Former intelligence officer and UFO whistleblower David Grusch said he’s been living a nightmare since making his testimony public over the summer.
“Since I went public, certainly, this has been a nightmare for me,” he said in an interview Tuesday on NewsNation’s “Elizabeth Vargas Tonight.”
“I mean, I was an intelligence officer for 14 years, behind the curtain, if you will.”
Grusch told Vargas he “never wanted” to go public with his claims but did so “for the right reasons” and to hold the government accountable.
Grusch, an Air Force veteran and former member of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, claimed the government is holding back information about UFOs and unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP).
He also served as a national reconnaissance officer representative for the Pentagon’s Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Task Force. In a June interview with NewsNation, he claimed the U.S. has recovered nonhuman crafts with nonhuman species inside.
NewsNation and The Hill are both owned by Nexstar Media Group.
Grusch testified before Congress in July and reiterated his claims but said he was unable to provide hard evidence largely due to his fears of prosecution for sharing classified data in a public setting.
In the Tuesday interview with Vargas, Grusch said “this is not a laughing matter” and that the U.S. has a “severe oversight issue.”
“So I think we have a severe truth and reconciliation process we need to start in this country, and I am here to help the current administration, and I’m happy to help,” he said, adding that he wants to be a tool for change.
After the July hearing, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle looked to expand their investigative power after they were left with more questions than answers. Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) said expanding powers would allow for future subpoenas and to hear the rest of Grusch’s testimony in a secure environment.
Grusch’s interview comes after Sean Kirkpatrick, the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office director, announced he would be stepping down, 18 months after he took the chief position.
Grusch said the office needs to “find a new director that the American people would have more confidence in” and that he provided a “senior senator with my pick.”