UFO congressional hearing: what to know and how we got here

David Grusch, a whistleblower ex-intelligence official, is among the witnesses slated to appear before House committee hearing

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A House of Representatives committee is holding an eagerly-awaited hearing on UFOs today, which is expected to see remarkable claims regarding extraterrestrial life repeated in the most high-profile setting yet.

David Grusch, a whistleblower former intelligence official who in June claimed the US has possession of “intact and partially intact” alien vehicles, is among the witnesses slated to appear and will repeat his allegations in front of a seemingly supportive line-up of congressmen and women.

Both Tim Burchett and Anna Paulina Luna, the Republican representatives who are leading the oversight committee’s investigation into UFOs, appear receptive to Grusch’s claims.

In early July, Burchett declared that alien craft possess technology that could “turn us into a charcoal briquette”, and added that the US was “100%” seeing things in the sky “that might not be of this earth”.

How did we get here?

In June, Grusch, a former intelligence official, shocked people in the US and beyond when he claimed the US government has possession of “intact and partially intact” alien vehicles.

Grusch, who led analysis of unexplained anomalous phenomena (UAP) within a US Department of Defense agency until 2023, alleged in a series of interviews that the government and defense contractors had been recovering fragments of non-human craft, and in some cases entire craft, for decades.

Some of those crafts were “very large, like a football field kind of size”, Grusch told NewsNation.

He added that there had been “malevolent events” connected to UFOs.

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Grusch has not seen the alien craft himself, but said in an interview with the Debrief that his claims are based on “extensive interviews with high-level intelligence officials”.

Wednesday’s hearing was sparked by Grusch’s allegations that information on these alien vehicles is being illegally withheld from Congress.

Grusch said the government had a crash retrieval program which had collected downed UFO craft, and that his investigation into that program was stymied.

That prompted the House oversight committee to order an investigation and hearing into what the government knows, or doesn’t know, about UFOs.

Which witnesses will appear at the hearing?

The star turn will be Grusch himself, and he will be joined by David Fravor, a former navy commander who reported seeing a strange object in the sky while on a training mission in 2004.

Ryan Graves, a retired navy pilot who in 2021 told the 60 Minutes news show he had seen unidentified aerial phenomena off the Atlantic coast “every day for at least a couple years”, will also appear.

Has there been a smooth path to this hearing?

Not really. In fact, Burchett gave a furious press briefing on Thursday, when he alleged that the investigation into Grusch’s claims had been “stonewalled” by federal officials.

“We’ve had a heck of a lot of pushback about this hearing. There are a lot of people who don’t want this to come to light,” Burchett said.

We’re gonna get to the bottom of it, dadgummit. Whatever the truth may be. We’re done with the cover-up.” 

After Grusch initially aired his claims, the US defense department told NewsNation it has “not discovered any verifiable information to substantiate claims that any programs regarding the possession or reverse-engineering of any extraterrestrial materials have existed in the past or exist currently”.

Will we get proof of UFOs?

It seems unlikely, but the hearing is likely to raise questions.

We can expect to hear Grusch give a detailed version of his allegations regarding what the government knows about UFOs, and potentially more claims of evidence of aliens.

We might hear new information, too. Since the oversight committee began its investigation Burchett, without naming his sources, has not been shy in claiming that the US has proof of extraterrestrials.

On the Event Horizon podcast, Burchett was asked if had seen “compelling evidence” that the US was seeing things in the sky “that might not be of this earth”.

“Oh, 100%. 100%. No question,” he said.

Burchett has also said the US has evidence of technology that “defies all of our laws of physics”, and speculated that the extraterrestrial craft could be dangerous.

“If they’re out there, they’re out there, and if they have this kind of technology, then they could turn us into a charcoal briquette,” Burchett said.

- Guardian