Accusations fly over alleged secret UFO program 'coverup'
The Inspector General of the Intelligence Community said it 'has not conducted any audit, inspection, evaluation or review' of UFO allegations raised by David Grusch
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A lawmaker has screamed "coverup" after the intelligence community said it hasn't looked into claims of secret programs that retrieve crashed UFOs and reverse-engineer the technology.
UFO whistleblower David Grusch alluded to both programs in statements under oath during the July 26 House Oversight Committee hearing that highlighted decades of alleged government secrecy around UFOs, now referred to as unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP).
The Inspector General of the Intelligence Community said it "has not conducted any audit, inspection, evaluation or review" of the alleged UFO programs in a Sept. 15 response letter to lawmakers' questions in the last paragraph of a two-page response.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., said it was a "coverup" in a response Tweet that same day.
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David Grusch testifies during the House Oversight and Accountability Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs hearing on unidentified anomalous phenomena in Rayburn Building on July 26, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Burchett, who's been outspoken about UFOs and getting answers, shared the full letter on X, formerly known as Twitter.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"As a matter of discretion, IC IG notes that it has not conducted any audit, inspection, evaluation or review of alleged UAP programs within the responsibility and authority of the DNI (Director of National Intelligence) that would enable this office to provide a fulsome response to your questions," the response letter to lawmakers says.
That didn't sit well with Burchett, who tweeted, "The IC IG office did nothing to look into the information they received from David Grusch on UAP crash retrieval programs? They have no information they can give to Congress???"
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The rest of IC IG's letter nearly didn't touch lawmakers' questions about Grusch's claims that he made under oath during a congressional hearing two months ago.
Reps. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., left, Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., arrive for the House hearing on unidentified anomalous phenomena on July 26, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Grusch answered Congress' questions but multiple times he said he couldn't divulge any more details in a public hearing because of an open whistleblower reprisal case against him.
Charles McCullough, who was President Barack Obama's former Intelligence Community Inspector General, represented Grusch in his Intelligence Community Inspector General complaint and was purposefully seated behind him during the July 26 hearing.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}READ FULL INSPECTOR GENERAL LETTER
The Inspector General of the Intelligence Community's response to lawmakers' request for more information about UFO whistleblower David Grusch's claims of secret crashed UFO retrieval and reverse engineering programs. (Rep. Tim Burchett/X (Twitter))
The Inspector General of the Intelligence Community's response to lawmakers' request for more information about UFO whistleblower David Grusch's claims of secret crashed UFO retrieval and reverse engineering programs. (Rep. Tim Burchett/X (Twitter))
What did Grusch say in his testimony?
Grusch testified during the hearing that he knows colleagues who were injured while reverse-engineering UFO tech, and said the government "absolutely" has had UFO tech and "biologics" of "non-human origins" since the 1930s and knows the exact locations where they're being held.
He said during July's congressional hearing that he can provide specific details in a classified setting.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A Fox News Digital-created UFO hotspot map based on Department of Defense information. (Julia Bonavita/Fox News Digital based on AARO's Data)
Lawmakers wrote a letter to the Inspector General asking for details about the programs that Grusch alluded to but couldn't elaborate on during the public hearing.
Six members of Congress signed the Aug. 21 letter to the Inspector General, Burchett, and Reps. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., Nancy Mace, R-S.C., Eric Burlison, R-Mo., and Andy Ogles, R-Tenn.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"IC IG also provides respectful consideration and due weight to requests from individual members of Congress, considering factors such as IC IG resource constraints, competing priorities and whether doing so would interfere with IC IG's ability to respond in a timely manner to duly authorized oversight requests," the Inspector General's response letter says.
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The rest of the letter was mostly official jargon that started with a lengthy opening paragraph restating the Congress members' letter.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}It was followed by two paragraphs of "IC IG takes seriously its responsibility to" provide whistleblowers with "appropriate, secure and lawful channels" and support congressional, and two paragraphs about "meeting requirements."