House Oversight & Accountability subcommittee Hearing on UAP – a summary

Background: Former United States Air Force officer and intelligence official; before going public with his claims he was serving as the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency's co-lead in Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) and transmedium object analysis

Summary of claims made to Congress under oath:

• In the course of his official duties he was informed of a multi-decade UAP crash retrieval and reverse engineering program to which he was denied access
• Members of various UAP-related Legacy Programs have purposely and intentionally thwarted legitimate Congressional oversight of the UAP Program
• The U.S. government is in possession of a number of intact and partially intact UAP craft
• The U.S. has retrieved "non-human" biological matter from the pilots of the crafts and that this "was the assessment of people with direct knowledge on the [UAP] program I talked to, that are currently still on the program"
• American citizens have been harmed and killed as part of the government's efforts to cover up Disclosure
• American citizens have been harmed and/or killed during UAP encounters
• His claims are allegedly predicated on his interviews of 40 witnesses over four years
• He could not elaborate publicly on some aspects of his claims due to their confidential nature, but offered to provide further details to representatives in a sensitive compartmented information facility (SCIF)
• He has provided the full extent of his evidence to the appropriate Intel Committees and the Intelligence Community Inspector General; including a list of the names and titles of people with direct firsthand knowledge and access to the crash retrieval programs, as well as the facilities and/or military bases these recovered materials are currently in

Relevant links:

• Opening Statement for the House Oversight Committe - July 26 2023 (video)
• Opening Statement for the House Oversight Committee - July 26 2023 (PDF)
• Full House Oversight Committee Hearing Testimony(video)
• Full Hearing Transcript

Background: Former F-18 pilot with over a decade of service in the US Navy; currently serves as the Executive Director at Americans for Safe Aerospace

Summary of claims made under oath:

• Advanced UAP are a national security and an aviation safety problem
• UAP are in [US] airspace, but they are grossly underreported
• The stigma attached to UAP is real and powerful and challenges national security
• The [US] government knows more about UAP than shared publicly, and excessive over-classification practices keep crucial information hidden
• He has personal experience as a Close Observer of UAP, during his time as an F-18 pilot
• As a pilot, he was trained to be an expert observer tasked with identifying any aircraft within his operating area
• There are credible reports from both military and commercial aircrew of unidentified objects in US military and commercial airspace occurring with regularity

Summary of his personal experiences with UAP (also submitted to Congress under oath):

• In 2014, he was near Virginia Beach as part of VFA-11, a Navy Fighter/Attack Squadron made up of F/A-18F Super Hornets
• Upon a radar system upgrade, unknown objects began to be detected in their airspace.
• Initially dismissed as software glitches, their actual physical presence was corroborated using radar tracks with infrared sensors
• UAP sightings became an open secret among the aircrews due to their common occurrence. They were seen by most of his colleagues on radar and occasionally up close.
• The sightings were so frequent, they became part of daily briefs
• A pivotal incident occurred during one particular air combat training mission where all traffic into the training area was going through a single GPS point at a set altitude.
  
  Just at the moment two jets crossed this threshold, one of the pilots saw a dark gray cube inside of a clear sphere — motionless against the wind, fixed directly at the entry point.
  
  The jets, only 100 feet apart, were forced to take evasive action. They terminated the mission immediately and returned to base.
• His squadron submitted a safety report, but there was no official acknowledgement of the incident and no further mechanism to report the sightings
• This UAP was tracked on multiple sensors and behaved in ways that surpassed their understanding and technology.
• The UAP could accelerate at speeds up to Mach 1, hold their position against hurricane-force winds, and outlast their fighter jets, operating continuously throughout the day.
• The UAP did not have any visible means of lift, control surfaces or propulsion — nothing that resembled normal aircraft with wings, flaps or engines.

Summary of 2003 Vandenberg Airforce incident:

• Upon the specific request from Rep. Luna, Ryan Graves submitted the following incident that was reported to him to the official record – "In the 2003 timeframe, a large group of Boeing contractors were operating near one of the launch facilities at Vandenberg Air Force Base. When they observed a very large, hundred-yard-sided red square approach the base from the ocean and hover at low altitude over one of the launch facilities. This object remained for about 45 seconds or so before darting off over the mountains." (Page 25)
• "This object was estimated to be almost a size of a football field and I have not seen anything personally that large. "
• He continues "Later in the evening, post sunset, there were reports of other sightings on base, including some aggressive behaviors. These objects were approaching some of the security guards at rapid speeds before darting off. And this is information that was received through one of the witnesses that have approached me at Americans for Safe Aerospace...[and who] had official documentation and records from the event "(Page 25)

