Is US government hiding evidence of alien life or UFOs? | Civics Project explainer

Q. Is the U.S. government really hiding aliens?

A. In light of the recent Congressional hearings on UFOs, there has been chatter about whether the government is hiding evidence of extraterrestrial life. This is probably a better question for a column about movies or science fiction books but is an important issue for many Americans. It was important enough for members of the House of Representatives to call a hearing to examine the issue and take testimony from a whistleblower. Even with all of the political battles raging in Washington, this hearing got a fair amount of attention. Chairman Glenn Grothman (R-Wis), after observing the full audience in the chamber, stated “Welcome to the most exciting subcommittee in Congress.”

While the acronym UFO (Unidentified Flying Object) is a common one in popular culture, the government term now is “unidentified anomalous phenomena,” or UAP. Certain elements of the armed forces have put together bodies to investigate UAPs. The Pentagon revealed an “Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force” in 2020. The current iteration is called the “All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office” (AARO). You may have noticed that our government runs on acronyms.

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Have they found anything? Well, it depends on whom you believe. Members of different presidential administrations have admitted there are phenomena that occur in the sky that have been difficult to explain. UFO disclosure requirements have made it into funding legislation. Indeed, it makes sense to investigate unknown phenomena, as it could be something coming from U.S. adversaries and a national security threat. The presence of spy balloons from China in the U.S. earlier this year understandably caused significant consternation. However, it is a bit of a journey to go from adversarial or unexplained to alien visitation.

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Air Force and Afghanistan veteran David Grusch testified before Congress that the government was hiding something and it has likely been aware of “non-human” activity since the 1930s. Grusch has been employed by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, the National Reconnaissance Office, and the AARO. He filed a whistleblower report claiming that information has been withheld from Congress. He also claimed to have been told that the government has found vehicles, and “biologics” recovered from those vehicles.

The problem in this case and many others is, it is based on someone being told something rather than a presentation of physical evidence. Further, the federal government has been unable or unwilling to substantiate such claims. A Defense Department Spokesperson, Susan Gough, told Fox News Digital that there was no "verifiable information to substantiate the claims." If that was not clear enough, Gough stated on behalf of the AARO that, “To date, AARO has not discovered any verifiable information to substantiate claims that any programs regarding the possession or reverse-engineering of extraterrestrial materials have existed in the past or exist currently.”

Since distrust in government has risen significantly in recent years, it is not surprising to see many Americans skeptical of the government’s denial. However, a secret of this magnitude held across multiple agencies over many years would require a remarkable level of skill with suppression and secrecy. History suggests to us that the U.S. Government, where leaks occur daily, would not be likely to demonstrate that level of concealment competence for so long. However, it does make for a good movie.

Kevin Wagner is a noted constitutional scholar and political science professor at Florida Atlantic University. The answers provided do not necessarily represent the views of the university. If you have a question about how American government and politics work, email him at kwagne15@fau.edu or reach him on Twitter @kevinwagnerphd

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Congressional hearings on UFO, UAP, alien life inconclusive