Senate Targets Pentagon's UFO Office for Accountability Review
Photo by Caleb Perez on Unsplash
Written by Christopher Sharp - 5 June 2024
The Senate Intelligence Committee plans to conduct a review of the heavily criticized Pentagon office responsible for investigating Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), known as the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), through the Comptroller General of the Government Accountability Office (GAO).
In its version of the Intelligence Authorization Act (IAA) for Fiscal Year 2025 - expected to be inserted within the National Authorization Act (NDAA) - the Committee states:
‘The Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct a review of the All- domain Anomaly Resolution Office.’
It adds:
‘A review of the implementation by the Office of the duties and requirements under section 1683 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022, such as the process for operational unidentified anomalous phenomena reporting and coordination with the Department of Defense, the intelligence community, and other departments and agencies of the Federal Government and non-Government entities.
‘A review of such other matters relating to the activities of the Office that pertain to unidentified anomalous phenomena as the Comptroller General considers appropriate.’
The potential review - if incorporated into the finalised version agreed between the Senate and House - follows the release of an error-ridden historical UAP report by the AARO, which overlooked serious whistleblower complaints about alleged illegal UAP programs involving the retrieval and reverse engineering of craft of unknown and non-human origin.
Welcoming the news, Lue Elizondo, former director of the Pentagon’s UAP program, the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP), told Liberation Times:
"The GAO is an organization created to ensure government entities perform their work in accordance with their mission and under proper oversight from Congress.
“I am grateful that the new language includes this measure, given the recent history of poor performance by AARO’s former leadership. I believe Congress, like many others, is waking up to the fact that there has been a long-running campaign to obfuscate the truth from America and its citizens."
Ironically, in 2022 the historical report proposal initially approved by the two intelligence committees mandated that the GAO would conduct the review and draft the historical report. However, in the final bill, the responsibility for conducting the historical study and producing the report was transferred to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO). Liberation Times understands that this change was requested by AARO leadership.
Notably, the historical report produced by the AARO this year referenced the late Senator Harry Reid as being a representative for New Mexico. This was one of many basic errors contained in the report, found credible by publications such as the New York Times and Washington Post, which were fed embargoed copies and briefed by AARO before other publications.
The investigative approach adopted by the AARO has raised questions. Its approach entailed questioning individuals suspected of involvement in unauthorized activities, particularly relating to the recovery and reverse engineering of non-human materials, and then accepting their denials at face value.
Unfairly, the words of the suspects were given greater weight than the whistleblowers.
Rather than buy into the conclusions within the AAROs report, the Senate’s Intelligence Committee is now looking to scrutinise the Office and its actions through the GAO.
Liberation Times understands that the Senate Intelligence Committee has lost confidence in AARO's ability to fulfil its responsibilities. This lack of confidence has persisted among some members since last year, leading to the introduction of the Senate's UAP Disclosure Act (UAPDA) of 2023, which proposed an Independent Review Board as the primary entity for UAP disclosure.
Other language included within the Intelligence Authorization Act (IAA), though not new, extends a provision from a previously enacted bill.
This provision prohibits funding for any activity involving Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) protected under any form of special access or restricted access limitation "unless the Director of National Intelligence has provided the details of the activity to the appropriate committees of Congress and congressional leadership, including for any activities described in a report released by the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office in fiscal year 2024."
Additionally, independent research and development funding relating to UAP "shall not be allowable as indirect expenses for purposes of contracts covered by such instruction, unless such material and information is made available to the appropriate congressional committees and leadership."
Liberation Times has learned that retrieval programs involving craft of unknown and non-human origin include elements from the U.S. military, such as Navy and special forces assets.
These operations are conducted in collaboration with the CIA’s Office of Global Access and assets under its Directorate of Operations. Liberation Times understands that the exact arrangement between the military and the CIA is contingent upon the specific operational domains and circumstances.
The Senate Armed Services Committee has scheduled voting sessions on the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2025 from June 12-14.
Liberation Times understands that advocates are hopeful that Senate Leader Chuck Schumer, together with Senator Mike Rounds will make an attempt to include an updated version of their UAPDA within this year’s NDAA, including the revival of the Independent Review Board, which would help the disclosure of UAP information.
After the dilution of UAPDA language last year, Senators Schumer and Rounds held a colloquy on December 13, 2023.
They agreed it was essential to continue working on their proposals to establish the UAP Review Board, aiming to ensure declassification can bypass the authorities that have historically obstructed information release.
It is important to note that any UAP language proposed in the Senate’s versions of the IAA and the NDAA must survive the conference committee between the House and Senate.
During this process, differences between the House and Senate versions of the NDAA and IAA are reconciled to produce a final, unified bill.