Restoring Public Trust
By James Hall
AI Image Conducted by James Hall
One of the most digestible congressional hearings in recent memory took place today, September 9, 2025. This was the seventh UAP hearing in the past three years.
Titled “Restoring Public Trust Through UAP Transparency and Whistleblower Protection,” the session unfolded with notable urgency and drew significant public interest. Chaired by Representative Anna Paulina Luna (R–Fla.), head of the Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets, the proceedings also featured prominent UAP advocates in Congress, including Tim Burchett and Eric Burlison.
Testifying before the committee were Air Force veterans Jeffrey Nuccetelli and Dylan Borland, UAP witness Chief Alexandro Wiggins, and investigative journalist George Knapp. The hearing built on growing bipartisan pressure for disclosure and followed the Pentagon’s March 2024 report, which found no confirmed evidence of “extraterrestrial” technology but left 171 sightings unexplained.
I believe the public, along with Congress, has reached a point where the phenomenon is no longer dismissed as mere speculation or visionary abstraction. At the same time, however, it is increasingly recognized as something far more intricate than a simplistic “alien placeholder”—a complex reality that demands deeper inquiry and serious engagement.
A particularly striking moment came when Rep. Burlison presented video footage from October 2024, showing a fast-moving spherical object off the coast of Yemen. The clip—now widely circulated—appears to capture the UAP darting past a missile in flight, raising questions about surveillance capabilities, propulsion technology, and potential threat implications.
The video depicts a US MQ 9 Reaper drone engaging a glowing, spherical UAP with a Hellfire missile. The missile made direct contact but instead of destroying the target, it appeared to bounce off without causing any visible damage. The object then accelerated away at extreme speed, seemingly unaffected. Witnesses, including Air Force veterans, described this as an unprecedented event—no known technology should be able to absorb or deflect a missile strike in that way. The clip has since been widely circulated and is now under independent review, with whistleblowers alleging that encounters like this have been kept from public view.
The central takeaway from this hearing—after three years of consistent bipartisan interest by Congress—The US and its foreign adversaries are in a race to master and control this technology. Whoever succeeds first will hold a decisive advantage over the world.
The hearings can be viewed on NewsNation.
Recent hearings:
📜 Major U.S. Congressional & Senate UAP Hearings (2015–2025) — Annotated
May 17, 2022 — House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence – Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Counterintelligence, and Counterproliferation
Title: Hearing on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena
Witnesses: Ronald Moultrie (Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence & Security), Scott Bray (Deputy Director of Naval Intelligence)
Key Points: First open UAP hearing in over 50 years. Focused on the Pentagon’s AOIMSG office, stigma reduction for pilots, and the need for standardized data collection. Officials acknowledged 400+ UAP reports but no confirmed evidence of extraterrestrial origin.
April 19, 2023 — Senate Armed Services Committee – Subcommittee on Emerging Threats & Capabilities
Title: Hearing on AARO’s Work
Witness: Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick (Director, All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office)
Key Points: Outlined AARO’s investigative process, interagency coordination, and sensor data analysis. Discussed 650+ UAP cases under review. Emphasized the need for better data and scientific rigor.
July 26, 2023 — House Oversight & Accountability – Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs
Title: Implications on National Security, Public Safety, and Government Transparency
Witnesses: David Grusch (former intelligence officer), Ryan Graves (former Navy pilot), David Fravor (retired Navy commander)
Key Points: Grusch alleged crash retrieval and reverse-engineering programs, including “non-human biologics.” Graves and Fravor described firsthand encounters with craft demonstrating extraordinary flight characteristics.
November 14, 2024 — House Oversight & Accountability – Subcommittees on Cybersecurity, IT & Government Innovation, and National Security
Title: Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Exposing the Truth
Witnesses: Multiple military personnel and technical experts
Key Points: Testimony on UAPs outmaneuvering U.S. aircraft, sensor data anomalies, and alleged concealment of evidence. Calls for stronger whistleblower protections and declassification of key materials.
November 19, 2024 — Senate Armed Services Committee – Subcommittee on Emerging Threats & Capabilities
Title: AARO Activities
Witness: Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick (AARO)
Key Points: Reviewed AARO’s case files and investigative methods in an open session, followed by a closed classified briefing. Discussed interagency data sharing and international cooperation.
March 2025 — House Oversight & Accountability – Cybersecurity & National Security Subcommittees
Title: Follow‑on to “Exposing the Truth”
Witnesses: Luis Elizondo (former AATIP director), Timothy Gallaudet (retired Navy rear admiral), Michael Shellenberger (journalist)
Key Points: Alleged decades‑long international arms race to reverse‑engineer UAP technology. Claimed misappropriated funds and withheld high‑resolution imagery. Reinforced bipartisan urgency for transparency.
September 9, 2025 — House Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets
Title: Restoring Public Trust Through UAP Transparency and Whistleblower Protection
Witnesses: Jeffrey Nuccetelli, Dylan Borland (Air Force veterans), Chief Alexandro Wiggins (UAP witness), George Knapp (investigative journalist)
Key Points: Featured Yemen incident footage showing a spherical UAP near a missile system and the “Hellfire bounce” event. Broadened scope to include JFK and 9/11 file declassification. Framed UAP study as part of a global race for technological mastery.
(Technical Note: If we count only the formal, open, on‑the‑record hearings in Congress and the Senate since mid‑2022, there have been seven in just over three years, listed more concisely here:)
May 17, 2022 – House Intelligence Subcommittee (first open UAP hearing in over 50 years)
Apr 19, 2023 – Senate Armed Services Subcommittee (AARO’s work and case reviews)
Jul 26, 2023 – House Oversight (Nat. Security) (Grusch, Graves, Fravor testimony)
Nov 14, 2024 – House Oversight (Cybersecurity & Nat. Security) (“Exposing the Truth”)
Nov 19, 2024 – Senate Armed Services Subcommittee (AARO activities update)
Mar 2025 – House Oversight (Cybersecurity & Nat. Security) (Elizondo, Gallaudet, Shellenberger — arms race claims)
Sept 9, 2025 – House Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets (“Restoring Public Trust…” — Yemen missile/UAP footage)
