Written by Christopher Sharp - 1 May 2023

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand has called on witnesses of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) events to share their testimony with her office.

Her comments come as the Department of Defense's new investigative unit dedicated to probing the phenomena struggles to establish a public-facing portal for whistleblowers to report their experiences without fear of retribution. 

The comments followed a UAP public hearing on April 19th, which was overseen by Senator Gillibrand's Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities.

During the hearing, Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick, the Director of the Pentagon’s UAP office, known as the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), testified and faced questions about his ongoing investigations into unexplained encounters - some of which may be attributable to foreign surveillance activities.

Senator Gillibrand made the comments in an interview on the YouTube series and Podcast ‘The Good Trouble Show with Matt Ford’.

When asked whether she was surprised that whistleblowers still fear retaliation despite new protections outlined in the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act. Senator Gillibrand replied:

“No, and our office [the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office] is here to assure them they cannot be retaliated against by law. 

“And if they still fear retaliation, they should reach out to my office, because we can make sure that they get interviewed by Dr. Kirkpatrick, we can make sure that they can submit any of their data or information in a confidential way. 

“We can do everything possible to make sure that they can be heard and protected at the same time.”

Senator Gillibrand reassured potential whistleblowers that her office has the capability to handle classified information and hold discussions in secure settings, stating, "we have the ability to take classified information, we have the ability to talk in classified settings so that they're not breaking their classification NDAs, we have the ability to do that." 

She emphasized that her office will ensure the safety of whistleblowers, adding, "we can make sure that there's a setting, a SCIF or a top-secret setting, where they can give their testimony. We will not allow them to be harmed…we will do whatever is consistent with whatever agreements they made."

The senator also provided an email address for those interested in sharing their stories - casework@gillibrand.senate.gov, commenting, that if they reference UAP, “it will get to our military staff who will then follow up and make sure that they are given confidential support and advice on what their next steps could be and where the protections lie.”

As a member of the Senate's Select Committee on Intelligence, Senator Gillibrand played a key role in drafting the latest National Defense Authorization Act. The Act features an extensive anti-reprisal clause designed to protect those who may face repercussions for disclosing classified information. 

The legislation also establishes a new reporting mechanism under the AARO, enabling whistleblowers, including government employees and defense contractors, to report activities related to UAP within Special Access Programs.

Such activities include those relating to ‘material retrieval’, and ‘reverse engineering’ - that have not been fully disclosed to congressional defense and intelligence committees. 

This move comes as part of ongoing efforts to increase transparency and accountability in government activities, particularly about the mystery surrounding UAP.

At the recent hearing, Dr. Kirkpatrick announced his submission of a public-facing website for potential whistleblowers but indicated he was still waiting for approval.

Responding to this delay, Senator Gillibrand in her latest interview expressed concern, stating: "Clearly, there's a bottleneck somewhere, but I'm gonna get to the bottom of it."

Senator Gillibrand's dedication to uncovering the truth behind UAP encounters was evident as she hinted at the possibility of further legislation to come.

"We're happy to amend the bill this year," she said. "I mean, the goal is to give 100% amnesty and whistleblower protection in this space of unidentified aerial phenomena."