דיון בקונגרס על עב״מים: שקיפות והגנה על חושפי שחיתויות

19:56A former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Intelligence, Chris Mellon, A report published by ARR that found no evidence that any USG investigation, academic -sponsored research, or official review panel has confirmed any sighting of UAP -represented extraterrestrial technology. As the most error -ridden and unsatisfactory government report I can recall reading during after decades of government service. Mellon further noted that this was the first error report submitted to Congress without the Director of National Intelligence sign -off and seemingly excluded input from any scholars or experts who have studied or written extensively about this topic, as would normally be in any other case in this field. Mellon determined that this report failed to fulfill the congressional

20:42mandate under which it was required, omitted entire agencies with known investigations or activities related to UAPs, and omitted any discussion of efforts to hide classified or unclassified information about UAP. Such efforts were under, or unaddressed by the report, despite the existence of agency records and investigations concurring with them, including those at U .S. Customs and Border Protection. If we set up offices and oversight bodies only to let them become graveyards for testimony or, worse yet, ruses for pretending to investigate when in actuality there was no follow -up, then we are not doing our jobs. In recent months, Congress has also been presented with evidence that points to technologies that, to our knowledge, are beyond our current capabilities. It is our duty as elected representatives to follow the facts wherever

21:30they lead and to ensure that those facts are not buried under classification stance or bureaucratic excuses. Let me be clear. Whether UAPs represent adversarial technology, natural phenomena, or something beyond current human understanding, Congress has a responsibility to investigate. If these objects are foreign in origin... Then they pose a direct threat to our national security. And if they represent something unknown, they demand rigorous scientific inquiry, not ridicule, not secrecy, and not silence. The stakes are very high. Adversary nations are not waiting for us to catch up. They are studying these phenomena as well aggressively. as multiple nations have also announced their own parliamentary investigations into this very topic. If we are to continue to hide information from ourselves, we risk strategic surprise. If we continue to ignore pilots and service members, as well as

22:18countless government whistleblowers, we risk losing their trust. And if we continue to shield the truth from the public, we risk eroding the very foundation of democratic accountability. This is why this hearing matters. This is not about fueling speculation. This is not demanding the basic transparency from the Department of Defense and the intelligence community and other military contractors. It is about asking the questions every American has the right to ask. What do we know? What don't we know? And why in a free society are we being told so little? A major barrier to this committee's inquiry into UAPs has been the lack of cooperation and transparency from the Department of Defense and the intelligence community. In preparation for previous UAP hearings, the committee repeatedly asked the Department of Defense to allow members to view videos and

23:05files related to UAP incidences. Unfortunately, the Department of Defense notified the committee staff that due to the Department's Special Access Program rules, only members of the House Armed Services Committee as well as the Defense Subcommittee on House Appropriations, also known as HAFTI, were allowed to be read in on such programs. For a non -committee member to be allowed to view these documents and videos, individual members must be approved by the chairman and ranking member of both HAC and HAC -D. Independent staff oversight has presented a consistent problem for Congress as well as program budgets are classified. Additionally, oversight reporting to Congress is classified and only provided to the Authorizing and Appropriations Committees of Jurisdiction. The American people are not fragile. They do not need to be shielded like children from reality.

23:51What they cannot tolerate and what they will not forgive is a government that withholds the truth and punishes those who dare to speak up. I want to close with this. Future generations will look back at this moment and ask what we did when presented with the unknown. Did we look away, embarrassed or afraid, or did we pursue the truth with courage? I intend to be on the side of truth, transparency, and accountability, and I hope my colleagues on this task force will be able to do the same. To quote a few elected officials, Senator Schumer has stated multiple credible sources allege a constitutional crisis over UFOs. Senator Rollins has stated that these are brilliant individuals and they are not making this stuff up. And our current Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, has stated very high clearances and high positions within our government in regards to

