Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

White House dodges question on UFO whistleblower

Whistleblower is an Air Force veteran and former member of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and National Reconnaissance Office

Ariana Baio
Wednesday 07 June 2023 02:39 EDT
Comments
UFO expert talks UFO Files

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre dodged a reporter’s question concerning extraterrestrial life, referring the query to the Pentagon during the White House press briefing on Tuesday 6 June. 

The question was related to a recent report from a whistleblower who claims the US government has concealed physical evidence of “non-human origin” craft from Congress and filed a complaint for alleged retaliation.

The reporter asked Ms Jean-Pierre: “This whistleblower report alleging that the US military’s been retrieving craft of non-human origin for at least several decades. Are we alone? And if we were not, would you even tell us?”

In response, Ms Jean-Pierre said she “would refer that question to the Department of Defense and let them answer that”.

The whistleblower, David Charles Grusch, is an Air Force veteran and former member of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and National Reconnaissance Office.

Mr Grusch served as the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency’s senior technical adviser for Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) analysis with Top Secret/Secret Compartmented Information clearance, according to The Debrief.

He claims during his time on the UAP task force, he was refused access to a materials recovery programme that included physical evidence of crafts. He believes the materials recovery programme was shielded from proper congressional oversight.

“These are retrieving non-human origin technical vehicles, call it a spacecraft if you will, non-human exotic origin vehicles that have either landed or crashed,” Mr Grusch told NewsNation this week.

Mr Grusch told The Debrief that he chose to share the classified information, confidentially to the Department of Defense Inspector General, but that his identity was somehow disclosed.

Now, he’s filed a whistleblower complaint, alleging that he suffered retaliation for disclosing the confidential information.

The Independent has reached out to the Intelligence Community Inspector General for comment regarding the whistleblower complaint.

Sue Gough, a spokesperson for the DOD said in a statement provided to The Independent that to date the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) does not have “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.”

The All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) investigates unidentified flying objects and other phenomena in the air, sea, land or space.

Ms Gough said the AARO is “committed to following the data and its investigation wherever it leads” adding that they are working with the Office of the General Counsel and the Air Force Office of Special Investigations to establish “a safe and secure process for individuals ot come forward with information to aid AARO in it’s congressionally-mandated historical review.”

“AARO welcomes the opportunity to speak with any former or current government employee or contractor who believes they have information relevant to the historical review,” Ms Gough added.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in