Stephanie Scarbrough via AP
- Former CIA Director Leon Panetta discussed reports of a new Russian weapon.
- Panetta told CNN the weapon could disable US satellites.
- He said that the US was likely developing ways to counter the weapon.
Former CIA Director Leon Panetta said that Russia could "blind" the US by using a nuclear-capable weapon to disable satellites in space.
Speaking to CNN Wednesday, Panetta, who also served as defense secretary under Barack Obama, was taking part in a discussion of an unnamed threat to US national security.
It became (partially) public after US lawmakers started to describe briefings they received about the threat, which they did not name.