24:36these whistleblowers. to describe these whistleblowers as being incredible. And the witnesses today are not alone. In fact, they're far from it. In fact, 34 senior military government and intelligent officials have broken their silence. This includes Senator, now Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Senator Round, Senator Gillibrand, General Jim Clapper, the former director of the government's UAP task force, the former head of aviation, the former head of aviation, and the former head of the government. for the White House National Security Council, the former Secretary of Defense, and many more. Again, to quote Secretary Seat Rubio in an upcoming documentary known as Age of Disclosure, even presidents have been operating on a need -to -know basis that begins to spin out of control. And to quote Senator Gillibrand, who also went public in this

25:24documentary, it's not acceptable to have secret parts of this government that no one ever sees. It's time for the fundamental truth of UAP to be real to our nations, leaders, and the public. It's time for the U .S. government to exercise transparency. And with that, I yield to Raging Member Crockett for the opening statement. Thank you so much, Madam Chair. At a time of increasing distrust in government, it is important for Congress to take action to restore the government's credibility. Bringing transparency to an issue of great public interest is a step toward doing just that.

26:09UFOs, unidentified flying objects. And while some people think of flying saucers when they hear these terms, it is vital that we focus on the real world impact of UAPs on critical infrastructure, civilian safety, and national security. There is good reason to believe that most UAPs have origins far closer to home. Currently, NASA has not found any evidence that any UAPs have an extraterrestrial origin. Our adversaries are working to develop new capabilities to gain military advantages, and those efforts are likely explanations for the mysteries that we have observed.

26:56to investigate and provide transparent disclosures about every incident. The federal government is equally obligated to protect those who report what they've seen, especially to commanding officers and supervisors, and Congress to do everything in its power to protect whistleblowers and conduct oversight of agencies that are failing to provide that protection. Democracy depends on transparency, and transparency often relies on the courage of individuals willing to risk their careers, reputations, and in some cases, their personal safety to tell the truth. So I look forward to hearing from the witnesses today. We should welcome their accounts and acknowledge the bravery they have shown to come before us.

27:42We must ensure that all whistleblowers feel that they can come to Congress to tell their stories without fear of retaliation or professional consequences. We need transparency not just to make better policy, but also to ensure that information flows between all those who need it. There are too many tragic examples in our history where information lapses and a lack of cross -agency coordination led to disaster. Just this year, failure to communicate between FAA and the Department of Defense led to tragedy over the Potomac. The Biden -Harris administration sought to eliminate some of these lapses when it established the All -Domain Anomaly Resolution Office at the Department of Defense.

28:30sources from all branches of military, the FAA, and NASA to combine forces to create a comprehensive picture of what is happening in our skies. Some UAP reports have perfectly normal explanations. Satellites, consumer drones, weather balloons, even pranks. But we need to track down each and every single UAP. The United States has millions of eyes in the sky, both electronic and human. but only the combination of civilian, commercial, and military sources can begin to create a complete picture. So we need to ensure that people can come forward and report what they have seen to the relevant authorities. And they have to have the right to do so without fear of

29:18retaliation. This country has a history of dedicated public servants standing up for what is right. even in the face of potential consequences. From the Pentagon Papers to Watergate to torture programs, whistleblowers have not only informed the public but also empowered Congress to fulfill its constitutional duty of oversight. Past Congresses have written laws to grant legal protection for whistleblowers, and it is up to us to work responsibly with all sources to hold the executive branch accountable. of the stories of those who have witnessed events of interest to the American people. and to support the policies that cultivate an environment that

30:03welcomes and protects whistleblowers. I hope this hearing will be an example of the respect and protection whistleblowers deserve and the importance of conducting oversight of the federal government. I yield back. I am pleased to welcome the panel of witnesses for today's hearing. I'd first like to welcome Mr. Jeffrey Musitelli. He's a United States Air Force veteran and a career federal employee with more than 20 years of experience in national security, law enforcement, and public administration. Next, we have Mr. Alejandro Wiggins. Mr. Wiggins is currently serving as a Senior Chief Operations Specialist in the United States Navy. Mr. Wiggins is testifying in his personal capacity today and not on

30:49behalf of the United States Navy. Next, I would like to recognize the gentlewoman from Nevada, Representative Titus. our much -known chairman, ranking members, allowing me to sit with you on this panel today. I'm honored to be able to introduce a witness here who is from my district, George Knapp, who has been the definitive expert and reporter on this topic that you're exploring today, UAPs or UFOs. George is a longtime friend, I would say that up front, but a very respected journalist and a recognized expert in this field. nationally and internationally. Just a little something about George. He came to Las Vegas in 1979 and joined

