Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And I thank our witnesses for being here today. Mr. Grusch, in your sworn testimony, you state that the United States government has retrieved supposedly extraterrestrial spacecraft and other UAP related artifacts. You go so far as to state that the US is in possession of, quote, non-human spacecraft, end quote, and that some of these artifacts have circulated with defense contractors. Several other former military and intelligence officials have come forward with similar allegations, albeit and non-public settings. However, Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick, the director of ADARO, previously testified before Congress that there has been, and I quote, no credible evidence thus far of extraterrestrial activity or of, quote, off world technology brought to the attention of the office. To your knowledge, is that statement correct?
It’s not accurate. I believe Dr. Kirkpatrick mentioned he had about 30 individuals that have come to ADARO thus far. A few of those individuals have also come to ADARO that I also interviewed, and I know what they provided Dr. Kirkpatrick and their team.
Okay...
I was able to evaluate information...
I need to go on.
Sure.
But my understanding that his statement is accurate came from a direct quote. And this contradiction is a perfect example of why we need to inject transparency into our government. And for another example, look no further than the pitiful response to the Chinese spy balloon debacle earlier this year. You may remember the mass confusion that ensued when the balloon was first spotted over Montana, four days after it first entered US airspace over Alaska. The Biden administration’s initial inability to address the object grew into a continuous series of embarrassments. After news of the balloon reached the mainstream media, we were assured that the balloon posed no threat to our security. However, after the balloon was allowed to transit the entire continental United states, fighter jets were scrambled off the coast of South Carolina to shoot it down. This flip-flopping and obfuscation caused needless confusion, fear and panic across the country. It’s my hope, Mr. Chairman, that this sort of confusion will not be repeated. We should investigate the extent to which elements of our government possess or do not possess information that is of critical value to the American people. We owe it to the citizens of this nation to make sure that our government is transparent and accountable. We must make sure that our government provides answers, and Congress must do its duty to solicit those answers. With that, Mr. Chairman, I yield back. Yeah.