“We’re done with the cover up”: House UFO hearing set, Rep. Burchett to chair

On Wednesday, July 26, the House Oversight Committee’s national security panel will hold its first much-anticipated hearing on UFOs — now called Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) by the government, denoting inclusion of non-flight events and non-object entities. In a Thursday press conference, subcommittee chair Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) and panel member Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) told reporters that the panel’s efforts to investigate claims of a Defense Department UAP retrieval program — made recently by whistleblower and former intelligence official David Grusch — were stymied by Pentagon officials and high-ranking military members who “stonewalled” them. Grusch is one of several witnesses of deep credibility that are slated to testify at the hearing. 

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

The hearing is the first of several expected on the matter — which representatives said they would hold at military bases with press access granted should Pentagon officials continue pushing back on investigative efforts. New bipartisan legislation has also recently been filed that would give Congress access to UAP-related documents, with additional legislative efforts have also been supported by the leaders of both the House and Senate. Despite brushing off questions from reporters about UAPs in recent weeks, White House officials said Tuesday that UAP events pose a national security concern as they impact pilots.