This week’s congressional hearing on UFOs was a “total joke,” according to U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Knoxville), frustrated by the quality of witnesses, not the topic itself.
Tuesday’s House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence on UFOs, or unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) in military parlance, was the first on the topic in 50 years. The hearing came after Congress ordered an intelligence report on UFOs last year. That report included 144 official sightings of UAP and explained only one, which the report said was a deflating balloon.
Two main witnesses before the Counterterrorism, Counterintelligence, and Counterproliferation Subcommittee were Ronald Moultrie, Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security, and Scott Bray, Deputy Director of Naval Intelligence. The two head up the government’s new UAP task force. But Burchett wanted better.
“We should have heard from people who could talk about things they’d personally seen, but instead the witnesses were government officials with limited knowledge who couldn’t give real answers to serious questions,” Burchett tweeted Tuesday.
Committee chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said of the 144 official UAP reports, 18 of them “appeared to demonstrate advanced technology.” They reportedly were stationary in the wind, moved against the wind, moved abruptly, or moved at high speeds “without a discernible means of propulsion.” He asked if any U.S. adversaries were known to have technology to match these descriptions. Bray said no.
“There are a number of events in which we do not have an explanation,” Bray said. “A small handful that had flight characteristics or signature management [camouflage] that we can’t explain with the data we have.”
Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wisconsin) asked if the two were aware of an incident that occurred over Montana’s Malmstrom Air Force Base, home to strategic nuclear forces, he said. In that incident, Gallagher said 10 nuclear missiles were shut down and a “glowing red orb” was seen over the base.
Bray told him the task force had no data on the incident. Gallagher pressed, asking if he was aware of the incident and asking if data on it existed anywhere. Bray said he’d heard the stories but had not seen official data on it. Also, the UAP task force has not looked at the incident.
“I would say it’s a pretty high profile incident,” Gallagher said, taken slightly aback by the claim. “I don’t claim to be an expert on this. But that’s out there in the ether. You’re the guys investigating it. I mean, who else is doing it?”
Bray said if the incident was “officially” brought to his attention, the task force would review it. To which, Gallagher said, “I’m bringing it to your attention. This is pretty official.” Moultrie promised the congressman that “we’ll go back and take a look at it,” though he said the task force does not have the resources to follow every story or lead.
Tuesday’s public session closed and the committee met for another session on UAP behind closed doors. The next steps for the task force will be to strengthen relations with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and other government agencies to create a better system for reporting UAP activity and collect better data.
Before and after Tuesday’s hearing, Burchett spoke candidly about UAP to several news outlets. He told Knoxville’s WATN news station that UAP are either “a diversion to get our attention away from something else, an anomaly on our radar, or it’s something from outer space.” He told TMZ that he did not believe Russia had UAP tech saying, if they did, “they would own us right now.” He said he thought Roswell was a cover up, that former President Donald Trump might release files related to UAP, and that “UFOs were in the Bible,” citing Ezekiel’s flying wheel.
In December, he told TMZ that he does not trust the Pentagon on the UAP topic. He said they’d likely ask Congress for more money and continue to keep the truth quiet. After Tuesday’s hearing, Burchett said, “the cover-up continues.”
Burchett’s statements on UAP are not his first foray into the paranormal. As Knox County Mayor in 2012, he proclaimed November 16th to be “Knox County Bigfoot Day” and met with the cast of Finding Bigfoot.