31:35KLS television station as a general assignment reporter in 1981. Since 1995, he's been the chief investigative reporter for that channel. He also hosts a national radio show you can listen to on Coast to Coast AM, which covers many of the paranormal topics that y 'all are Over the years, George has been, as I said, recognized for his work. He's been honored with the Peabody Award, the DuPont Award, the Edward Murrow Award. and 27 different regional innings for his investigative reporting. Indeed, he has told Nevada's story with clarity, with objectivity, and with

32:22integrity. So I know that his testimony today is going to be of great interest and value to this committee. So thank you very much. Next we have Mr. Dylan Borland. Mr. Borland is United States Air Force veteran and has a long career in federal service. And finally, I'd like to introduce Mr. Joe Spielberger, a senior policy counsel at the Project of Government Oversight. Pursuant to Committee Rule 9 -G, the witnesses will please stand and raise their right hand. Do you solemnly swear or affirm that the testimony that you're about to give is the truth, the whole truth, and the nothing but the truth to help you, God?

33:07Let the records know that the witnesses answered and affirmative. Thank you. You may take your seat. We appreciate you being here today, and I look forward to hearing your testimony. Let me remind the witnesses that we have read your written statements, and it will appear in full in the hearing record. Please limit your oral statements to five minutes, but I understand you have a lot to get through, so if it goes a little over, don't worry about it. As a reminder, please press the button on the microphone in front of you so that it is on and the members can hear you. When you begin to speak, the light in front of you will turn green. After four minutes, the light will turn yellow. And when the red light comes on, your five minutes have expired, and we will ask you to please wrap it up. I now recognize Mr. Nusitelli for his opening statement.

33:52Good morning. Thank you, Chairwoman Luna, Ranking Member Crockett, and members of the task force, for giving us the opportunity to testify today. My name is Jeffrey Nusotelli. I'm a former military police officer with 16 years of active duty service in the U .S. Air Force. I'm here today because the American people have both the right and the responsibility to know the truth about unidentified aerial phenomenon. That truth remains hidden, classified and silenced by fear, retaliation, stigma, and confusion. Today, we are here to help break that silence. Between 2003 and 2005, five UAP incidents occurred at Vandenberg Air Force Base,

34:38home to the National Missile Defense Project, a top national security priority. At the time, we were conducting launches deemed by the National Reconnaissance Office as the most important in 25 years. These were historic launches. These facilities were vital, and they were repeatedly visited by UAP. UAP. Each incident was witnessed by multiple personnel, documented, investigated, and reported up the chain of command. We sent information up, but we got no guidance down on how to handle these events. I personally witnessed one of these events and investigated others as they occurred. Six other service members have provided me with the information that I

35:24will share with you today. The incursions began on October 14, 2003, when Boeing contractors reported a massive glowing red square silently hovering over two missile defense sites. After several minutes, it drifted further east onto the base and vanished over the hills. This event, now known as the Vandenberg Red Square, was referenced by Representative Luna at the first hearing on this topic. Official Air Force records of this event are in possession. by Arrow and the FBI. Later that night, while I was on duty, security guards at a critical launch site reported a bright, fast -moving object over the ocean. I responded to the incident.

36:11Chaos ensued over the radio as the object approached rapidly. I heard my friend screaming, it's coming right at us, it's coming right for us, and now it's right here. Moments later, I heard them say that it had shot off and was gone. When I arrived on scene, I talked to five shaken witnesses who described a massive, triangular craft larger than a football field that hovered silently for about 45 seconds over their entry control point before shooting away at impossible speed. About a week later, another patrol reported a light over the ocean, behaving erratically. Believing it might be an unannounced aircraft, they declared an emergency. and an armed response force responded.

36:56Before The forces could arrive. The object descended and either landed or hovered on our flight line. and then took off again at impossible speed. The witnesses... to this event were threatened and intimidated afterward. They were told to keep quiet and think about what they were reporting. After that, things did get quiet. Until about 2005, when another patrol reported a massive triangular craft, larger than a C -130, silently floating over the installation. He watched it for a few minutes, it traveled west and disappeared into the night.

