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By Martha McHardy
US News Reporter
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A classified briefing held behind closed doors on Capitol Hill has sparked intense speculation about mysterious drone activity over U.S. airspace.
What's New
The CIA, FBI, Department of Homeland Security and Department of Defense met with members of the House Intelligence Committee on Tuesday night for a classified briefing about unidentified aircrafts that have been reported in multiple states.
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Following the briefing, there are still many unanswered questions about the source of these incidents. Some lawmakers are questioning the lack of transparency surrounding information about the sightings.
Why It Matters
The briefing comes after a joint statement from the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, the Pentagon, and the Federal Aviation Administration disclosed that more than 5,000 drone sightings have been reported in recent weeks, generating roughly 100 investigative leads.
Intelligence officials have clarified that there is no evidence connecting the sightings to a foreign actor or indicating any malicious intent.
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What To Know
Federal and local officials have been baffled by the reports of mystery drone sightings in New Jersey, and other parts of the Northeast, which started around a month ago.
Drones have been spotted near Picatinny Arsenal and over President-elect Donald Trump's golf course in Bedminster, according to military officials and state lawmakers. The sightings prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to issue temporary flight restrictions over the properties.
"Several instances of unidentified drones entering the airspace were also reported above Naval Weapons Station Earle, a U.S. Navy base south of Middletown, according to CNN, although no direct threats were identified.
Meanwhile, reported drone activity led New York's Stewart International Airport to temporarily shut down its runways for approximately an hour on Friday night.
The sightings have put intense pressure on federal agencies to provide more information about the sightings.
On Monday, White House National Security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters the Biden administration has not identified "anything anomalous or any national security or public safety risks over the civilian airspace in New Jersey or other states in the Northeast."
"We assess that the sightings to date include a combination of lawful commercial drones, hobbyist drones and law enforcement drones, as well as manned fixed-wing aircrafts, helicopters, and even stars that were mistakenly reported as drones," Kirby said.
While the FBI is still checking out 100 or so tips, none of them appear nefarious, he said.
"I can't rule out the fact that we might find some sort of illegal or criminal activity, some nefarious activity, (but) all I can do is tell you that right now we see none of that," Kirby said.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said that drone-detection systems deployed across the state last week found "little to no evidence" of malicious activities, despite growing concerns over mysterious night time sightings.
But some have questioned this assessment. When questioned on Fox News about whether the sightings could be aliens, Senator Josh Hawley said: "Anything is possible."
Rep. Michael McCaul suggested that the drones are "adversarial" and that they may be coming from China.
"My judgement based on my experience is that those that are over our military sites are adversarial and most likely are coming from the People's Republic of China," he said.
What People Are Saying
Following the briefing, many lawmakers said they were unsatisfied with the information they received.
"I was not satisfied with the information we received," Congressman Scott Perry said.
"In some cases we had more information than they did, that's concerning."
Democratic Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi added that he was "not yet" satisfied and that he wanted to see data on how the government knows drones are "manned aircraft."
"Basically the government officials said that that was explained as manned aircraft. It's consistent with their statement. What I say is that they have to be very forthcoming in explaining how the data shows that it's manned aircraft that is somehow explainable in other ways.
"And, and that's something that they're hopefully going to respond to [...] The vast majority of the lights in the sky, according to these government officials, are manned aircraft. But again, show us the data, show us how it's manned aircraft," he said.
On Fox News, Senator Josh Hawley said: "They will not brief us. They will not level with us. They won't answer questions."
Earlier Tuesday, Belleville Mayor Michael Melham questioned why the briefing had to be classified in the first place. "The fact that they're saying 'nothing to see here' and yet the very next day having a classified intelligence briefing about it, you can't have it both ways," he said.
However, Reps. Ami Bera and Chrissy Houlahan told the Washington Examiner they were satisfied and reiterated that there is "no evidence" the drones are nefarious.
Both Donald Trump and Marjorie Taylor Greene have suggested the drones should be shot down.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote: "Mystery Drone Sightings all over the country." "Can this really be happening without our government's knowledge. I don't think so! Let the public know, and now. Otherwise, shoot them down!!! DJT [Donald J. Trump]"
In another post on Truth Social, Greene said: "I'll shoot the drones down myself along with every other red blooded freedom loving American."
What Happens Next
Officials are continuing to investigate the drone sightings and it is likely that more information will be released soon.
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