Congressional Hearing Examines Alleged Government Secrecy on UAPs

A joint congressional subcommittee hearing examined allegations that the U.S. government is concealing significant information about unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs), including claims of secret crash retrieval programs and evidence of non-human intelligence. The November hearing featured testimony from military officials, a former Department of Defense employee, and journalists who allege systematic government suppression of UAP information.

Witnesses Allege Hidden Programs and Retribution

According to retired Rear Admiral Tim Gallaudet, UAP encounters pose real safety risks that military leadership has failed to address transparently. Gallaudet testified that in January 2015, while serving as commander of Navy meteorology and oceanography, he received an urgent email about multiple near-midair collisions during naval exercises involving the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group. The email, according to Gallaudet, included what became known as the “GIMBAL video” showing an object “exhibiting flight and structural characteristics unlike anything in our arsenal.” Gallaudet claims the email subsequently disappeared from his account and others’ without explanation, and the issue was never discussed in subsequent official meetings.

Former DOD official Lou Elizondo alleged in his testimony that “the US is in possession of UAP technologies, as are some of our adversaries.” When asked directly by Representative Mace whether the government has conducted secret UAP crash retrieval programs, Elizondo responded affirmatively, though he indicated restrictions prevent him from discussing specifics in an open setting. Elizondo claims these programs have operated “without congressional knowledge, oversight or authorization for some time, quite possibly decades.”

Elizondo further alleged that government employees have been injured by UAPs and placed on leave while receiving government compensation for their injuries. He testified that he has “seen the documentation by the U.S. government for several of these individuals who have sustained injuries as a result of a UAP incident.”

According to Elizondo, those who attempt to reveal UAP information face serious consequences: “This includes unwarranted criminal investigations, harassment, and efforts to destroy one’s credibility… many of my former colleagues and I have provided classified testimony to both the Department of Defense and the Intelligence Community Inspector General, and many of us have subsequently been targeted by this cabal with threats to our careers, our security clearances, and even our lives.”

Journalist Presents Document on Alleged Secret Program

Journalist Michael Shellenberger presented Congress with a 12-page document describing what he identified as an “unacknowledged special access program” called “Immaculate Constellation.” According to Shellenberger, the document came from a current or former government whistleblower and alleges that this program “serves as a central or parent USAP that consolidates observations of UAPs by both tasked and untasked collection platforms.”

Shellenberger testified that according to the document, Immaculate Constellation “includes high quality imagery intelligence and measurement and signature intelligence of UAPs” collected from “low Earth orbit, the upper atmosphere, as well as military and civilian aviation altitudes and maritime environments.” He claims the alleged program’s database contains “videos and images taken using infrared, forward-looking infrared, full motion video and still photography.”

According to Shellenberger, another source described viewing “a roughly 13-minute-long high-definition full color video of a white orb UAP coming out of the ocean approximately 20 miles off the coast of Kuwait” filmed from a helicopter on a classified military network. Shellenberger stated he believes his sources are credible because “they are who they say they are—they are current or former government officials.”

Shellenberger further alleged that Freedom of Information Act researcher John Greenwalt has documented the government increasingly denying UAP information requests, with the Navy admitting in September 2022 that “UAP-related videos and photographs existed but denied the request in full for the release, saying that the requested videos contain sensitive information that are classified.”

NASA’s Potential Role in Transparency

Former NASA official Michael Gold, who served on NASA’s UAP independent study team, testified that members of that team “particularly those in academia, were mocked and even threatened for simply having the temerity to engage in the study of UAP.” Gold recommended that NASA could help combat stigma by hosting symposia on UAPs and creating algorithms to search NASA’s archives for anomalous phenomena.

Gold also advocated for leveraging NASA’s Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) to collect UAP data from civilian pilots, noting that “there is no clear or well-publicized process for civilian pilots to report UAP sightings.”

In Nick Shirley’s Own Words

This hearing transcript does not contain statements from Nick Shirley. The video appears to be footage of the congressional UAP hearing itself.

Why This Matters

The hearing represents an escalation in congressional efforts to compel transparency from the executive branch regarding UAPs. Multiple witnesses made extraordinary allegations under oath, including claims of crash retrieval programs, reverse engineering efforts, and systematic suppression of information from elected representatives. The witnesses called for enhanced whistleblower protections, creation of a UAP records review board, and establishment of a “whole of government” approach to the UAP issue. Whether these allegations lead to further disclosure or remain disputed claims depends on future congressional action and any forthcoming evidence that can be publicly verified.