37:41And then I had my own encounter, again in 2005. I was off duty, sitting in my backyard with two other police officers, when we noticed what first appeared to be a satellite in orbit. But it wasn't acting like a satellite. The light was strange, it was pulsing, and then it started to maneuver. It dropped in elevation. At times it would vanish from view and reappear in a different location than the sky. And eventually it reappeared 200 feet over my house. It was a 30 -foot diameter sphere of light. My friends and I watched it for a moment, and then it gently accelerated. And traveled up and disappeared into the stars. These events profoundly changed my life and the lives of my friends.

38:27Thank you. We stand at a pivotal moment in history. The question is no longer whether these events are real, but whether we have the courage to face them. True leadership requires vision, a willingness to confront the unknown with transparency and resolve. So I ask the Congress to help we, the people, enact this vision. There are three goals. Fund independent research and treat UAP study with the same seriousness as we would any other scientific field. 2. End secrecy and over -classification. Transparency is the foundation of truth. Without it, witnesses like us are dismissed. Three, protect the witnesses. Many stayed silent out of fear for their careers,

39:14reputations, and the safety of their families. Protect them and you will embolden others to join this cause. These phenomenon challenge our deepest assumptions about reality, consciousness, and our place in the universe. Exploring them can unlock transformative breakthroughs in technology, biology, and human understanding. Let this be the moment when America chooses... Courage over fear, transparency over secrecy, and progress over stagnation. Let's show the world that our nation lives not only through strength, but through fearless pursuit of the truth. you. Thank you, Mr. Nisateli.

40:03I now recognize Chief McGinn's opening statement. you. Please press the button. Thank you. Good morning. Chairwoman Luna, Ranking Member Crockett. and members of the task force and the committee. Thank you for the opportunity to testify today. My name is Alexander Wiggins. I'm an active duty U .S. Navy Operations Specialist, Inter -Chief, Petty Officer. Father of three and dedicated Americans testifying today in my personal capacity. The views I share are my own and I do not represent the official positions of the Department of the Navy. or any subordinate organization. On the evening of February 15, 2023,

40:50at approximately 1915 PST, in the Whiskey 291 warning area off the coast of Southern California. I was serving on board USS Jackson. During that period, I moved between the Interior Communications Center, ICC1, and the Bridgewing, correlating the sensor picture with visual observations, Part of my routine responsibilities for surface and air picture management. What I observed and what our crew recorded was not consistent with conventional aircraft. or drones as they appear on our system. A self -luminous, tic -tac -shaped object emerged from the ocean before linking up with three other similar objects.

41:40The four then disappeared simultaneously with a high synchronized sound. near instantaneous acceleration. I observed no sonic boom and no conventional propulsion signatures. No exhaust plume, no control surface articulation on the SPFIRE image system. Shortly after the synchronized departure, radar tracks dropped. These observations were multi -sensor and recorded inside of ICC -1. with time location overlay... visible in our source frames that have been made public by journalists. From my experience operating in this region over many years... and consistent with our public characterized encounters,

42:28unidentified objects reoccur in United States operation areas off Southern California. That fact alone does not tell us what they are. But it does argue the systematic... stigma -free reporting and for the preservation of sensor data so analysts can evaluate safe and intelligent implications with Rigorism. I want to underscore three points. for the task force and the committee. Aviation and Maritime Safety. when crews and watchstanders observe objects that maneuver or accelerate in ways that does not match known profiles And do not... and do so near our ships and aircraft.

43:15That is, first and foremost, a safety issue. Standardized checklist and training should ensure we capture the best possible sensor data in real time, including IR settings, slant range, estimates and bearing and range altitude snapshots, and immediate chain of custody for any recordings. Reporting without stigma, protection without retribution. Sailors need to know that reporting UAP encounters will not harm their careers. Congress can help by reinforcing witness protection and by directing the relevant office to maintain confidential destigmatized channels for service

44:00members who step forward with data. Declassification and transparency where possible. The task force's declassification mission is directly relevant here. where operational security permits releasing metadata preserves, sensor excerpts, or at least technical summaries will improve public trust and accelerate outside public Scientific scrutiny. That includes, when feasible, the times yield reference IR frames and radar parameters needed for independent analysis. To be clear, I am not here to make claims beyond my lane." I'm here to provide a first -hand account of what I saw. what our systems recorded...

