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Ross Coulthart

Australian journalist whose 2023 NewsNation interview brought David Grusch to television. Relays anonymous-sourced UAP claims; official responses are appended here.

Current role: Australian investigative journalist; senior special investigations correspondent for NewsNation, presenting Reality Check; author of In Plain Sight

Former roles:

  • Chief investigative reporter, 60 Minutes Australia (Nine Network)
  • Reporter, Sunday (Nine Network) and Sunday Night (Seven Network)
  • Reporter, Four Corners (ABC) and the Sydney Morning Herald

@rosscoulthart on X

Background

Ross Coulthart is an Australian investigative journalist who worked for 60 Minutes Australia, the Nine Network's Sunday and the Seven Network's Sunday Night before moving onto the UAP beat. His book In Plain Sight (HarperCollins, 2021) led to a role at NewsNation, where he presents Reality Check and conducted the June 2023 interview in which David Grusch first made his claims on television. Much of his reporting since then rests on unnamed sources, so his items on this site are presented as claims, with any official response attached. His speaker bio lists the outlets and the NewsNation title.

On the record

  • 2026-10-18 – NewsNation Reality Check – claimed, citing unnamed sources, that President Trump is now fully aware of a crash-retrieval programme and that it is overseen at a high level in the White House, naming Devin Nunes, chair of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board. No White House response. Episode · Cybernews
  • 2026-06-28 – NewsNation Reality Check live Q&A, Washington bureau – said people he had spoken to in a "legacy program" knew Luis Elizondo and that "Lue needs to be more forthcoming about his past roles." Elizondo replied the next day that he had worked in AATIP and could not confirm or deny classified programs. – UAP Logbook
  • 2025-07-01 – NewsNation Reality Check – interviewed Sen. Mike Rounds, who confirmed he intended to push for reintroduction of the UAP Disclosure Act and said some UAP information "has been improperly withheld". – Interview
  • 2025-05-21 – US-Japan UAP roundtable, Tokyo – appeared alongside Rep. Eric Burlison and Christopher Mellon. – Event video
  • 2025-01-24 – NewsNation – published the full-length interview with Jake Barber, who describes alleged crash-retrieval work, plus corroborating interviews with Fred Baker, John Blitch and Don Paul Bales. No documentary evidence accompanied the claims. – Full interview
  • 2023-06-11 – NewsNation – the Grusch interview aired, in which Grusch described his claims about a retrieval and reverse-engineering programme. – Speaker bio describing the interview

Reported claims (secondary / anonymous-sourced)

  • 2026-08-09 – X post, then Reality Check – according to Coulthart, citing unnamed sources, President Trump authorised a Department of War operation to intercept unidentified objects around White Sands, and objects had been downed in the US and near Ciudad Juárez. Official response, via Liberation Times (Sep 2026): a Department of War official said "We refer you to the White House regarding any orders, directives, or authorization issues by President Trump", and on a related Colorado sighting Deputy Press Secretary Joel Valdez said "After conducting a thorough records review, the Department of War did not find any footage pertaining to the alleged sighting in question." The White House had not answered by Liberation Times' 25 Sep deadline. – Liberation Times
  • 2026-06-28 – Reality Check – according to Coulthart, citing unnamed former programme personnel, Elizondo held a role inside a legacy programme. Elizondo: "I worked in a program called AATIP." – UAP Logbook
  • 2025-06-29 – X – said the UAP Disclosure Act had been rewritten and would be reintroduced, ahead of his Rounds interview. Rounds confirmed the intent on the record two days later. – Disclosure Diaries post

Responses and criticism

  • The Department of War did not confirm any shoot-down order and referred questions to the White House, which did not respond. – Liberation Times, 2026-09-26
  • Luis Elizondo disputed the legacy-programme characterisation the day after it aired. – UAP Logbook

Timeline of involvement

  • 2021 – In Plain Sight published (HarperCollins)
  • 2023-06-11 – Grusch interview airs on NewsNation
  • 2025-01-24 – full Jake Barber interview published
  • 2025-07-01 – Rounds interview on the UAPDA
  • 2026-06-28 – legacy-programme remarks about Elizondo, and his reply
  • 2026-07-24 to 26 – attends the SCU conference, Toronto
  • 2026-08-09 – White Sands shoot-down claim, with no White House answer as of 2026-09-26

Part of the Key People in Disclosure series. Verified 2026-11-02. Spotted an error? Reach out.