EXCLUSIVE: Former President Trump and various his most sensible nationwide safety and protection officers refuted Biden management officers’ claims that Chinese surveillance balloons in brief transited the continental United States all through the Trump management, announcing it “never happened.”
A protection authentic on Saturday stated Chinese undercover agent balloons in brief traveled over the United States no less than 3 times all through the remaining management.
But Trump and his officers stated that didn’t happen and criticized the Biden management for spreading disinformation.
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“This never happened. It would have never happened,” Trump instructed Fox News Digital on Sunday morning, including that Beijing “respected us greatly” below his management.
“It never happened with us under the Trump administration and if it did, we would have shot it down immediately,” Trump stated. “Its disinformation.”
Trump stated the Biden management is spreading this as a result of “they look so bad, as usual.”
“They are incompetent,” he stated.
Former Trump White House nationwide safety adviser Amb. John Bolton instructed Fox News Digital that he by no means heard of the rest like this below his tenure.
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“I don’t know of any balloon flights by any power over the United States during my tenure, and I’d never heard of any of that occurring before I joined in 2018,” Bolton stated. “I haven’t heard of anything that occurred after I left either.”
Bolton stated that if the Biden management has “specific examples, they need to tell Congress.”
He added: “I can say with 100% certainty not during my tenure.”
And—Amb. Robert O’Brien, who additionally served as White House nationwide safety adviser from 2019 to 2021 instructed Fox News Digital that he had no wisdom of the rest like this happening.
“Unequivocally, I have never been briefed on the issue,” O’Brien stated, telling Fox News Digital that his workforce, which incorporated Matt Pottinger, who served as deputy nationwide safety consultant, and Allison Hooker who served as senior consultant to Asia, additionally weren’t briefed on those actions.
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Former appearing Director of National Intelligence Ric Grenell, who led the intelligence group on the onset of COVID, instructed Fox News Digital that he did “one of the biggest intelligence deep dives on China, their spying and the origins of COVID” all through his tenure.
“It never came up,” he stated. “If a balloon had come up, we would have known. Someone in the intelligence community would have known, and it would have bubbled up to me to brief the president.”
And former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe, who lead ODNI after Grenell and during the finish of the Trump management, additionally refuted the declare.
“It’s not true. I can refute it,” Ratcliffe stated on “Sunday Morning Futures.” “The American people can refute it for themselves. Do you remember during the Trump administration, when photographers on the ground and commercial airline pilots were talking about a spy balloon over the United States that people could look up and see, even with the naked eye, and that a media that hated Donald Trump wasn’t reporting?”
He added: “I don’t remember that either, because it didn’t happen.”
Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for East Asia Heino Klinck instructed Fox News Digital that he additionally was once unaware.
“I can’t rule out that things occurred that I was unaware of, but I do think something like this, I would have been aware of,” Klinck stated.
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Former Trump Defense Secretary Mark Esper additionally stated he was once by no means instructed about Chinese surveillance balloons above the United States all through his time on the Pentagon.
“I don’t ever recall somebody coming into my office or reading anything that the Chinese had a surveillance balloon above the United States,” Esper stated all through an look on CNN. “I would remember that for sure.”
And former appearing Defense Secretary Chris Miller, who had in the past served as director of the National Counterterrorism Center, additionally instructed Fox News he by no means had heard of a Chinese undercover agent balloon whilst he was once in executive.”
“Never heard a whisper and I’ve to assume if the rest like that took place that will were an enormous factor,” Miller told Fox News Digital. “No. Absolutely by no means heard of the rest like that whilst I used to be in executive or on the Pentagon.”
It is unclear, at this point, if these activities did take place, and if it was military leadership that chose not to brief civilian leadership on the matter.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment.
The balloon was shot down on Saturday off the coast of South Carolina, after traveling for days over the continental United States.
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Senior defense officials said Saturday was the first time the U.S. had the chance to shoot down the balloon over water. Officials could have shot the balloon down over Montana and northern U.S. states, but out of an abundance of caution, chose to wait until it was transiting over water to prevent any risk to civilians or civilian property.
The military and intelligence community recovery efforts are underway. Fox News has learned that the FBI will play a role in the recovery efforts, and debris could be brought to Quantico for review.