White House Called the China Spy Base Report 'Inaccurate.' Then Kirby Confirmed It (June 12, 2023)

When The Wall Street Journal reported that China planned an eavesdropping facility in Cuba, the White House said the story was wrong. “We’ve seen the reports; they’re inaccurate,” principal deputy press secretary Olivia Dalton told reporters in a press gaggle on June 9, 2023 [2].

Three days later, the administration’s story had changed. “The administration now says that China already does have this intelligence facility in Cuba,” a reporter told National Security Council spokesman John Kirby [1].

Asked what in the original report had been inaccurate, Kirby gave a one-word answer: “No” [1].

The video above shows the exchange from the June 12, 2023, White House briefing. Quotes are from the official transcripts published by the American Presidency Project [1][2].

”Not a New Development”

Kirby said the problem was old. “This is not a new development that China has been trying to achieve some intelligence-gathering capabilities in Cuba and, frankly, elsewhere in the hemisphere, and that, from day one, when we came in, we took this issue seriously. We’ve taken some steps to try to mitigate the vulnerability of those activities,” he said [1].

Dalton had sounded a similar note while still calling the report wrong. “Certainly, we are aware of Chinese presence in the Western Hemisphere, deeply concerned about that unwelcome presence, and particularly with respect to any projects that could have military implications,” she said [2].

”Are You Able to Characterize at All?”

The question was simple. “Are you able to characterize at all what about the initial Wall Street Journal report was inaccurate?” a reporter asked. “No,” Kirby said [1].

“Can you be more precise on when precisely China established a base? I know — I know you guys said it was at least 2019. That’s as far as you can go, in terms of how long?” the reporter followed up. “That’s as far as I’m going to go today,” Kirby answered [1].

”Why Wait Until Saturday?”

Another reporter pressed Kirby on the walk-back. “Can you just explain why you didn’t confirm all of this when it was first reported last week? You said it was ‘inaccurate.’ But what was inaccurate seemed to basically be the tense that they, you know, weren’t ‘going to establish’ but ‘had already established’ this facility. Why wait until Saturday to put this out there?” [1]

“I’m actually really glad you asked that question,” Kirby said. “We were as forthcoming as we should have been at the time the first stories appeared. There is — the sensitive nature of this information is such that we just simply couldn’t go into more detail” [1].

He blamed the leakers. “Sadly, not everybody seems to take it as seriously as we do, because, clearly, there’s a source or sources out there that think it’s somehow beneficial to put this kind of information into the public stream, and it’s absolutely not,” Kirby said [1].

“John, is there an effort to find the source of the leak on the Cuba base now?” another reporter asked. “Not that I’m aware of,” he said [1].

The same reporter asked whether the “inaccurate” denial had anything to do with Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s planned trip to China. “No,” Kirby said [1]. Asked whether the trip was still on, he said “the President wants to keep the lines of communication open with the PRC” [1].

”Not an Allegation. True.”

Kirby also pointed the finger at the Trump administration. A reporter noted that “John Ratcliffe said that the allegation that there was a Chinese spy base in Cuba under the Trump administration is not true.” Ratcliffe had been President Donald Trump’s director of national intelligence [1][4].

“Not an allegation. True. And our assessment is that the previous administration would have had the same access to that intelligence as we did,” Kirby said. Asked whether Trump’s team knew, he said: “That’s up to them speak to” [1].

”Because Joe Biden Is Weak”

Republicans had already seized on the report. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, then running for president, said on June 8: “China is growing its worldwide influence because Joe Biden is weak. Joe Biden and his administration’s feckless foreign policy emboldens the CCP around the globe---seeking platitudes while Xi inks a deal for Chinese intelligence and military access in America’s backyard” [3].

In the gaggle, a reporter asked Dalton directly: “But is President Biden too weak on Cuba? What do you think about that?” “I’ll have to leave it there. Thanks,” she said [2].

By the Numbers

3 days: from “they’re inaccurate” to Kirby’s briefing on the facility [2][1].
2019: the earliest date the White House would give for China’s spy operation in Cuba [1].
1 word: Kirby’s answer on what the report got wrong [1].
0: efforts to find the leaker that Kirby said he was aware of [1].

What Happened Next

Kirby said the U.S. had raised it with Havana. “Has there been any conversation with the Cuban government about the base or the Chinese trying to spy?” a reporter asked. “We’ve made our concerns known,” Kirby said. “To the Cuban government?” “Yes, we have” [1].

Ratcliffe went to the CIA. On Jan. 23, 2025, Ratcliffe was sworn in as director of the Central Intelligence Agency under Trump, after serving as director of national intelligence “from May 2020 to January 2021,” according to the CIA [4].

For another White House clash over China, see HYGO News’ page on Kirby, China and Russia.