White House downplays mystery drones as key lawmakers demand answers

WASHINGTON — Key House and Senate lawmakers are demanding that federal law enforcement officials immediately inform them of mysterious drone visions in New Jersey and New York, as the White House downplayed any potential threats to national security or the public.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said Thursday he expects to receive a secret briefing on the drones soon, saying it’s “a quandary” and that he’s “anxious to learn” more.

On Thursday afternoon, John Kirby, the White House’s national security spokesman, told reporters that Homeland Security, the FBI and state and local law enforcement “were unable to corroborate any of the reported sightings.” of drones.

After reviewing footage of the sightings, law enforcement officials concluded that “these are in fact piloted aircraft that are being operated legally” and that there were no confirmed drone sightings in restricted airspace, Kirby said, adding that no they detected no malicious activity.

“We have no evidence at this time that these reported sightings pose a threat to national security or public safety or have a foreign connection,” a White House National Security Council official told NBC News when asked about the drones.

But lawmakers say they — and the public — need more information after weeks of observations in New Jersey and other states.

New Jersey Sens. Cory Booker and Andy Kim and New York Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, all Democrats, sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, FBI Director Chris Wray and Federal Aviation Administration chief Michael Whitaker on Thursday , requesting a briefing on drones or unmanned aircraft systems (UAS).

“The potential safety and security risks posed by these drones in civilian areas are particularly pertinent given recent drone incursions into sensitive military sites in and outside the continental United States over the past year. Protecting civilian infrastructure, security and privacy, as well as military assets and personnel, will require a comprehensive response from Congress and the executive branch,” the four senators wrote.

“For this reason, we request that the briefing you provide also include any authorities, tools or personnel your agencies may need to address these ongoing incidents and the broader security challenge posed by UAS,” they continued .

Senate staffers were expected to receive a briefing later, and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and other senators also requested individual briefings.

On the House floor, former Armed Services Chairman Adam Smith, D-Wash., now the ranking member of the jury, said he would participate in a secret call on several topics Thursday and expected the drone issue to come up.

“When do we consider them a physical threat or even a security threat worth eliminating?” Smith asked. “And we need clear answers on that.”

Rep. Josh Gottheimer, DN.J., a member of the Intelligence Committee, told NBC News that he received information about the drones last week and this week. He called on law enforcement agencies to share more information with the public.

“Based on the briefings we’ve received from the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and the governor, I don’t believe there are any immediate threats to public safety,” Gottheimer said in a phone interview, referring to Gov. New Jersey, Phil Murphy, Democrat. “But the public deserves to know more, and it’s up to the FBI and Homeland Security to inform the public immediately.

“This cannot be the Wild West of drone activity,” he said.

Murphy and other New Jersey state officials, as well as a representative of the Department of Homeland Security, held a information on drones for local officials on Wednesday, according to those who attended.

For weeks, residents have noticed and taken videos of the drones, which officials described as commercial-grade devices and not typical “hobbyist” drones. Eyewitness reports and officials confirm the drones are up to 6 feet in diameter.

Many of these videos have gone viral, garnering tens of thousands of views on social media and raising concern among citizens. But the public became even more alarmed Wednesday after Representative Jeff Van Drew, a Republican from New Jersey, appeared on Fox News and said the drones came from an Iranian “mothership” on the “East Coast of the United States of America”.

He called for the drones to be “shot down”.

However, Van Drew’s remarks were flatly rejected by the Pentagon.

“There is no Iranian ship off the coast of the United States and there is no so-called mother ship launching drones at the United States,” said Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh, who added that they were not military drones and that there is no evidence that they are. coming from an adversary or foreign entity.

Still, voters are concerned about drones and are looking to their elected officials for answers.

“Listen, nobody wants unidentified drones flying over their house, flying over their cities, over our military installations,” said Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., a member of the Intelligence Committee.

“People, you know they have a right to be concerned about this and I share that concern, so we’re going to look into it,” he said. “We’ll try to get answers and go from there.”

So far, no briefing has been scheduled for all House members on drones, although some individual members have been briefed.

Another member of the Intelligence Committee, Rep. Andre Carson, D-Ind., said the reluctance to hold public hearings on the drone issue is that “we don’t want our adversaries watching our open hearings looking for context clues.” .