Former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe refuted accounts from Pentagon officials that Chinese balloons entered U.S. airspace on at least three occasions under the Trump administration. Ratcliffe, who served as former President Donald Trump's spy chief from 2020 to 2021, joined a few other former Trump administration officials claiming to have no awareness of such an incursion and described the recent balloon incident as "unprecedented." "I can refute it. It didn't happen," Ratcliffe said... Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense Mark Esper both denied knowing about a similar instance of a Chinese balloon hovering through...
