Biden administration officials on Wednesday night briefed prime officials from the Trump administration on China’s high-altitude surveillance program, in keeping with an individual aware of the briefing.
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former Nationwide Intelligence Director John Ratcliffe and former nationwide safety adviser Robert O’Brien had been briefed for simply over an hour by prime U.S. intelligence officials on the headquarters of the Workplace of the Director of Nationwide Intelligence, this particular person mentioned.
The briefing touched on China’s general program, the supply mentioned, in addition to previous incidents of surveillance balloons’ getting into U.S. airspace, together with through the Trump and Biden administrations.
A spokesperson for the nationwide intelligence director’s workplace confirmed that Pompeo, Ratcliffe and O’Brien had been collectively briefed Wednesday night.
The Biden administration had supplied labeled briefings to former Trump administration officials as a result of incidents that occurred throughout Trump’s presidency weren’t found till after Biden took workplace. The one the nationwide intelligence director’s workplace carried out for Pompeo, Ratcliffe and O’Brien adopted a briefing Wednesday for former nationwide safety adviser John Bolton.
Bolton was sharply important of the administration’s dealing with of the Chinese surveillance balloon and the three different objects that had been shot down. The particular person aware of the briefing for Pompeo, Ratcliffe and O’Brien, nonetheless, described it as “gracious” of the Biden administration to supply them with the briefing.
The particular person aware of the night briefing mentioned the Biden officials confirmed that the Chinese spy balloon that lingered over the U.S. earlier than it was shot down off South Carolina on Feb. 4 was an “unprecedented” incident and that nothing of that magnitude had occurred in U.S. airspace earlier than then.
The briefing additionally included dialogue concerning the aerial objects the U.S. navy shot down over the weekend, however the briefers didn’t have a lot details about these incidents, this particular person mentioned. The first focus of the briefing was on China’s surveillance program and the previous incidents of Chinese intrusions into U.S. airspace, this particular person mentioned.
They added that the Chinese spy balloon raised grave nationwide safety issues for the U.S., calling this system a “very vital platform” and noting the balloon is large enough to hold every kind of weapons if China needs.
Peter Alexander contributed.
