Rubio and Wicker claim Pentagon has not answered key questions about Chinese spy balloon

Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL). Roger Wicker (R–MS) claimed Wednesday, in a correspondence that the Pentagon Their questions regarding the Chinese spy ball that was launched from China have not been answered satisfactorily. discovered In January, United States Airspace

This letter was addressed to the Secretary of Defense Lloyd AustinThe Pentagon wasn’t clear about the order of events in relation to the spy satellite. Austin received last month a query from senators about when the U.S. intelligence detected the balloon, and what date it was discovered by President Barack Obama. Joe Biden Notified.

LLOYD AUSTIN EMBARKS ON TRIP TO MIDDLE EAST TO REASSURE ALLIES

“In particular, we await documentation demonstrating when senior officials learned of the balloon and at what point you, and the President, were provided response options,” Senators wrote. “The simple point of the letter was to establish baseline facts to inform all members of Congress.”

The confusion centers on the belief that Gen. Glen VanHerck, the leader of U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command, His chain of command was notified about the balloon by Austin on Jan. 28, while it was hovering over the Aleutian Islands. However, Austin wasn’t aware that the balloon was there until several days later, when it had flown over Alaska and Canada. The balloon was then back in U.S. Airspace.

VanHerck also came under scrutiny of the House of Representatives Wednesday. Member of the House Armed Services Committee Don Bacon VanHerck, (R–NE) was asked if VanHerck knew if Biden had been briefed by the Pentagon until the balloon was visible to the general public.

“Congressman, I can’t answer that question because I didn’t specifical