Relevant links:

• Opening Statement for the House Oversight Committe - July 26 2023 (video)
• Opening Statement for the House Oversight Committee - July 26 2023 (PDF)
• Americans for Safe Aerospace Website
• Full hearing transcript

Background: Retired Commander in the U.S. Navy; in November 2004 he was the Commanding Officer of Strike Fighter Squadron Forty-One stationed onboard the USS Nimitz

Summary of his personal experience with UAP (submitted to Congress under oath):

• Fravor was the Commanding Officer of Strike Fighter Squadron Forty-One, attached to Carrier Airwing Eleven and stationed onboard the USS Nimitz (CVN-68)
• On November 14, 2004, he was tasked with investigating radar indications of a possible target off the coast of southern California
• Fravor was informed that the USS Princeton (CG-59), part of the strike group, had been tracking unusual airborne objects for two weeks prior to the incident.
• The objects would appear at 80,000 feet (24,000 m) before descending rapidly toward the sea, and stopping at 20,000 feet (6,100 m) and hovering, sometimes for hours, before returning straight up
• Upon arriving at the location as indicated by the radar operator, he reported that he saw an object, white and oval, hovering above an ocean disturbance. He estimated that the object was about 40 feet (12 m) long
• Fravor and another pilot, Alex Dietrich, confirmed that a total of four people (two pilots and two weapons systems officers in the back seats of the two fighter jets) witnessed the object for about 5 minutes
• Fravor says that as he spiraled down to get closer to the object, the object ascended, mirroring the trajectory of his airplane, until the object disappeared at high velocity
• As they turned back towards their CAP (Combat Air Patrol) point, roughly 60 miles east, the air controller informed them that the object had reappeared on the USS Princeton’s Aegis SPY 1 radar at their precise CAP point
• This Tic Tac Object had just traveled 60 miles to a strategic (and supposedly unknown point) in a very short period of time – less than a minute
• After Fravor and his wingman returned – a second wave of fighters, including pilot Lieutenant Commander Chad Underwood, took off from Nimitz to investigate further
• This crew then took the approximately 90 second "FLIR1" video that was released by the NYT in 2017.
• What is not seen is the Radar tape that showed the jamming of the APG-73 radar in the aircraft, but we do see that the object does not emit any IR (infrared) plume – which one would expect from a normal propulsion system.
• He believes the Tic Tac Object he engaged in Nov 2004 was far superior to anything that the US had at the time, today (as of 2023), or are looking to develop in the next 10+ years.

Relevant links:

• Opening Statement for the House Oversight Committe - July 26 2023 (video)
• Opening Statement for the House Oversight Committee - July 26 2023 (PDF)
• Full hearing transcript

Background: former mayor of Knox County, Tennessee; currently serving as the U.S. representative for Tennessee's 2nd congressional district since 2019; played an instrumental role in facilitating the hearing in the first place, along with Rep. Luna and Rep. Moskowitz

Contributions and claims:

• Has been extremely vocal on his intentions to force the UAP issue out into the open for transparency's sake
• Has publicly claimed that the hearing on July 26 faced extreme amounts of pushback from various elements with the US government/security apparatus - "We've run into roadblocks from members from the intelligence community, the Pentagon” (Page 3)
• Has publicly stated that other prospective whistleblowers/witnesses were intimidated and/or pressured not to come forward in the run-up to the July 26 hearing – “Also, the Pentagon has flexed their muscle. We've lost a witness because of that"
• “We’re going to uncover the cover up.” – said Rep. Tim Burchett during his opening statement at the July 26 hearing
• “This is ridiculous folks. Either [UAP] do exist or they don’t exist. They keep telling us they don’t exist, but they block every opportunity for us to get a hold of the information to prove that they do exist,” Burchett said in the run-up to the hearing. “And we’re gonna get to the bottom of that dadgummit. Whatever the truth may be. We’re done with the coverup."
• He questioned Grusch directly, "Can you give me the names and titles of the people with direct firsthand knowledge and access to some of these crash retrieval programs and maybe which facilities, military bases that the recovered material would be in?"
  
