'Not surprised': Internet shocked as report alleges Biden admin planned to keep Chinese spy balloon news a secret from the public

WASHINGTON DC, UNITED STATES: The Biden administration had initially planned to keep the Chinese spy balloon that traversed North America this year a secret from the public and even from Congress, according to a recent report by  NBC News.

The administration's intent to conceal this information was only revealed after civilians spotted the massive white orb over Montana.

The report indicates that there was a plan to study the balloon and allow it to pass over without disclosing the information to anyone.

A former senior US official revealed to the outlet on Friday, “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 disclosure comes close to 11 months since the balloon breached American airspace and continued on a week-long journey, visiting several sensitive military sites before being detected.

What was revealed about the Chinese spy balloon incident ?

On January 27th, 2023, the North American Aerospace Defense Command detected a large spycraft entering US airspace over Alaska.

In response, Commander Gen. Glen VanHerck alerted President Biden's top military adviser, Gen. Mark Milley, to inform the administration of the concerning intrusion.

However, the President was not apprised of the situation until January 31st, and the Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, was preoccupied with his diplomatic trip to Asia, according to various officials in the administration and Congress.

“They weren’t paying attention,” one senior official stated.

By that point, the Chinese spy balloon, which was equipped with surveillance devices and solar panels and had the dimensions of three school buses, had already traveled halfway across Canada and re-entered the US over Montana, while relaying data it had gathered from military sites back to Beijing.

The Biden administration did not issue a statement about this apparent lapse in national security until several Americans reported seeing the spycraft high in the sky.

When the Billings Gazette, a local Montana newspaper, published photos of the peculiar craft on February 2nd, it provoked national outrage.

Following this, US Air Force jets shot down the spy balloon over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of South Carolina on February 4th, after it had successfully floated across the North American continent.

Members of Congress were finally informed of the situation a few days later.

Months later, the US President sought to excuse Beijing for the blatant intrusion into American airspace, stating to reporters in June, “I don’t think the leadership knew where it was, and knew what was in it, and knew what was going on. I think it was more embarrassing than it was intentional."

A Biden administration official contended that there was no intention to withhold this information from Congress at any time, and the protracted silence was necessary to “protect intel equities related to finding and tracking” the spycraft.

Internet is dumbfounded by this bombshell revelation

People on X (formerly Twitter) scrambled to find their thoughts on the matter, as reports allege that the Biden administration premeditated to keep the Chinese spy balloon news a secret from the public and even Congress.

One X user wrote: “Not surprised"

Another user asked: "So what else are they keeping secret?"

Another user remarked: "Kind of hard to miss, no?"

One user tweeted: "Every administration comes in promising to be the most transparent ever then turns to cover ups, lies, and deceit because it’s simply much easier to operate that way. And the downside risk is minimal."

Another X user said: "They claimed that they were going to be the most transparent Administration ever = Failing grade from day one."

Finally, this user tweeted: "Sounds like a treason to me."

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.