Publicly, the government has said it mitigated the spy balloon’s intelligence gathering capabilities. But [House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) said he is not convinced.
“My assessment — and I can’t get into the detail of the intelligence document — is that if it was still transmitting going over these three very sensitive nuclear sites, I think if you look at the flight pattern of the balloon, it tells a story as to what the Chinese were up to as they controlled this aircraft throughout the United States,” he said.
“Going over those sites, in my judgment, would cause great damage. Remember, a balloon could see a lot more on the ground than a satellite,” he added.
Later in the interview, McCall hypothesized that China sent the spy balloon to assess U.S. military capabilities in the event that China and Taiwan end their cold war.
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