GOP rep renews UFO ‘cover-up’ claim after Intel watchdog response

Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) on Friday doubled down on claims of a Pentagon “cover-up” over information about UFOs — commonly dubbed unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs).

Burchett requested that the inspector general of the intelligence community investigate claims that military officials are withholding information from Congress about UAPs following a hearing last month.

Inspector General Thomas A.Monheim responded Friday, saying that there is no information to share.

“As a matter of discretion, IC IG notes that it has not conducted any audit, inspection, evaluation, or review of alleged UAP programs within the responsibility and authority of the DNI that would enable this office to provide a fulsome response to your questions,” Monheim wrote.

The letter from Burchett specifically asked which officials or facilities were involved in the investigation of possible UAPs, and the inspector general’s reply did not provide those details.

“The IC IG office did nothing to look into the information they received from David Grusch on UAP crash retrieval programs?” Burchett said on X, formerly Twitter, on Friday. “They have no information they can give to Congress??? Cover-up.”

The Tennessee Republican is among a group of a half dozen members of Congress who led a hearing into UAPs in July, saying that additional information from military leaders is needed and that the government must be more transparent in communicating information about the objects.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) also previously stated that senior military officials have “stonewalled” the group’s questions about UAP programs.

“I don’t believe that it is fair to the American people to not be able to see information that absolutely has the ability to impact them directly, especially from a national security perspective,” she said

The bipartisan group of lawmakers has requested a House subcommittee with subpoena power to force military officials to answer the group’s questions.