Drones everywhere: What is Gov. Murphy hiding?

Reports of drones continue to pour in since we first heard from Florham Park Mayor Mark Taylor on Nov. 18 reporting a Black Hawk helicopter and several low-flying drones over his home.

Since then, there have been hundreds of low-flying, car-sized aircraft spotted over most of the counties in the Garden State. What started as a speculation that the drones were left over from an NYC Disney show and jokes about little green men has developed into outright concern that the drones are potential enemy craft violating American air space.

Congressman Jeff Van Drew has been at the forefront of the drive to get information and he joined me on the show Thursday morning.

He was able to walk us through ruling out hobbyists and corporate America.

He also talked us through the outright denials from the federal government.

Congressman Van Drew was the first to report that there were credible sources reporting that the drones were being launched from an Iranian mothership off the coast of Jersey. The Pentagon was quick to shoot down that idea but offered nothing in the way of an alternative explanation.

We have since learned through our members of Congress, Chris Smith and Jeff Van Drew, that the Coast Guard has confirmed that recent sightings have originated from the ocean. We know that our government isn't claiming any responsibility, so is our government lying? Or do they really not know and have allowed a foreign enemy to cruise through our airspace? Either way, it's not good.

Let's face it, the governor didn't even respond or address the issue until thousands of our listeners overwhelmed his office phones after I asked them to pressure him to tell us what he knows. His conference was awful with zero information offered.

Then Assemblyman Erik Peterson and John Dimaio sent a letter to the governor asking for a briefing. The result was another useless meeting with mayors and legislators being invited to the Regional Operations Intelligence Center. The meeting was hastily planned and several mayors letting us know they were not invited personally, including Keyport Mayor Rose Araneo. The meeting was conducted by State Police Superintendent Col. Pat Callahan who did his best to cover for the lack of information.

Let's face it, the governor is a total coward for hiding behind the colonel. No Information. The bureaucracy was on full display. Lack of communication, deflection and finger-pointing were the real highlights.

Dr. William Austin, who runs the drone program at Warren Community College, says 800,000 to 1,000,000 drones are sold to U.S. companies from communist China. The Chinese don't need to send drones — they are already spying on us with the drones that are already here.

He thinks the drone sightings are overblown because many are mistaking planes for drones. The real danger is the fact that the U.S. is using drones from China and we are essentially allowing China to spy on us through our own drones.

Since the government is not offering anything in the way of an explanation and our governor is essentially disconnected and seemingly uninterested, I will continue to follow this story, speak out on this platform and several national platforms to keep the public informed and push our government to act in the best interest of the American people.

Peter Guindi — South River