Director of National Intelligence UFO Inquiry Rocked by Claims of Whistleblower Smears and Intimidation
Written by Christopher Sharp - 27 March 2026
An alleged Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) investigation overseen by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) has come under scrutiny over claims of whistleblower intimidation, false allegations and efforts to discredit those who came forward.
The effort was led by the Director’s Initiatives Group, a task force established last year by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard to restore trust and end what she described as government weaponization within the Intelligence Community.
In February this year, the task force was wound down, and its members were reassigned. Two sources told Reuters the move followed alleged missteps.
Multiple sources who have spoken to Liberation Times claim that its UAP investigation was compromised by elements linked to the CIA, with the alleged aim of discouraging Congress from pursuing further UAP hearings and legislation, and deterring additional whistleblowers from coming forward publicly.
The explosive allegations first surfaced on the WEAPONIZED podcast, where investigative journalists Jeremy Corbell and George Knapp interviewed UAP whistleblower Matthew Brown, the former Department of War official who authored a report alleging the existence of an Unacknowledged Special Access Program tasked with tracking advanced craft of suspected human and non-human origin.
According to claims aired on the podcast, Brown and other whistleblowers, including former U.S. Air Force geospatial intelligence specialist Dylan Borland, were targeted in an apparent smear campaign involving false and damaging allegations said to have emerged from a private SCIF, a secure facility used for discussions involving highly classified information.
On the podcast, Corbell, who had a contact within ODNI, said the following to Matthew Brown:
“One individual from ODNI told me that, in the SCIF, Matthew Brown is a racist, Jew hater. I believe those were the exact words.
“The other thing that was told to me was that Matthew Brown admitted to completely making up and fabricating that he saw an Immaculate Constellation document, and that he admitted to me that Matthew Brown made that up. He came up with the name, that he made it up.
“And the third big lie that was told to me, if I recall, was that, I think the third point of the brush that they painted with was that the words counter espionage and treason, I believe it was treason, or a word like that.
“Okay, that’s what was said to me by an official in ODNI, who told me, gossiping, spilling the tea, about what you said in a private SCIF meeting where you were supposed to go in to be protected as a whistleblower.”
Brown denied all the allegations. Meanwhile, it is unknown whether the comments expressed to Corbell indicate any official conclusions made by the Director’s Initiatives Group in any public document or forum.
Asked about the allegations of wrongdoing, an ODNI official said the agency ‘has been and continues to be focused on carrying out the objectives of President Trump’s executive orders and mandates, including assisting with any relevant information related to UAPs.’
The official added that information discussed in a SCIF is not automatically classified, that unclassified information can be discussed there, and that the use of a SCIF does not mean whistleblower protections are provided.
Brown said he became aware of the Director’s Initiatives Group after last year’s UAP hearing, when the person leading the effort reached out to him. According to Brown, the individual, whose name has not been disclosed, said: “We know UAP are real. We want to get to the bottom of it. Come in, meet with us and tell us your story.”
When approached by Liberation Times for further comment, Corbell said he had nothing to add beyond his remarks in the podcast episode.
Brown said he went to Liberty Crossing Intelligence Campus in Virginia, expecting to be briefed on what he understood to be a UAP whistleblower protection program, which he would consider joining.
During the meeting, Brown said he was asked whether he wished to become an Intelligence Community Inspector General (ICIG) whistleblower. Brown said he declined, citing Dylan Borland's warning that the ICIG whistleblower process was a trap.
Above: UAP whistleblower Matthew Brown
Borland said in last year’s Congressional UAP hearing that, during his own ICIG interview, it became clear to him that officials were there “to assess just how much I know, not to move forward with an investigation based on new information.”
Brown said that during his meeting with the Director’s Initiatives Group, he chose to reveal as little as possible about his broader UAP knowledge while probing its members’ seriousness.
Brown, who has held top secret sensitive compartmented information clearance and worked within the Department of War, including within the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security and, most recently, the State Department, said he tested whether the group was acting in good faith by raising concerns connected to Israel and the 7 October attack.
His view was that if they were unwilling to examine alleged wrongdoing involving a close US ally, they could not be trusted with what he believed were the country’s most sensitive UAP secrets.
According to Brown, the group did not appear focused on the substance of what he was saying.
Instead, he felt they were more interested in learning which classified compartments and sub-compartments he had accessed.
This left him with the impression that they wanted to work out how he knew what he knew and stop similar disclosures from happening again.
Brown believes this led to him being wrongly labelled antisemitic as part of an effort to discredit his claims.
He said he did not share with the group the conclusions he had drawn from 7 October.
Instead, he told them only that his background and access had given him a rare vantage point on the events, and that what he had seen had affected him deeply.
Brown argued that this made the allegation especially misleading. He said his private reaction was, if anything, more sympathetic to Israel and not hostile to Jewish people.
As a result, Brown said he came away doubting that the ODNI effort reflected a genuine attempt to protect whistleblowers or examine their claims fairly.
Sources who spoke to Liberation Times said some members of the Director’s Initiatives Group appeared to be examining the UAP issue in good faith, and said there was no indication that Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard was involved in any effort to intimidate whistleblowers or smear witnesses.
