NSA Yeates affidavits (1980)
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 🗓️ Event
Contents 9
| Date | 18 November 1980 |
|---|---|
| Topics | Military encounters (topic), Secrecy & cover-up (topic) |
| People | Eugene Yeates |
| Testimony | Shellenberger testimony, p. 90 |
| Year | 1980 in UFO history |
| Timeline | 1980 on the UAP Timeline |
| Sources | 8 |
In 1980 the group Citizens Against UFO Secrecy (CAUS) sued the U.S. National Security Agency for its UFO records. To justify withholding them, the NSA filed a public affidavit and a Top Secret affidavit by NSA official Eugene Yeates that only the judge could read. The court ruled for the NSA on 18 November 1980.[1][2]
The lawsuit
The case, Citizens Against Unidentified Flying Objects Secrecy v. National Security Agency (Civil Action No. 80-1562), sought records the NSA held on UFOs. The NSA acknowledged holding UFO-related intercepts but argued that releasing them would damage national security.[1][3]
The affidavits
Yeates's public affidavit explained the agency's position in general terms, while his classified affidavit, submitted in camera, was reviewed by the judge, who was given a Top Secret clearance for the purpose. Judge Gerhard Gesell ruled in the NSA's favour and the records remained classified, and appeals failed.[1][2][3]
Later releases
The NSA later released the intercepts themselves, but most pages showed only a few words, with the rest whited out. The in camera affidavit was released in heavily redacted form; in July 2014, after a mandatory declassification review requested by researcher John Greenewald of The Black Vault, a less redacted version was released. The NSA said it could not find the unredacted original reports.[1][4]
What was withheld
The less redacted affidavit shows that much of what was withheld concerned how the NSA collected the intercepts rather than anything about UFOs themselves. The NSA's UFO collection also includes papers by NSA cryptologists Lambros Callimahos and Howard Campaigne on communicating with extraterrestrial intelligence, State Department airgrams and a report on the 1976 Iran sighting.[1][4]
Significance
The case is an important early example of courts deferring to intelligence agencies on UFO records, and the NSA's documents remain a focus of researchers' interest.[2][3]
People and topics
- National Security Agency — The U.S. signals intelligence agency, which holds UFO-related intercepts.
- Unidentified anomalous phenomena — The U.S. government's current term for unidentified objects in the air, in space and underwater.
- Citizens Against UFO Secrecy — A civilian group that sued U.S. agencies for UFO records.
- Unidentified flying object — An object in the sky that can't be identified; the older term for UAP.
- Eugene Yeates — NSA official whose 1980 affidavits explained why UFO records were withheld.
On the Timeline
- Bennewitz affair (17 November 1980) — Doty gives physicist Paul Bennewitz a forged document to confuse him.
- Larry W. and the 1968 capture claim (14 December 1980) — A source says a former soldier witnessed a UAP capture in 1968.
See every 1980 event on the UAP Timeline →
References
- "UFOs: The National Security Agency (NSA) collection", The Black Vault · theblackvault.com · archived copy
- In camera affidavit of Eugene F. Yeates (PDF), National Security Agency · nsa.gov · archived copy
- Citizens Against UFO Secrecy — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- "X-Files opened: NSA's UFO investigations unearthed", Space.com · space.com · archived copy
- NSA public affidavit of Eugene Yeates (PDF) — NSA · nsa.gov · archived copy
- In camera affidavit of Eugene Yeates (PDF) — NSA · nsa.gov · archived copy
- Secret government UFO file unveiled — NBC News · nbcnews.com · archived copy
- documents.theblackvault.com · documents.theblackvault.com · archived copy
Further reading
- UFO documents — NSA · nsa.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.
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