb 5, 2023
@tropicostation
·
Follow
A photographer named Michael DeBock got incredible photos of the balloon shootdown yesterday, much better quality than I've seen on twitter. They're on his flickr here, the whole set is excellent:
flickr.com
Chinese Spy Balloon, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Feb. 4th, 2023, IMG_0057
I live 4.5 miles from the beach and they waited until it was over the ocean. They wasted no time.
Scott Lowe
@tropicostation
·
Follow
This shot with the F-22, burst balloon envelope and falling payload in frame at once is 🔥
flickr.com
Chinese Spy Balloon, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Feb. 4th, 2023, IMG_0067
I live 4.5 miles from the beach and they waited until it was over the ocean. They wasted no time.
5:16 PM · Feb 5, 2023

Link to the set of pics taken by that area resident - https://t.co/J4aLCJVIkU

They should have shot it down over Lindsey Graham's house.

[oldsoftie]

6. Terrible headline. Obviously it was known by SOMEONE.

[Alexander Of Assyria]

7. Here's a shocker...Pentagon lies sometimes. Hence all the unanswered questions.

Simple explanation is the prior balloons weren’t a big deal so higher ups not bothered to be told about the no big deal balloons.

What was difference this time is a huge question?

Simple explanation…fresh anti China American media sentiment in the upper atmosphere.

[BumRushDaShow]

15. Here's a shocker

What was difference this time is a huge question?

I expect there "wasn't a problem" because they weren't traveling over "sensitive areas" until now?

The CONUS has 3,535,932 sq mi of land area so that is a lot of land relative to the size of this balloon and it's path.

Hovering near or over "known" Minuteman missile sites changes the equation and posture.

A suspected Chinese spy balloon was seen operating near a US nuclear base housing 150 Minuteman ICBMs
Sophia Ankel
Feb 3, 2023, 9:49 AM


A suspected Chinese spy balloon is operating near a sprawling base that houses 150 Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles. The large and bright unidentified object was seen first flying over Alaska's Aleutian Islands and through Canada before appearing over the city of Billings, Montana.

A senior US defense official told reporters on Thursday there was "very high confidence" the balloon was Chinese and that it was flying over sensitive sites to collect information. China later admitted that the balloon belonged to it, but said it was a weather balloon blown off course, and not meant for spying.

Though US officials did not name any potential target sites, or give a precise flight path, Montana is notable for being home to Malmstrom Air Force Base, which houses nuclear missiles.

(snip)

https://www.businessinsider.com/chinese-spy-balloon-us-nuclear-base-minuteman-surveillance-montana-2023-2

I expect if it were near any of these sites, JAMMING of any types of radio transmissions commenced.

China has nowhere near the number of spy satellites as the U.S. so this is a cheap and easy way to "catch up" with some updated intel.

[oldsoftie]

18. But you're still stuck on believing whatever China says. HUGE mistake;

China lies. Yes, the Pentagon & the rest of our government lies too. But China lies about pretty much everything. For whatever reason you're willing to give them a pass. It was obvious from day one that this was no weather balloon, but you accepted that ridiculous explanation from China. You probably also think all of the South China Sea belongs to them, as they claim, since it has the word "China" in it.

[Alexander Of Assyria]

19. For 4 years the President of one nation lied multiple times a day...in public...on the record!

[oldsoftie]

21. And everyone knew he was a liar. See how that works?

[Emile]

11. You would think after learning about this, republicans

would not go on Sunday talk shows putting down our military and President Biden response to this balloon.

[keithbvadu2]

12. Trump let Chinese spy balloons float across America. Donald was trying to borrow $500 million from

Trump let Chinese spy balloons float across America.

Donald was trying to borrow $500 million from China.

https://www.google.com/search?q=china+loans+trump+theme+park&rlz=1C1AWUC_enUS1014US1023&oq=&aqs=chrome.0.35i39i362l8.88074590j0j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#ip=1

[oldsoftie]

20. And GETTING money from China while in office.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/danalexander/2020/10/23/forbes-estimates-china-paid-trump-at-least-54-million-since-he-took-office-via-mysterious-trump-tower-lease/?sh=4e6f0434ed11

[former9thward]

30. So the Pentagon under Biden is lying about this?

Why would Biden tolerate that?

[Botany]

14. Notice how Esper speaks about "it." he was "surprised" by that statement.

In response, former Trump administration Defense Secretary Mark Esper told CNN on Friday that he
was "surprised" by that statement. Not the it didn't happen but he was surprised. Other Trumpers
and right wing talk jockeys have been doing the same things too. Nobody told me, this is the 1st I
have heard of it, and people who should have known never spoke about it. IOWs it happened.

BTW the important part of the Steele Dossier is not Trump's Moscow Pee Pee Party but that Trump
even prior to the 2016 election was way into debt to Russia, Saudi Arabia, and China.

[Alexander Of Assyria]

17. Curiouser and curiouser...can't tell America a damn thing then...because?...someone should ask!

But suddenly they can??

[balnesh]

22. If Trump wins again, China will spy on us

And we won't even know if.

[Marthe48]

23. traitor and his minions

would let any of our enemies do anything if someone got a payoff from the enemy to do anything, including spying and undermining our democracy.

Because they are flaming traitors.

[PerceptionManagement]

24. There is no "trump administration". Who TF is the intelligence community briefing?

"The official said that the intelligence community is prepared to offer briefings to key Trump administration officials about the Chinese surveillance program..."

[Eddie18]

25. We need a Jordan probe

With all of this hot-air balloon stuff, we desperately need another "jacket off" Jim Jordan probe to get the facts, digest them, and let the American people know just what happened in his trademark delivery of sorts. He doesn't really have much to do as the GOP House doesn't really propose any legislation other than resolutions, voting Dems off committees, etc. Let Jim roll up his sleeves and launch a special probe with his pals.

[OverBurn]

32. What can a spy balloon see that spy satellites can't see? What do we keep outside for them to see?