US officials downplay significance of intel captured by Chinese spy craft over American soil
Greg Norman, Jennifer Griffin
~4 minutes
U.S. officials who spoke to Fox News on Monday are downplaying the significance of intelligence that a Chinese spy balloon was able to capture from military installations earlier this year as it flew over the country.
The officials said they still stand by original statements that any signals or electronic intelligence the balloon gathered was of "limited intelligence value" and that measures were taken to mitigate Beijing’s ability to collect data while the object was sailing above sensitive sites.
The assurances come following a report from NBC News this morning stating that the balloon was able to gather intel from numerous sensitive American military sites despite efforts from the Biden administration to prevent it from doing so.
The report was based on information from two current senior U.S. officials and a former senior Biden administration official, who claimed China was able to control the balloon to allow it to pass over the sites multiple times while transmitting information back to Beijing in real time.
NBC News, citing the three officials, reported that the intel China gathered was taken mostly from electronic signals coming from the sites, instead of images.
more
https://www.foxnews.com/world/us-officials-downplay-significance-intel-captured-chinese-spy-craft-american-soil