44:47and why it matters for safety, for intelligence, and public confidence. My request to you is practical. Help us capture, protect, and protect. fairly evaluate the evidence, and provide a safe pathway for those in uniform. to report it. In closing... I want to thank the committee and the task force for holding this hearing. and for placing this discussion in a forum where evidence can be examined carefully and openly. I appreciate your attention and stand ready to answer your questions. Thank you. Thank you, Chief. I now recognize Mr. Knapp for his opening statement.

45:34Good morning, Chairwoman Luna, ranking member, Ms. Crockett, and members of the task force. And Dina Titus, I just knew we were going to get you involved in this topic at one point. Great to see you here. I'm George Knapp, chief investigator reporter at KLAS -TV in Las Vegas. I began my pursuit of this weird mystery way back in 1987, and for 38 years, I've always approached this as a news story. It's not a matter of faith or belief. To me, it's a story, and it's an important one. They risked their reputations, their careers, their clearances, their

46:22livelihoods, and sometimes much worse than that, even their freedom. I know that one of the goals of the task force here is to figure out ways to protect whistleblowers and witnesses. And it's a tall order because so many of the things that happen to witnesses like these are extra legal. They are carried out by persons unknown, as Mr. Dave Grush, sitting up at the top of the room, knows all too well, including events in recent days that have happened to him. I want to share a couple of things that I've learned along the way on this long journey, and I submitted most of that in written form because I estimate that my statement here today would take about four and a half hours. So I'm going to try to jump over and touch on the more important salient points.

47:08lot of that here, but the public has been told Over and over since the late 40s, there's nothing to worry about here. These mysterious craft seen by millions of people in the skies, in the oceans, over the land, are not real. They're not a threat. The witnesses are wrong. They're crackpots. Don't believe it. That changed for me. What got me hooked is the paper trail. Documents that were squeezed out of the U .S. government after the FOIA, Freedom of Information Act, became the law of the land. And those documents paint a much different picture than what the public, the press, and Congress have been told over many years. The documents from military and intelligence personnel behind closed doors admit that, quote,

47:58aircraft known to exist, including ours. The public, of course, as I said, has been told something much different. Now, back in 1989, I reported about a guy named Bob Lazar, who claimed that he worked at a facility dubbed S -4 out in the Nevada desert, very near to Area 51. He said he was part of a reverse engineering program. He said there are alien craft that will be taken apart to figure out how they operated out there, and that was a pretty tall order. I had clearly taken a interviewed dozens of other people, and I've detailed what their testimony has been in the written statement. They include Senator Harry Reid, Senator Howard Cannon, also of Nevada, a guy named Al O'Donnell, who was the first general manager of EG &G in Nevada, which managed the Nevada test site, which blew up

48:44hundreds of nuclear weapons. There's a guy named Dr. James Wachowski. who was a career scientist with the Defense Intelligence Agency, who was the guy who initiated a program called OSAP, Advanced Aerospace Weapons Systems Application Program, which is, as far as we know, the largest acknowledged UFO program ever funded by the U .S. government, which put together an amazing pile of information that members of this committee and the world... most of which they have never seen. The DIA still hasn't released 95 % of what was prepared by that program. at a cost of millions and millions of dollars. The one name I do want to bring up in this session, though, is Robert Bigelow. So looking into the idea of crash retrievals and

49:31reverse engineering, while at OSAP, that program, was active, the DIA's contractor, Robert Bigelow of Las Vegas, made a bold attempt to acquire physical proof of UFO crashes. It's been widely reported and suspected that Lockheed Martin is one of the contractors, the defense contractors, Amen. I have confirmed on the record that Robert Bigelow and a trusted company from OSAP met with and negotiated with senior executives at Lockheed Martin and hammered out a deal wherein Bigelow's company, Bass, would receive a quantity of unusual material that had been stashed away and protected at a facility in California. That material was not made here.

