(NewsNation) — NewsNation’s Ross Coulthart will examine the perplexing case of the mysterious drones seen all over New Jersey in an hour-long special program on NewsNation at 9 p.m. ET on Dec. 14. Not sure how to find NewsNation on your TV? Use our ChannelFinder app.
One politician in New Jersey is calling for a “limited” state of emergency after what he said is a lack of government transparency over the recent unexplained wave of drone sightings in the Northeast and in New Jersey near a military base.
State Sen. Jon Bramnick questioned why the Department of Defense is not being more transparent with the public.
“This started as some questions, and now it’s reached the point of almost insanity,” Bramnick said on NewsNation’s “Morning in America with Hena Doba” Saturday morning. “You think about a United States senator who has to go out with the local police to look for drones. That’s where United States senator is getting information.”
He said he got a briefing from the state police who also did not know the drones’ origins.
“Not only did I call for a limited state of emergency and the FAA shutting down the airspace for drones but also having the Department of Defense come in and answer questions,” he said. “If the Department of Defense doesn’t know where the origins are for these so-called drones, then we’re in trouble.”
Bramnick called the situation “scary” and terrifying.
President-elect Donald Trump called for government transparency, posting about the drones to his social media platform Truth Social on Friday.
Trump wants the military to shoot them down. Meanwhile, the Pentagon said a foreign entity is not responsible for the drones.
“I would leave that up to the Department of Defense. But how can the Department of Defense not provide information to the public? This is a shock to me,” Bramnick said.
He’s not the only lawmaker calling on other government officials to take action.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., concurred with Trump’s sentiments that the military should shoot the drones “if necessary.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, both New York Democrats, joined New Jersey Democratic Sens. Cory Booker and Andy Kim in writing a letter asking for a briefing with the FBI and Department of Homeland Security “as soon as possible.”
“My guess is there is information, but they’re holding it back,” Bramnick said. “And now what you have is panic … and at the next point, somebody is going to do something stupid, so the Department of Defense has to come clean with the American public.”
NewsNation’s Tom Dempsey contributed to this report.