  To which Grusch replies – "I can't discuss that publicly, but I did provide that information both to the intel committees and the Inspector General". (Page 32)

Relevant links:

• Full hearing transcript

Background: politician and activist serving as the U.S. representative from Florida's 13th congressional district since 2023; played an instrumental role in facilitating the July 26 UAP hearing, along with Rep. Burchett and Rep. Moskowitz

Contributions:

• In her opening remarks at the hearing, she highlights the lack of transparency and track record of obfuscation the U.S. government has with regards to the UAP topic – "This isn't just how I feel. In fact, the American people largely believe that the government has actively covered up the truth about UAPs. " (Page 5)
• She gets Grusch to confirm that he has "had incidences that have caused [Grusch] to be in fear for [his] life, for addressing these issues". (Page 23)
• She wonders, "if [the gatekeepers of the UAP information] were really not scared about this information coming out, why would someone be intimidated like that". (Page 24)
• She questions Grusch on whether he has communicated with Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick (head of AARO) - to which he indicates in the affirmative, specifying that he (Grusch) had provided Dr. Kirkpatrick with his concerns in April 2022 (before Dr. Kirkpatrick took the helm of AARO in June 2022). (Page 24)
• She then asks, "Do you know why he might not have followed up with you?", to which Grusch had to admit he didn't know why. (Page 24)
• Rep. Luna also requested Ryan Graves elaborate on the Vandenburg Air Base incident (described in Ryan Graves' section above), as well as the context surrounding the Gimbal video. (Page 25)
• Through her line of questions, she also reveals that some commercial pilots have received cease and desist letters from their employers in response to coming forward with their observations. (Page 25)

Relevant links:

• Full hearing transcript

Background: politician serving as the U.S. representative for Florida's 23rd congressional district since 2023; played an instrumental role in facilitating the hearing in the first place, along with Rep. Burchett and Rep. Luna

Contributions:

• Entered relevant quotes from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and former Director of National Intelligence John Radcliffe into the record (Page 8)
• Emphasized the need for greater transparency on UAP, saying "we can't allow [national security] to be used as a shield to keep the American people completely in the dark from basic truths." (Page 8)
• Mentions that relevant satellite imagery has not been made available to Congress (Page 8), and follows up on it with David Grusch later (Page 28), who indicates there has been satellite imagery of objects that defy prosaic explanations that has not been shared with Congress
• Rep. Moskowitz mentions specific military facilities he believes Congress should be allowed to inspect, " if there's nothing to conceal, let Congress go to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, the Dugway Proving Ground, or even Groom Lake in Nevada. We should have disclosure today. We should have disclosure tomorrow. The time has come." (Page 9)
• He clarified that David Grusch has interviewed people with direct first-hand knowledge of "non-human origin craft" (Page 27)
• He questioned Grusch on how the Legacy programs are able to sustain themselves, from a funding perspective (Pages 27-28)

Relevant links:

• Full hearing transcript

Background: lawyer and politician who has served as the U.S. representative for Florida's 1st congressional district since 2017

Contributions:

• During the hearing, Rep. Gaetz entered the following statement into the record, based on his own personal experience:
  "Several months ago my office received a protected disclosure from Eglin Air Force Base indicating that there was a UAP incident that required my attention. I sought a briefing regarding that episode and brought with me Congressman Burchett and Congresswoman Luna. We asked to see any of the evidence that had been taken by flight crew in this endeavor and to observe any radar signature, as well as to meet with the flight crew. We were not afforded access to all of the flight crew, and initially we were not afforded access to images and to radar.
  
  Thereafter we had a bit of a discussion about how authorities flow in the United States of America, and we did see the image and we did meet with one member of the flight crew who took the image.
  
  The image was of something that I am not able to attach to any human capability, either from the United States or from any of our adversaries. And I'm somewhat informed on the matter, having served on the Armed Services Committee for seven years, having served on the committee that oversees DARPA and advanced technologies for several years.
  
  When we spoke with the flight crew and when he showed us the photo that he'd taken, I asked why the video wasn't engaged, why we didn't have a FLIR system that worked. Here's what he said. They were out on a test mission that day over the Gulf of Mexico. And when you're on a test mission, you're supposed to have clear airspace, not supposed to be anything that shows up. And they saw a sequence of four craft in a clear diamond formation, for which there is a radar sequence that I and I alone have observed in the United States Congress. One of the pilots goes to check out that diamond formation and sees a large floating, what I can only describe as an orb. Again, like I said, not of any human capability that I'm aware of." (Pages 41-42)
• Following up on the above, he says – "I would suggest that the radar images that were collected of this formation of craft out of Eglin Air Force base, and specifically the actual image taken by the actual flight crew that we can actually validate be provided to the committee, subpoenaed if necessary, so that we're able to track how to get this type of reporting and analysis done in a more fulsome way. That would be my recommendation"

Relevant links:

• Full hearing transcript

Background: politician and activist who has served as the U.S. representative for New York's 14th congressional district since 2019

Contributions:

• Rep. Cortez had a specific interest in how defense contractors were able to evade congressional oversight, and misuse public funds (Page 35)
• Rep. Cortez asks, "if you were me, where would you look? Titles, programs, departments, regions? If you could just name anything, and I put that as an open question to the three of you."
  