50:19I want to move on now to the Russia files, because that was going to be sort of the central impetus of what I was going to talk to you about today. Back in the early 90s, I got into Russia, met with a number of their defense officials, Ministry of Defense and others, who confirmed for me that Russia had been doing the same thing that the United States had been doing, that is, secretly studying UFOs while publicly saying something completely different. The documents and interviews that I obtained and have now shared with this task force what is almost certainly the largest UFO, UAP investigation in the world. The first phase of that was an order was sent out to the entire USSR military empire that every unit, You see anything strange in the sky, a craft, an orb, something

51:05unusual. You had to gather all the evidence, collect testimony from the witnesses, look for physical evidence, and all of that information went into one program at the Ministry of Defense. Thousands and thousands of these reports came in. A lot of them were first rounded to the KGB, but then back to another program that came after this collection effort called Thread3. And Thread3 was an analysis program. documents of what they were trying to do, and essentially, they were trying to build their own UFOs. They were using the information from their observations and studies to try to figure out that technology. The guy who was in charge of that program Colonel Boris Sokolov told me that their goal was to basically develop technology that would be superior to anything we had based

51:52on what they learned from UFOs. Mr. Knapp, just in the name of time, my understanding, did you have anything you wanted to submit for Congress to see in this committee? I have submitted those documents. Would you like to play any videos? Do you have a video that you would like to play? I don't think it's for me to play. No, that was for Alexander. Yeah. Alexander's video. Okay. You can play it. He can narrate it. Okay. You can, in the name of showing that video to everyone on Task Force, we'd like to play that video at this time. Sure.

52:58That shit took off earlier. We can get rid of the audio real quick. Mr. Wiggins and Mr. Knapp, we'll get back to what that video was in a moment, but we just want to make sure that it was entered into the record as well as all the documents. Those will be able to be publicly found for everyone in the country to view. If you could, Mr. Knapp, we'll continue on the line of questioning, but I'm going to move on to Mr. Borland's opening statement. Good morning, members of the task force and the committee. I would like to express my gratitude for being invited to testify to the current task force created under the People's Chamber and the American public. As an American citizen, veteran, and intelligence community professional, it is an honor and a privilege to serve under oath

53:45before you on behalf of our country. I speak for myself and no former agency or company I have been previously affiliated with. Specialist for the United States Air Force and in active duty and listed capacity from 2010 to 2013. I've also been employed with BAE Systems and Intrepid Solutions as a senior analyst, expert in analyzing video, radar, and advanced electro -optical imagery for official identification of aerial order of battle as well as naval and ground order of battle. I'm a federal whistleblower having testified to both the ICIG and Arrow with direct first -hand knowledge of and experience with craft and technologies that are not ours and are reportedly operating without congressional oversight.

54:32because of my direct knowledge of the reality of certain legacy UAP programs, my professional career was deliberately obstructed And I have endured endured sustained reprisals from government agencies for over a decade. From 2011 to 2013, I was stationed at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, conducting 24 -hour operations via manned and unmanned aerial vehicles for Special Operations Forces in a global war on terror. During the summer of 2012, my team was on standby for weather and I returned to my barracks on base and at approximately 0130, I saw an approximately 100 foot equilateral triangle take off from near the NASA hangar on the base. The craft interfered with my telephone... did not have any sound, and the material it was made of appeared fluid

55:18or dynamic. I was under this triangular crapper a few minutes, and then it rapidly ascended to commercial jet level in seconds, displaying zero kinetic disturbance found or wind displacement. Some years after that experience, I was further exposed to classified information from the UAP Legacy Crash Retrieval Program through a sensitive position I held within a special access program. During this time, intelligence officers approached me in fear for their own careers, fighting misconduct within these programs and similar retaliation that I was already enduring at this time. These issues include medical malpractice committed by Veterans Affairs staff, denial of work I performed while enlisting in the United States Air Force, forge and manipulate an employment document, workplace harassment including colleagues being directed to not speak with me,

56:05manipulation of my security clearance by certain agencies, blocking, delaying, and ultimately removing my ability to be employed within the IC. The retaliation I face and the retaliation against individuals I know who worked in these programs is what convinced me in March 2023 to become a whistleblower. I came forward out of concern for people's lives and to ensure I did everything I could to let our elected representatives know the truth about what is really happening in the executive branch. At the end of March 2023, I agreed to meet with Arrow following the suggestion of other federal officials believing it was what our nation required of me. I had reservations with Arrow due to assessments they were reporting publicly at the time as a misrepresentation of the truth.

