New Documentation Reveals Significant Flaws In U.S. Government’s UFO Investigation
Written by Christopher Sharp - 19 April 2024
In a recent document dump by the Department of Defense (DoD), provided to The Black Vault website, confirmation has emerged regarding news initially reported by Liberation Times earlier this year.
The documents affirmed that David Grusch, a former senior intelligence officer and whistleblower on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), deliberated on presenting testimony and evidence concerning purported U.S. government activities in the retrieval and reverse engineering of non-human materials to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), the DoD’s UAP office.
Concerns about AARO, as a third party, being exposed to information provided securely and legally by Grusch to the Intelligence Community’s Inspector General and Congress, while there is an ongoing DoD IG Whistleblower Reprisal Investigation, led to his decision not to provide evidence and testimony.
In January 2024, David Grusch told Liberation Times:
“On request of a Senator in late October 2023, I have been in communication via email with AARO staff and have been willing to work on an interview arrangement.
“AARO staff have been unwilling to address in writing the specific handling of classified compartmented information, such as the CIA Directorate of Operations’ compartmented data on human sources and non-UAP related but adjacent compartmented programs.
“I take my obligations to protect sources and methods extremely seriously.”
The document dump further unveils a sequence of email correspondences involving David Grusch, the former director of AARO, and current official advisor Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick, along with other DoD staff members from the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security (OUSDI&S).
The emails depict Dr. Kirkpatrick and OUSDI&S staff striving to present reasons why Grusch could offer testimony and evidence to the AARO, despite Grusch's reservations regarding the management of classified compartmented information from the Intelligence Community.
Grusch in an email to the AARO in November 2023 underscored the critical importance of security policies within the realm of UAP-related activities.
He questioned the definition of 'UAP-related' from the National Defense Authorization for Fiscal Year 2023, concerned about revealing classified Special Access Program (SAP) areas.
Additionally, he sought clarity on releasing oral history interviewees from Non-Disclosure Agreements related to UAP and Controlled Access Program information.
Grusch also asked for memos from the CIA and DoD regarding interview subjects and project access. His inquiries demonstrated his commitment to upholding security protocols in sensitive national security areas.
In January 2024, AARO provided Grusch with a memorandum signed by Major General David Abba, Director of the DoD Special Access Program Central Office (DoD SAPCO), affirming AARO's mandate to receive and oversee all UAP-related information, regardless of its classification. However, the memo, and other emails sent by the AARO, failed to address Grusch’s specific security-related questions, made at the direction by his legal representative and former Intelligence Community Inspector General, Chuck McCullough.
Intelligence community sources speaking to Liberation Times state that neither the DoD nor AARO possesses jurisdiction over the Intelligence Community's CAPs, some of which purportedly encompass retrieval and reverse engineering activities concerning non-human materials.
One source told Liberation Times that the DoD possesses zero authority to grant the AARO access to CAPs - nor would they have the authority to receive testimony and evidence from Grusch relating to such programs.
Sources have informed Liberation Times that only the Intelligence Community’s Controlled Access Program Coordination Office (CAPCO) could grant authorities relating to CAPs.
That's not the only obstacle AARO would face; the office would also require approval from the CIA. Human-Sourced Intelligence Control System Operations (HCS-O) would require specific CIA approval separate from DoD SAPCO and Intelligence Community’s CAPCO.
Any unauthorised disclosures relating to HCS-O programs would be taken very seriously as it could expose ongoing operations and identities of assets providing the CIA with Human Intelligence.
Another concern raised by sources, which was not acknowledged by Dr. Kirkpatrick and OUSDI&S officials in their email exchanges, is that the AARO lack the authority to waive clearances for Controlled Access Programs with dual purposes. In essence, these are programs that are valid, significant, and legal, yet allegedly conceal operations involving materials of non-human intelligence.
Also included in the document dump are private Signal messenger exchanges between Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Intelligence, Christopher Mellon, and Dr. Kirkpatrick, as Mellon sought to facilitate communications between the AARO and Grusch.
Another Signal interaction featuring Dr. Kirkpatrick and a person whose name bas been redacted shed light on remarks made by Senator Marco Rubio in July 2023 concerning UAP whistleblowers with high clearances. Messages show Dr. Kirkpatrick found these comments unsettling, as they had not approached his office.
In an interview with Newsnation, Senator Rubio stated:
“There are people that have come forward to share information with our committee over the last couple of years.”
He added:
“I find most of these people, at some point, or maybe even currently, have held very high clearances and positions within our government.
“So you start to ask yourself, what incentive would so many people with that kind of qualification - these are serious people - have to come forward and make something up?”
Liberation Times understands these whistleblowers are first-hand witnesses of legacy UAP programs and chose not to approach the AARO due to their distrust of Dr. Kirkpatrick and the OUSDI&S - and because they shared similar security-related concerns as Grusch.
This admission, revealing Dr. Kirkpatrick's lack of awareness regarding such whistleblowers, highlights a significant gap in AARO's understanding.
It underscores that AARO was and continues to operate with limited comprehension of the core allegations and evidence. These were not only presented to the Intelligence Community's Inspector General but also to Senators, whose staff possess investigative authority.
Sources have told Liberation Times that the AARO lacks any credibility due to its mishandling of UAP investigations originating from previous whistleblower testimony. Instead, they are now calling for an independent investigation, independent of the DoD and Intelligence Community.