Congressional Leaders Demand UFO Transparency, Whistleblower Protections

Members of Congress joined UAP whistleblowers at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday to demand greater government transparency on unidentified anomalous phenomena, calling on the Trump administration to release classified records and strengthen protections for those willing to come forward.The bipartisan effort was led by Representatives Anna Paulina Luna, Florida Republican, Eric Burlison, Missouri Republican, Jared Moskowitz, Florida Democrat, and Tim Burchett, Tennessee Republican. Each declared that the American public has a right to know what the government has been concealing — not only about potential extraterrestrial life but also about how the Pentagon is spending taxpayer money.“For decades, the American people have been treated like children, told there are government secrets they just don’t get to know,” Mr. Burlison said of the longstanding secrecy surrounding the subject.“This is the moment. Use the authority that you have, Mr. President. The American people are behind you,” Mr. Burlison said. “This is a worldwide call for action, and what you know and help, help us. Please release every record, every file, and every piece of information. The time is now.”Mr. Moskowittz echoed the call, saying, “The American people can handle it, and it’s time we tell them the truth.”“I don’t know what the full truth is, but I know we’re being lied to, and the American people know that also,” Mr. Moskowitz said. “The time for disclosure is now. Disclosure today, disclosure tomorrow. The American people have a right to know. We know about these advanced technology programs. We know they come out of Area 51. They did when we went to kill Osama bin Laden with an advanced technology helicopter that Congress never funded. There are trillions of dollars missing at the Pentagon.”Ms. Luna called on the White House to take immediate action to increase transparency and protect those who come forward. “We are requesting that whistleblowers receive temporary immunity — or permanent immunity — and if they are able to divulge, whether it is locations of craft and/or advanced technologies, as you know, this is something that we are all wanting to know the truth on,” she said.And Mr. Burchett was equally blunt, suggesting that even a congressional tour of Area 51 would yield little of value. “All they would get is a T-shirt because the government would move everything else.”“We’re up against a cover-up. This thing’s been covered up at least since 1947. The public deserves the right to know. It’s your dadgum tax dollars. It’s not about little green men or flying saucers. It’s about what are we spending all these millions and possibly billions of dollars on that these idiots tell us don’t exist, and then yet we turn right around in the SCIF [Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility] and then they tell us they do exist!” Mr. Burchett said.Lawmakers also called for the release of specific records, including files related to the 1996 Varginha incident in Brazil, where witnesses reported contact with non-human beings who were allegedly transported to the United States.Former intelligence officer David Grusch, who first went on record as a whistleblower in 2023 claiming the government had recovered non-human vehicles, joined lawmakers in pressing for transparency. He claimed that political appointees have deliberately withheld information. “The topics that we’re discussing here today go beyond life in the universe,” Mr. Grusch said, citing national security concerns posed by UAPs. “There are serious homeland security and airspace safety issues. There are relevant counterintelligence and technology protection issues that must be taken into consideration. For decades unknown objects have freely operated in and restricted airspace in large metropolitan areas and critical infrastructure, and the agencies responsible for securing the homeland cannot adequately defend against it. This is a serious national security issue,” said Mr. Grusch, who co-lead the UAP portfolio for the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency and worked with some of the highest officials within the Department of Defense and intelligence community.Mr. Burchett, who has been spearheading a congressional effort for transparency on UAPs, told NewsNation last week that some federal agencies are stonewalling. “People in these alphabet agencies are blocking the president of the United States. As power is control, I think there could be some economic incentives to it. They’re going to take this high road and say it’s going to disrupt religion and all this other stuff. I just don’t buy that as a Christian, that doesn’t affect me one bit.”The Capitol Hill press conference comes as Stephen Spielberg’s new movie, “Disclosure Day,” is set to hit theaters on Friday. The film explores the theological implications of extraterrestrial disclosure, sparking conversation about faith, science, and government secrecy.In a Sunday on “CBS News Sunday Morning,” Mr. Spielberg spoke with Turner Classic Movies host Ben Mankiewicz about the film, which follows a meteorologist and cybersecurity expert as they expose a decades-long government cover-up of extraterrestrial secrets.“There’s a faction in the film that represents a pretty good position of why — possibly because of ontological shock, social dislocation — if this truth… were just known overnight, if the government announced, ‘Yes, we have been keeping this from you since 1947,’ that would mess up a lot of people,” the director of “E.T.” and “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” said.The film features a former Roman Catholic nun as a central character and directly engages with the Catholic Church’s theological stance on the existence of extraterrestrial life. “What does this do to the fundamental beliefs that many of us have? Is God, our God, only on this planet, or is God a God for every system where there’s civilization, intelligent life, and even developing life?” Mr. Spielberg said.The press conference also comes after scientists released the first major update in more than 15 years to the global protocols governing how researchers should handle evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence — and the rules are more urgent than ever.The revised Declaration of Principles, ratified by the International Academy of Astronautics, says no public announcement may be made until a signal or artifact has been independently confirmed by multiple organizations using different instruments and methods. Scientists are explicitly warned against rushing to conclusions — initial findings may be ambiguous, incomplete, or take months, even years, to fully analyze.Perhaps the most striking provision in the Declaration is the “No Reply” rule. Even if humanity receives a confirmed message from an extraterrestrial civilization, no response may be sent until international consultations — conducted through the United Nations — have been completed. The decision to reply, the declaration states, belongs to all of humanity.In Tuesday’s press conference, there was also mention of the 14 people tied to sensitive U.S. nuclear and aerospace programs who have recently died or vanished under mysterious circumstances. Mr. Burchett said the media has been slow to get on the story. “Y’all are the media; you’ll figure it out. Of course there’s something going on. If you had 14 rabbis, 14 preachers, 14 used car salesmen disappear, you’d be asking questions. There’s something going on,” he said.

Congressional Leaders Demand UFO Transparency, Whistleblower Protections

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