NEW JERSEY – Assemblyman Brian Bergen refused to join the praise chorus over news shared Tuesday by the Trump administration that the drones terrorizing residents along the east coast—especially New Jersey—throughout December were government-approved research flights.
He’s been making the rounds, first on Dan Abrams Live Tuesday and Wednesday with Rich McHugh of Newsnation to criticize the administration’s meaningless response.
“Republicans rightly eviscerated the previous administration over its word salads, when they bothered to answer questions at all,” Bergen (R-Morris) said. “Don’t get me wrong, Karoline Leavitt kicked ass, except on drones. The people got a scripted non-answer. But it shut up a bunch of people because it came from Trump. Well, not me.”
While seated at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office after his inauguration Jan. 20, President Donald Trump fielded questions from reporters while signing executive orders. When asked about the unidentified drones over New Jersey, Trump said he “thinks it is terrible. I would like to find out what it is and tell the people.” He directed his chief of staff, Susie Wiles, to investigate.
Press Secretary Leavitt, in front of a packed room during her first press conference Tuesday, said Trump told her directly: “After research and study, the drones that were flying over New Jersey in large numbers were authorized to be flown by the FAA for research and various other reasons. Many of these drones were also hobbyists, recreational and private individuals that enjoy flying drones. In time, it got worse due to curiosity. This was not the enemy.”
Bergen wasn’t satisfied.
“Every aircraft in the sky is authorized to be there by the FAA. That’s not news,” Bergen said.
Drones were first spotted Nov. 18 in Morris and Hunterdon counties, including near Picatinny Arsenal, an Army research facility in Jefferson and Rockaway townships. Bergen and other New Jersey Republicans demanded answers from Gov. Phil Murphy and the Biden administration. Their answer was an hour-long meeting Dec. 11 where officials admitted they had no answers but the drones were nonthreatening.
“They’re saying no threat but how the hell do they know,” Bergen said after walking out of that meeting. “[The State Police, the FBI, and Homeland Security] don’t know anything.”
Speculation grew that the drones were operated by hostile foreign actors perched off the east coast; others suggested radioactive material went missing and drones were being deployed to hunt. Hundreds of reports of drone sightings flooded in from around the state in the following weeks, leading to a statement from the FBI and U.S. Department of Homeland Security that insisted most sightings were lawful manned aircraft. Still, the FAA issued temporary flight restrictions on drones. Most, if not all, those bans have lifted.
“Why would the FAA put temporary flight restrictions all over New Jersey in response to the drone issue when there was no drone issue and it was their own making?” Bergen asked. “This caused so much chaos. The Trump administration’s response, honestly, it’s not good enough for anybody including me.”