56:50Because of these concerns, I did not share sources and methods information in order to protect current and formal federal personnel who had firsthand exposure to technologies of unknown origin. I did not want anyone to face further retaliation beyond what they had already endured. And unfortunately, a staff member. Ended up getting in some trouble because of that. Thank you. After David Grush testified under oath in the summer of 2023 and provided historic disclosure, I was then asked to go to the ICIG and did so in Artis 2023. It was very clear early on during my intake interview, which was video recorded under oath, that the objective was to solely assess how much I know and not move forward with an investigation with new information I provided them. The aftermath of that IG complaint still troubles me to this day.

57:38Since my ICIG complaint, I have been prevented from his own entire employment and can confirm I am still blacklisted from certain agencies within the intelligence community. In addition, multiple agencies attempted phishing attacks to assess what I had divulged to the Inspector General, including being asked to disclose details of my ICIG complaint during a CI polygraph for a position unrelated to UFO -UAP matters as recently as November 2024. As I sit before you today, I and many other whistleblowers have no job prospects, no foreseeable professional future in a nation every single one of us came forward to defend. Numerous individuals have come forward in various ways to reveal the truth of the UAP reality as patriots and defenders of our nation. Yet many feel discarded, isolated, hopeless, separated from the

58:24country they serve. Efforts to rectify this situation for all whistleblowers have been difficult and troubling, but... And to my fellow whistleblowers and officials who know this information, I offer you my apology. Something that I have never got in. And I'm giving it to you. I for an oath to the Constitution of the United States, a note that demands truth and transparency for our democratic republic to function. Each day these truths remain hidden from our citizens. Humanity drifts further from the principles our nation was founded to uphold. Each day victims of crimes committed by agencies and companies maintaining the secrecy are denied justice is another day our Constitution is dreaded. In 2023, Patriots provided this committee and the executive branch

59:10with undeniable proof of the UAP reality, and I commend your continued commitment to... The future of humanity is one which we either travel to the stars or regress the Stone Age with this technology My career has been to deliver critical information to decision makers. Your role as elected by your representatives. If you act on it, The time to back is now.

1:00:00We will make sure that we try to rectify that situation. Thank you, ma 'am. Mr. Spielberger, please, your opening remarks. Yes. Chairwoman Luna, Ranking Member Crockett, and Task Force members, thank you for the opportunity to testify here today about the importance of strengthening whistleblower protections, especially in the context of national security. I am a senior policy counsel at the Project on Government Oversight, a nonpartisan, independent watchdog organization that investigates and exposes race, corruption, abuse of power, and when the government fails to serve the public or silences those who report wrongdoing. Whistleblowers are the first line of defense to root out waste, fraud, abuse of power, and corruption in our government. Congress relies on whistleblowers so that it can fully exercise its

1:00:47oversight and legislative authorities. It's understandable that former presidents of both parties have often taken a hostile approach toward whistleblowers. Their disclosures can embarrass the president and their political party or even lead to a national scandal. The whistleblowers continue to play a vital role during both Democratic and Republican administrations. They help Congress and the public identify and understand what government corruption looks like. and hold those responsible to account. That's why historically there's been a strong bipartisan consensus in Congress to support and protect whistleblowers. Doing so protects the country and ensures our government is more

1:01:34responsive and accountable to the people. National security whistleblowing in particular is a tradition going back to the founding of our country, and over time, national security whistleblowers and their disclosures have impacted some of the most fundamental issues and questions about how we wish to be governed and how our government can better serve its people. Despite this invaluable public service, blowing the whistle comes at great personal risk.

התמלול קוצר כאן. אפשר להמשיך לצפות מהרגע הזה בנגן.