Classified UFO briefing leaves some House lawmakers hopeful, others frustrated
Dissatisfaction and optimism emerge as House lawmakers attend a classified briefing on UFOs (UAP)
The US government’s knowledge of UFOs, or unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) as they are officially called, remains shrouded in mystery, as House lawmakers learned in a classified briefing on Friday.
The briefing, which was attended by House Oversight and Accountability Committee members and Thomas Monheim, inspector general of the intelligence community, was supposed to increase transparency on the UAP issue, but left some lawmakers dissatisfied and others hopeful.
The briefing followed a public hearing in July, where three former Defense Department officials testified before the panel’s national security subcommittee that UAP sightings could threaten national security.
The hearing also followed allegations from former military intelligence officer and whistleblower David Grusch, who claimed that the Pentagon and other agencies are hiding information about UAP, including a “multi-decade” program to reverse engineer alien technology that the U.S. government has recovered from crash sites and possesses. The Pentagon denies his claims.
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However, some lawmakers who attended the briefing said they did not get any new information about Grusch’s accusations.
‘All they know is just right in that little circle’
“Let’s just say that all of us were very interested in the substance of his claims, and unfortunately, I didn’t get the answers that I was hoping for,” said Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), who was one of several members frustrated with the lack of new material at the briefing.
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), who said the briefing was just “more of the same,” echoed his sentiment.
“It’s very compartmentalized; it’s like looking down the barrel of a .22 rifle. All they know is just right in that little circle,” he told reporters.
“Now it’s just whack-a-mole — you go to the next [briefing], until we get some answers.”
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Burchett, who believes in extraterrestrial life and accuses the U.S. government of covering up evidence of it, added that what was discussed Friday “verified what I thought.”
Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.), who is part of the UAP Caucus but not the Oversight Committee, said what “most Americans fear is true,” alleging that there is a “concerted effort to conceal as much information as possible — both in Congress and to the general public.”
“I asked very specific questions and was unable to get specific answers,” he said. “And so that’s a problem, and we’re not going to stop until we get the truth.”
Some lawmakers are satisfied with the briefing
But not all lawmakers were pessimistic, with Rep Eric Burlison (R-Mo.) telling reporters that the briefing gave lawmakers “a direction to go next, and that’s the key thing.”
“I think that some people were looking for things. This was not the venue to determine those things, but for me, I got a lot of clarity,” he added.
Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), who said it’s reasonable to contend that “everyone that was in the room received probably new information,” also expressed optimism.
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Garcia introduced the Safe Airspace for Americans Act earlier this week, along with Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.). The bill is intended to close the gap in UAP reporting by allowing civilian pilots and personnel to report encounters with the Federal Aviation Administration, which would send reports to the Pentagon’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, in exchange for legal protections.