Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) today issued the following statement in response to recent comments made by White House National Security spokesman John Kirby regarding the Coast Guard’s reported encounter with drones off the coast of New Jersey:

             “John Kirby is either profoundly uninformed or intentionally misleading when he asserts that highly trained Coast Guard personnel mistook drones following one of their 47-foot lifeboats for airplanes flying into JFK.

             The Biden White House needs to stop changing their story and instead be honest and frank with the American people—who deserve the truth and absolute transparency. We tolerate no coverups here.

             On Sunday, December 8th, I was briefed by a Coast Guard Commanding Officer in Sheriff Mastronardy’s mobile command center for monitoring drone activity on Island Beach State Park. One of my senior aides who was with me took contemporaneous notes during my meeting with the Coast Guard Commanding Officer,” Smith said.

             According to the officer who briefed me, several drones—between 13 and 30 of them—followed the Coast Guard boat as it travelled along the coast. He told me that the drones were an estimated 100 feet from the vessel and were keeping up with the boat at an estimated cruising speed of 20 knots (or approximately 23 mph),” Smith said.

             The officer reported that the boat turned to return, and the drones followed. At one point, the drones were flashing their headlights at the boat. He told me that the drones were between four and eight feet in wingspan and appeared between 9-11pm.”

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