The first classified congressional meeting on UFO whistleblower David Grusch’s allegations has ended, and so far most politicians attending have said that the SCIF meeting was more frustrating than anything else. This is the first of two SCIF meetings scheduled over the next month.
Grusch, who alleged that the U.S. has a secret UAP retrieval program, was not present for this SCIF. Instead, congressional members were speaking with the Inspector General of the Department of Defense, Robert Storch’s team, whom Grusch has previously testified to. The next meeting on November 16 will be with the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community. Some have more hope for this second meeting, since the ICIG previously found that Grusch’s claims were credible and urgent.
SCIF is short for “Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility.” It refers to a room or installation that meets the Director of National Intelligence’s security standards for discussing sensitive, classified information. This is the only place where highly classified information, such as Grusch’s evidence about a possible UAP program, can be shared. During the July House hearing, Grusch said several times that he had more details that he could only share in a SCIF.
To review a comprehensive, in-depth breakdown of all of UFO whistleblower David Grusch’s claims, with citations, see our story here.
Moskowitz Said They Were Told They Didn’t Have the Proper Clearance
While those attending the SCIF are limited in what they can share because the meetings are highly classified,Rep. Anna Paulina Luna and Rep. Jared Moskowitz told reporters that it was mostly a frustrating meeting. A video clip of their brief press conference was shared on X (formerly known as Twitter) by Jesse Varner of News Nation.
“We were actually told that we don’t have the clearance to learn certain things,” Moskowitz said. His expression and tone of voice indicated that he was clearly annoyed about the whole thing.
Moskowitz was asked if that, in itself, was telling.
“It could be,” Moskowitz answered. “I don’t want to read into it. But obviously, I think a lot of members were very frustrated.”
Both @RepLuna & @RepMoskowitz were frustrated by the lack of transparency from the DOD during a closed-door meeting on #UAP. #UFO #UFOtwitter pic.twitter.com/5P4egIYF84
— Jesse Varner (@DCNewsPhotog) October 26, 2023
“Congress should have oversight and the ability to look into and have access to these programs,” Luna added. “…We’re being told we don’t have access to these programs, which defeats the purpose of what we’re supposed to be doing.”
They were asked if other colleagues with higher clearance had access, and Moskowitz said, “Well they didn’t tell us. They didn’t tell us who. They wouldn’t answer that.”
Luna summed up the meeting by saying they learned “nothing new” and referring to it as “pointless,” Askapol reported.
‘If You Ask, You’re Not Being Patriotic,’ Burchett Said About Questioning the Program’s Funding
Rep. Eric Burlison and Rep. Tim Burchett also spoke briefly with reporters, in a video that Matt Laslo of Askapol shared on X. They were asked why Congress doesn’t know exactly how the money used for some of these classified programs is spent.
NEW: Reps. @timburchett and @EricBurlison after UAP briefing this am in SCIF.
Someone has found some sort of propulsion, Burlison told reporters (full quote coming), so @MattLaslo followed-up asking if they think it’s foreign or domestic… pic.twitter.com/kNUY3bnzJe
— @askapol (@ask_a_pol) October 26, 2023
“Yeah, that’s exactly my question,” Burlison said. “…The answer is that Grusch, his claims were that in some cases there’s overbilling…”
Burchett added, “At one point, the Pentagon, 60% of their assets were unaccounted for… This last deal, when we raised those issues, they penalized them by giving them 30 billion additional dollars. So, I mean, that’s pretty clear. We’re afraid to ask, and if you ask, you’re not being patriotic.”
Burchett summed up what he learned in the meeting in a quote to Askapol and other reporters: “Absolutely nothing.”
Askapol did note that Burlison said something about someone finding propulsion, however, that full quote has not yet been released. Laslo did note in another tweet that none of the clips are ultimately revealing because they were in a classified meeting, and thus cannot reveal what was shared.
When Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was asked how the meeting went, she simply said, “Classified,” Askapol reported.
Joe Khalil of News Nation reported that overall, most lawmakers — both Democrat and Republican — who attended the SCIF summed it up as a waste of time. Khalil noted that the Department of Defense Inspector General and his team didn’t know the answers to most of their questions, and couldn’t reveal most of what they did know.
Khalil noted, “Congressman @RepTimBurchetttells us he doesn’t blame the briefers. He doesn’t think they intentionally hid info, simply believes the people prepped to do briefing are legitimately not in the know on David Grusch UAP claims. Burchett, frustrated, believes this is by design.”
We know that Ocasio-Cortez, Burlison, Burchett, Luna, Moskowitz, and Rep. Robert Garcia were all in the meeting, and possibly others.
Garcia Said He Is Requesting More Public UFO Hearings
Before the meeting, Garcia pledged in a tweet to investigate UAPs seriously.
He wrote: “I’m serious about investigating UAPs in a manner that focuses on science, transparency, and disclosure. Tomorrow, we will meet in a classified setting to evaluate whistleblower claims and evidence. We will continue to focus on the facts.”
After the meeting, he tweeted that he is still committed to this topic and is requesting more public hearings.
“This morning, I attended a classified briefing on UAPs,” Garcia wrote. “I have requested to our committee chair further public hearings on this important topic and am working on legislation to facilitate reporting and analysis. Transparency and public trust is very important.”
The DOD Inspector General Said They Don’t Determine Clearance Levels, But Are Committed to Transparency
Khalil shared an official statement from the Department of Defense Inspector General, noting that they are committed to transparency and don’t determine security clearances or classification levels.
The statement read: “The Department of Defense Office of Inspector General is not responsible for determining the classification of the information in our oversight work, nor do we determine the level of security clearances for congressional leaders. The DoD OIG is committed to being as transparent and communicative as possible with our congressional leaders, and welcome any further opportunity to discuss our body of work.”
The Next Meeting With the ICIG Might Be More Fruitful
Some UFO disclosure advocates hope the next meeting with the ICIG in November might be more fruitful, but it’s hard to anticipate just how it will go. If the meeting is based solely on classification and security clearance levels, it might end up similar to this one, but it’s unclear.
In Post Apocalyptic Media’s in-depth look at Grusch’s claims, we noted that Grusch first provided evidence in July 2021 to the Department of Defense Inspector General, alleging that UAP-related information was being illegally withheld from Congress. He said that he suffered retaliation at his job after this, and retained attorney Charles McCullough III, a former Intelligence Community Inspector General (ICIG), to represent him in filing a statutory whistleblower complaint to the current Inspector General of the Intelligence Community (ICIG), Thomas A. Monheim.
McCullough filed Grusch’s complaint in May 2022 and Grusch testified, under oath, about what he knew. By July 2022, the ICIG ruled that Grusch’s assertion that information was being inappropriately concealed from Congress was both urgent and credible.
Post Apocalyptic Media also previously reported that the ICIG is likely investigating Grusch’s claims, based on an in-depth look at a letter the ICIG sent to Burchett and other representatives.
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