Liberation Times whistleblower hearings report
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 🗓️ Event
Contents 8
| Published | 14 October 2022 |
|---|---|
| Author | Christopher Sharp, Liberation Times |
| Claim | Public UAP hearings would follow once the fiscal 2023 NDAA's whistleblower language became law; whistleblowers had already been asked to testify |
| Further claim | Information on alleged retrieval and reverse-engineering programs had been "verified by Congress" |
| Predicted timing | Best case, before Christmas 2022 |
| Outcome | Hearing held 26 July 2023 (Grusch, Fravor, Graves); no public evidence of retrieval programs |
| Date | 14 October 2022 |
| Topics | Crashes & retrievals (topic), Secrecy & cover-up (topic), Government programs (topic) |
| People | Christopher Sharp, David Grusch, David Fravor, Ryan Graves |
| Testimony | Shellenberger testimony, p. 211 |
| Year | 2022 in UFO history |
| Timeline | 2022 on the UAP Timeline |
| Sources | 5 |
On 14 October 2022 the journalist Christopher Sharp of the website Liberation Times reported that new public congressional hearings on UAP were expected once the fiscal 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) became law, and that whistleblowers had already been asked to testify.[1] Citing "multiple political and defense sources", he also wrote that information about secret UAP retrieval and reverse-engineering programs "has now been verified by Congress".[1] A hearing did take place, but in July 2023, months later than the report's best case. The whistleblower who testified offered no public evidence for the programs he described.[2][3]
The report
Sharp's article made these claims:[1]
- The legislation. The Intelligence Authorization Act 2023 language, including important whistleblower protections, was now "wrapped up within the NDAA". It could pass "in weeks", after the November midterm elections. Sharp cautioned there were "no certainties" because of political divisions, the midterms and the war in Ukraine.
- The hearings. Public hearings were expected once the bill became law, and "the best-case scenario could see such hearings occur before Christmas".
- Verification. A "substantial amount of information" on retrieval and "back-engineering" programs had been verified by Congress. A Defense Department insider was quoted as saying lawmakers had met insiders who provided "multi-source and verifiable information". The insider said this explained why the bill set 1 January 1947 as "day one" of a historical review.
- Pushback. There were reports of "major pushback" from parts of the Defense Department.
- Urgency. Some insiders hoped disclosure could bring nations together at a time of rising nuclear tension, citing Ronald Reagan's remark that an alien threat could unite them.
Two others were quoted:[1]
- Jeremy Corbell. The filmmaker said "the Silver Bullet is coming", and that he had "personally spoken with numerous individuals who have had roles in these legacy UFO exploitation programs".
- George Knapp. The reporter said on Coast to Coast AM that people had told Congress of "intact craft, remains – physical remains – of beings". He said a couple of people who knew "the buildings where this stuff is stashed" would come forward if protected.
Sharp also quoted Senator Marco Rubio calling that year's intelligence reauthorization "the most consequential one ever offered".[1]
What followed
On 26 July 2023 the House Oversight Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs heard sworn testimony from three witnesses:[2][3]
- David Grusch. The former National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency officer said he "was informed in the course of my official duties of a multi-decade UAP crash retrieval and reverse-engineering program to which I was denied access". He said the government possessed UAP, "based on interviewing over 40 witnesses over four years". He declined to give details in open session, including about people he said had been harmed.
- Ryan Graves. The former Navy pilot urged a formal UAP reporting system for pilots.
- David Fravor. He described the 2004 Tic Tac encounter: "The technology that we faced is far superior to anything that we had."
Sharp interviewed Representative Anna Paulina Luna two days later. She said "the stake of our Constitutional Republic is on the line", and backed a call by four representatives for a UAP select committee and field hearings.[4]
The official response
A Pentagon spokesperson said AARO had "not discovered any verifiable information to substantiate claims" of possession or reverse-engineering programs.[3] AARO's director Sean Kirkpatrick wrote that Grusch had "refused to speak with AARO". In later commentary Kirkpatrick said the cover-up allegations derived from misunderstood disclosures of genuine, non-extraterrestrial programs.[3] In January 2024 members of the subcommittee received a classified briefing from the Intelligence Community Inspector General, and some said they were frustrated by the lack of new information.[3] Scientists such as Michael Shermer and Sean Carroll criticized the absence of physical evidence.[3]
Assessment
The report was right that hearings with whistleblower testimony would come, though it was wrong about the timing.[1][2] Its central claim, that Congress had verified the existence of retrieval programs, rested on anonymous sources. It has not been substantiated publicly by Congress, AARO or the testimony that followed.[1][3] The Liberation Times site has continued to report on UAP and congressional efforts.[4][5]
People and topics
- Christopher Sharp — Journalist at Liberation Times.
- Unidentified anomalous phenomena — The U.S. government's current term for unidentified objects in the air, in space and underwater.
- House Oversight Committee — The House committee that held UAP hearings in 2023 and 2024.
- David Grusch — Former intelligence officer who testified in 2023 that the U.S. has recovered non-human craft.
- U.S. Navy — The U.S. naval service, whose pilots reported the UAP encounters revealed in 2017.
- David Fravor — Navy pilot who saw the 2004 Tic Tac object.
- Ryan Graves — Former Navy F/A-18 pilot who testified to Congress about frequent UAP sightings off the East Coast in 2014–15.
- Reverse engineering — Studying a recovered object to learn how it works and copy it.
- Non-human intelligence — A term for intelligent beings of non-human origin, used in UAP legislation.
On the Timeline
- Bradshaw Ranch black site claim (14 October 2022) — Steven Greer suggests a ranch near Sedona was turned into a black site.
- Grant Cameron's UFO pilot accounts (20 October 2022) — Grant Cameron publishes accounts of people who say they piloted a UFO.
See every 2022 event on the UAP Timeline →
Further reading
- U.S. congressional hearings on UFOs — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
References
- Christopher Sharp, "Exclusive: more UFO hearings are coming as whistleblowers are called forward and legacy programs are verified by Congress", Liberation Times (14 Oct 2022) · liberationtimes.com · archived copy
- "The congressional hearing on UAP: what we learned from yesterday's testimony", The Debrief (Jul 2023) · thedebrief.org · archived copy
- David Grusch UFO whistleblower claims — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- "Representative Luna spells out seriousness of UFO whistleblower testimony", Liberation Times (Jul 2023) · liberationtimes.squarespace.com · archived copy
- Liberation Times (Christopher Sharp) · liberationtimes.com · archived copy
Facts in this article are drawn in part from the Wikipedia article “David Grusch UFO whistleblower claims”, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.
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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