David Grusch Takes Center Stage: Will His New Role Unlock UAP Secrets?
- Cristina Gomez
- Mar 30
- 5 min read
David Grusch, the former intelligence officer who captured public attention with his extraordinary claims about Pentagon UFO programs, has stepped into a significant new role as special advisor to Representative Eric Burlison.
This strategic appointment comes after Grusch’s headline-making Congressional testimony in July 2023 and represents a potential turning point in governmental transparency regarding UFOs. The timing of his four-month appointment is particularly noteworthy as it coincides with Representative Anna Paulina Luna’s efforts to organize a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) meeting that would bring together key figures in the UAP disclosure movement, including Grusch, former Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP) director Luis Elizondo, and officials from the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO). Unfortunately, the meetings remains in the planning stages as of March 2025, with no confirmation yet of the meeting having taken place.
The reinstatement of Grusch’s security clearance plays a central role in his ability to function effectively in this new position. His clearance was not active during his July 2023 Congressional testimony, but Representative Burlison successfully advocated for its renewal, passing an amendment specifically encouraging this action. By November 2023, the reinstatement process had been completed, providing Grusch with the necessary credentials to access classified information relevant to his advisory role. This development significantly enhances his capability to guide Congressional investigations into the matters he has previously brought to light.
As noted by investigative journalist Ross Coulthart, Grusch’s appointment places him in a unique position to directly influence the direction and depth of Congressional inquiries into UAP-related matters. His insider knowledge allows him to advise lawmakers on precisely what information to request regarding UAPs, potentially steering his previous investigations toward more concrete outcomes. Representative Burlison’s dual positions on both the House Oversight Committee and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) subcommittee create multiple avenues through which Grusch’s claims about alleged secret Pentagon programs can be investigated, increasing the potential for meaningful oversight.
The substance of Grusch’s previous claims remains startling in its implications for our understanding of non-human intelligence. In a June 2023 interview with News Nation, he asserted that the United States possesses “quite a number” of non-human vehicles that might originate from extra dimensions rather than necessarily from other planets. Although Grusch has acknowledged never personally witnessing non-human intelligence, he maintains he has been convinced by testimonies from witnesses he considers highly credible. His public statements have also referenced potentially concerning UAP activity, including incidents involving nuclear site probing, and he has alluded to “agreements that could jeopardize the future,” though he has noted that specific details remain classified.
Central to Grusch’s allegations is the existence of crash retrieval programs specifically designed to recover what he terms “non-human origin technical vehicles.” He has described elaborate reverse engineering efforts focused on these recovered materials and has claimed that his requests to access these programs were denied, leading to what he characterizes as reprisals against him. During his Congressional hearing, Grusch confirmed the existence of “multi-decade programs” involving specific corporations and what he described as funding misappropriations. The materials recovered in these programs, according to Grusch, possess unusual properties, including anomalous isotopic ratios and heavy atomic metals. He has also expressed concern about workers involved in handling these materials suffering injuries due to nuclear, radiological, and biological risks, suggesting that academic research could benefit substantially from access to these materials.
Grusch’s public statements have referenced several specific UAP cases that he considers significant. He has discussed the 1947 Roswell incident, claiming that multiple witnesses observed recovered bodies and dismissing the Air Force’s 1994 report on the matter as a “total hack job.” He has also mentioned a 1933 recovery in Magenta, Italy, allegedly the first such recovery in Europe, which involved a partially intact vehicle documented by Mussolini’s regime. The 1967 Malmstrom Air Base incident, where UAPs reportedly tampered with nuclear missiles and shut down 10 ICBMs, figures prominently in his accounts as well. Beyond these historical cases, Grusch has suggested the existence of numerous UAP videos beyond the three declassified in 2020, with some purportedly showing spacecraft of extraordinary size.
The formal beginning of Grusch’s journey as a whistleblower dates to May 2022, when he filed a PPD-19 urgent concern with the intelligence community inspector general. This report detailed what he described as a “multi-decade UAP crash retrieval and reverse engineering program” to which he had been denied access. The personal cost of these actions has been significant, as he claims to have faced “very brutal” professional and personal retaliation. Over a four-year period leading up to his public statements, Grusch interviewed more than 40 witnesses and collected what he considers compelling evidence, including photography, official documentation, and classified oral testimony. He has reported providing specific locations to the Inspector General and intelligence committees during approximately 11.5 hours of testimony. The seriousness with which he views these matters is underscored by his expressed fears for his life and claims of knowledge regarding others who have been harmed in what he characterizes as government cover-up efforts.
A significant challenge facing Grusch and other potential whistleblowers in this field involves navigating the complex web of government classification systems. According to experts familiar with these systems, a four-month investigation timeframe — which aligns with the duration of Grusch’s current appointment — provides insufficient opportunity to navigate the complex clearance requirements and access protocols necessary for comprehensive disclosure. The Department of Energy operates under its own classification system, separate from standard military and intelligence frameworks, making oversight significantly more difficult than with other federal agencies. Under the Atomic Energy Act, information about atomic weapons, special nuclear material (SNM) like uranium-235 or plutonium, or their use in energy production would be classified as Restricted Data (RD). If UAP materials involve SNM or nuclear technology, they would likely fall under this designation, classified from the start as “Born Secret.”
Congressional oversight committees face their own challenges in this arena, with members sometimes mistakenly believing their security clearances grant broader access than they actually do. Even possessing Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI) clearance alongside Department of Energy Q clearance still requires specific need-to-know authorization for particular Special Access Programs (SAPs) and Restricted Data. This layered system of access restrictions creates substantial barriers to disclosure, even for individuals with seemingly high-level security clearances. Advocates like former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Christopher Mellon have argued that much of this information could be declassified without compromising national security. However, success requires precise identification of which policies require amendment — a task that has proven challenging for lawmakers without specialized knowledge of classification systems.
The practical significance of Grusch’s appointment becomes clear when considering Representative Burlison’s comments about Grusch’s value in helping lawmakers ask the right questions. In an interview with NewsNation, Burlison emphasized that Grusch would lead the team in formulating appropriate inquiries. For representatives like Luna or Burlison, who may possess limited specialized knowledge about UAP matters, determining the correct questions to ask in specific contexts presents a substantial challenge. Grusch’s expertise and insider perspective can fill these knowledge gaps, potentially enabling more productive investigations despite the limited timeframe available.
As the UAP disclosure movement continues to evolve, Grusch remains a pivotal figure whose claims represent both the potential for breakthrough revelations and the persistent challenges of navigating highly classified government programs. The planned SCIF meeting between Grusch, Elizondo, and AARO representatives could mark a significant step forward in this ongoing process, potentially bringing together key figures with diverse perspectives on the UAP phenomenon and the classification systems that have kept much of this information from public view. Whether Grusch’s appointment will lead to substantial new disclosures remains to be seen, but his positioning within Representative Burlison’s team undoubtedly places him at the center of ongoing efforts to bring greater transparency to one of the most enduring mysteries of our time.
Comments