WASHINGTON, D.C. (NewsNation) — The U.S. House Oversight Committee is set to hear from three witnesses Wednesday morning after a whistleblower filed a complaint claiming the U.S. has been concealing evidence of non-human aircraft.
David Grusch, an Air Force veteran and former member of the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, first brought his claims in a complaint to Congress and detailed his accusations exclusively to NewsNation last month. His testimony will be the most highly-anticipated statement of the morning. Grusch’s opening statement, released Tuesday, reveals he is expected to repeat much of his claims during sworn testimony before lawmakers Wednesday.
Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., will lead Wednesday’s hearing. Burchett has accused the military of keeping UFO data hidden for decades and feels the hearing’s objective is to apply pressure on federal intelligence officials in order to get them to release records related to UFOs.
A small group of Republicans says the Pentagon and Air Force recently blocked lawmakers from seeing images and information about UFOs as well as from reading testimony about seeing possible alien aircraft from witnesses, two of whom spoke with NewsNation directly.
Also testifying is former Navy pilot Ryan Graves who told NewsNation he has first-hand accounts of UFOs and former U.S. Navy commander David Fravor, one of the pilots who flew close to the viral video of a Tic Tac-shaped craft.
Chris Mellon, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense for intelligence under President Bill Clinton’s and President George W. Bush’s administrations, is backing Grusch’s claims, saying the U.S. recovered alien technology.
Some lawmakers are paying more attention to the proceedings than others. The Hill reports House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., recently brushed off a question about Grusch’s claims.
“I will continue to see, but I think if we had found a UFO, I think the Department of Defense would tell us, because they probably want to request more money,” McCarthy told The Hill. “I’m very supportive of letting the American public see whatever we have.”
California Democrat Rep. Pete Aguilar also rebuffed concerns about UAPs and their origins, The Hill reported.
“There are so many things that we get an opportunity to dig into and talk about here. It’s really the reason why people run for Congress, is to help their constituents and to weigh in on serious things. And this is just not in my top 20 that constituents in my district are asking me about or talking about,” Aguilar told The Hill.
Meanwhile, others are interested in the questions that might be raised by what the witnesses will have to say.
“My primary interest in this topic is if there are … object(s) operating over restricted air space, it’s not ours and we don’t know whose it is, that’s a problem that we need to get to the bottom of,” said Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee.
The hearing will begin at 10 a.m. ET, Wednesday and NewsNation will stream it in the player above.