CAUS lawsuit and the CIA UFO papers
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 🗓️ Event
Contents 7
| Date | 15 December 1978 |
|---|---|
| Topics | Secrecy & cover-up (topic) |
| People | Todd Zechel, Brad Sparks, Peter Gersten |
| Testimony | Shellenberger testimony, p. 85 |
| Year | 1978 in UFO history |
| Timeline | 1978 on the UAP Timeline |
| Sources | 9 |
In December 1978, after Freedom of Information Act lawsuits by UFO researchers working with the group Ground Saucer Watch, the CIA released roughly 900 to 1,000 pages of documents on its interest in UFOs. The researchers also claimed that the agency had run secret "emergency" UFO studies during sighting waves, a claim the documents did not prove.[1][2][3]
The lawsuits
In 1977 researcher Todd Zechel, analyst Brad Sparks and lawyer Peter Gersten, working with Ground Saucer Watch of Phoenix, Arizona, led by William Spaulding, sued the CIA for its UFO records; the case was Ground Saucer Watch, Inc. v. CIA (Civil Action No. 78-859). The agency had long said it had little interest in the subject.[2][3][4]
The release
The documents released in late 1978 included reports from CIA officers, records of photo analysis of UFO pictures, and a report of two F-4 Phantom jets chasing unidentified objects over Iran in 1976. They confirmed that the CIA had followed UFOs since the late 1940s, including the 1952 discussions that led to the Robertson Panel. Sparks found references to hundreds more pages being withheld. The New York Times reported on the papers in January 1979 under the headline "C.I.A. Papers Detail U.F.O. Surveillance".[1][2][5]
Claims and aftermath
Spaulding said the papers showed sightings clustering near military installations. The researchers also claimed that the CIA had run secret emergency studies during major sighting waves; the documents show periods of heightened interest, for example in 1952, but do not prove such studies. Zechel, Sparks and Gersten went on to found Citizens Against UFO Secrecy (CAUS), which in 1980 sued the National Security Agency, unsuccessfully, for its UFO records.[2][3][6]
People and topics
- Central Intelligence Agency — The U.S. foreign intelligence agency, which has followed UFO reports since the 1940s.
- Unidentified anomalous phenomena — The U.S. government's current term for unidentified objects in the air, in space and underwater.
- Todd Zechel — Researcher who co-founded Citizens Against UFO Secrecy and sued the CIA in the 1970s.
- Brad Sparks — UFO analyst known for his catalogue of Blue Book unknowns and work on the CIA lawsuit.
- Peter Gersten — Lawyer who directed Citizens Against UFO Secrecy and sued federal agencies for UFO records.
- Ground Saucer Watch — A civilian UFO group that sued the CIA for UFO records in the 1970s.
- Freedom of Information Act — The 1966 U.S. law that lets the public request government records.
- Unidentified flying object — An object in the sky that can't be identified; the older term for UAP.
- Robertson Panel — Robertson Panel
- The New York Times — The newspaper that revealed AATIP in December 2017.
- Citizens Against UFO Secrecy — A civilian group that sued U.S. agencies for UFO records.
On the Timeline
- United Nations decision 33/426 (8 December 1978) — A UN draft resolution to create a UAP study body fails; Hynek and Vallée speak at the UN.
- Claims of CIA funding of UFO researchers (15 December 1978) — The same researchers claim the CIA secretly funded selected UAP researchers.
See every 1978 event on the UAP Timeline →
References
- "C.I.A. Papers Detail U.F.O. Surveillance", The New York Times (1979), via CIA Reading Room · cia.gov · archived copy
- Patrick Gross, "New York Times, 1979: CIA UFO papers" · ufologie.patrickgross.org · archived copy
- Citizens Against UFO Secrecy — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- CIA memorandum on Ground Saucer Watch v. CIA (1978), CIA Reading Room · cia.gov · archived copy
- "Photo Analysis of UFO Photography", CIA Reading Room (released 5 Oct 1978) · cia.gov · archived copy
- Peter Gersten — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- Citizens Against UFO Secrecy — Obscurantist · obscurantist.com · archived copy
- theparacast.com · theparacast.com · archived copy
- abovetopsecret.com · abovetopsecret.com · archived copy
Further reading
- UFO documents — CIA Reading Room · cia.gov · archived copy
This page was last edited on 29 October 2026. Articles are written in our own words from the sources listed under References; disputed claims are attributed to the people who made them.
No discussion yet.