White House says ‘no evidence’ reported drone flights off East Coast pose threat

Reported sightings of the drones began popping up in November, with a high concentration coming in and off the coast of New Jersey. Biden administration officials had previously shot down reports that an Iranian “mothership” was operating in the Atlantic Ocean and coordinating the drone flights.

BIDEN ADMINISTRATION RULEMAKING BLITZES AIM TO TRUMP-PROOF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

National Security Council Spokesman John Kirby briefed reporters Thursday afternoon, giving an update on the federal government’s investigation into the sightings.

“We have no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings pose a national security or a public safety threat or have a foreign Nexus,” he claimed. “Upon review of available imagery, it appears that many of the reported sightings are actually manned aircraft that are being operated lawfully.”

Kirby added that the Department of Homeland Security and Federal Bureau of Investigations are assisting New Jersey officials in investigating the sightings, “using numerous detection methods to better understand their origin.

BIDEN’S ‘TRUMP-PROOFING’ FOREIGN POLICY REVOLVES AROUND UKRAINE AND NATO

“Using very sophisticated electronic detection technologies provided by federal authorities, we have not been able to, and neither have state or local law enforcement authorities, corroborate any of the reported visual sightings,” he continued.

Kirby did say that the reported drone flights highlight a “gap in authorities.” He urged Congress to “pass important legislation that will extend and expand existing counter-drone authorities so that we are better prepared to identify and mitigate any possible threats to airports or other critical infrastructure.”

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

You can watch Kirby’s remarks in full below.