  To which Grusch responds, "I'd be happy to give you that in a closed environment. I can tell you specifically." (Page 36)

Relevant links:

• Full hearing transcript

Background: politician and businessman who has served as the U.S. representative for Tennessee's 5th congressional district since 2023

Contributions:

• Explicitly threatened to make use of the Holman Rule to overcome any efforts by various elements of the US government/security apparatus to keep Congress in the dark. The Holman rule is a rule in the United States House of Representatives that allows amendments to appropriations legislation that would reduce the salary of or fire specific federal employees, or cut a specific program. (Page 50)
• Went down a line of questioning directly related to national (if not global) security with all 3 witnesses that established the following – UAP may be probing defense capabilities; UAP may be collecting reconnaissance information; UAP seem to have an interest in Nuclear technology and capabilities; UAP demonstrate abilities that far outmatch current U.S. military capabilities; UAP provide an existential threat to the national security of the United States (Pages 48-50)

Relevant links:

• Full hearing transcript

Background: attorney, law professor, and politician serving as the U.S. representative for Maryland's 8th congressional district since 2017

Contributions:

• The line of questioning Rep. Raskin took emphasised the need for transparency and better reporting methods to enable witnesses and whistleblowers to come forward without fear of reprisal (Pages 22-23)

Relevant links:

• Full hearing transcript

July:
Mr. Grusch confidentially provides UAP-related classified information to the Department of Defense Inspector General (DoD IG) Sean O’Donnell. At that time, Mr. Grusch communicated classified information about the improper withholding and/or concealment of classified material from the US Congress by certain Intelligence Community (IC) elements. (Source, page 2)

May:
The former Inspector General of the Intelligence Community (IC IG) Charles McCullough III  (Grusch's attorney) files a Disclosure of Urgent Concern(s); Complaint of Reprisal on Grusch's behalf with current IC IG Thomas Monheim.

The complaint requests the IC IG to fulfill Mr. Grusch's desire to directly communicate the specifics of his 'UAP-related Urgent Concern(s)' to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. The complaint also requests the IC IG initiate a whistleblower reprisal investigation to formally investigate the harassment Mr. Grusch alleges he has faced since making waves in 2021. (Source)

July:
Thomas Monheim, the current IC IG, deems David Grusch's May 2022 complaint “credible and urgent”. A summary was immediately submitted to the Director of National Intelligence, Avril Haines; the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

This 'credible and urgent' designation was informed by independent interviews conducted by Thomas Monheim to corroborate Grusch's claims.

December:
Based on the recommendation from the ICIG – David Grusch then provides separate (multi-hour) testimonies in a Secure Compartmentalised Information Facility (SCIF) to the General Counsels of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, with committee lawyers and an Inspector General representative present. No Senators were present during the testimony, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Grusch later testifies to the occurrence of these briefing under oath during the July 26 2023 UAP Hearing.

April:
Grusch provides the Defense Department’s Office of Prepublication and Security Review (DOPSR) the information he intends to disclose publicly, and it is subsequently “cleared for open publication” on April 4 and 6, 2023. He then resigns from the US government on April 7th.

June:
David Grusch’s story is reported by The Debrief on June 5th 2023. In this story, the former intelligence official turned whistleblower indicates that he has given Congress and the Intelligence Community Inspector General extensive classified information about deeply covert programs that he says possess retrieved craft of non-human origin.

He also sits down with investigative journalist Ross Coulthart for an interview with NewsNation, where he reiterates his claims regarding NHI, multi-decade UAP crash retrieval and reverse engineering programs, and a long-standing governmental disinformation campaign to keep the secret under wraps. This interview was aired in full on June 11th 2023. (Original NewsNation snippet), (Full interview)

July:
Grusch appears before the House Oversight Committee's national security subcommittee, alongside two former fighter pilots (David Fravor and Ryan Graves) who had firsthand experience with UAPs.