An ex-Air Force intelligence officer told Congress on Wednesday that the US has been hiding a long-running program that recovers and decodes unidentified flying objects.
The Pentagon refuted his allegations.
The eagerly awaited testimony of retired Maj. David Grusch before a House Oversight subcommittee was Congress’ most recent dive into the subject of UAPs, or “unidentified aerial phenomena,” the term the U.S. government employs in place of “unidentified flying objects.”
Democrats and Republicans have advocated for further investigation as a national security issue in recent years due to worries that sightings reported by pilots may be connected to U.S. adversaries, despite the fact that the study of unexplained aircraft or objects sometimes inspires talk of aliens and “little green men.”
“I was informed in the course of my official duties of a multi-decade UAP crash retrieval and reverse engineering program to which I was denied access,” the man claimed.
When asked if the American government knew anything about alien life, Grusch responded that it’s possible that they have been aware of “non-human” activity since the 1930s.
Grusch’s allegations of a coverup have been refuted by the Pentagon. Defense Department spokeswoman Sue Gough said in a statement that investigators have not found “any verifiable information to substantiate claims that any programs regarding the possession or reverse-engineering of extraterrestrial materials have existed in the past or exist currently.”
Following his finding, Grusch claims he became a government whistleblower and has experienced reprisals for speaking out.
He cited an ongoing inquiry as his excuse for declining to provide more details regarding the retaliatory measures. Some of the methods they used to harm me both emotionally and professionally were “very brutal and very unfortunate,” he claimed.
The panel’s hearing was presided over by Rep. Glenn Grothman, R-Wis., who jokingly greeted the crowded room with, “Welcome to the most exciting subcommittee in Congress this week.
When compared to other recent hearings featuring whistleblowers who were praised by Republicans and vilified by Democrats, Grusch’s statements drew interest from both parties and were met with a more somber tone.
Both partisan lawmakers questioned Grusch about his UFO research, the challenges he faced, and how they could learn more.
Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Democrat from Maryland, said, “I take it you’re saying what we need is real transparency and reporting systems so we can get some clarity on what’s going on out there.”
Some legislators chastised the Pentagon for withholding information that could have been released to the public or for failing to provide further specifics in a classified briefing.
Pentagon representatives previously displayed a video shot from an F-18 fighter plane that captured a view of a single balloon-like structure. Officials from the Pentagon claimed in December that since resuming their investigation into UFO encounters, they had received “several hundreds” of new reports.
Ronald Moultrie, the undersecretary of defense for intelligence and security, stated at the time that “we have not seen anything, and we’re still very early on, that would lead us to believe that any of the objects that we have seen are of alien origin.
“We consider any unauthorized system in our airspace to be a safety threat.”
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