The Saga Of David Grusch: Whistleblowers And The Potential For Hijacked Information

Whistleblowers are arguably as much a part of the UFO community as UFOs themselves. After all, much of what we know about the mysteries and conspiracies that surround UFOs comes from information they leak into the public arena. There is, though, a rather grimy and dangerous underside to the world of leaked information and whistleblowing, a world that strays heavily into disinformation, often with deadly fallout.

Although there haven’t been any fatal consequences so far, the most recent high-profile whistleblower testimony came from David Grusch, who ultimately offered – under oath – that a secretive department of, or working behind, the United States government had recovered wreckage from non-human aerial vehicles and had undertaken considerable work and effort to reverse-engineer the technology from this wreckage.

As we might expect, opinion is generally divided on how cautious we should be regarding Grusch’s claims, with some even suspecting that the testimony could be nothing more than a disinformation campaign. However, it should be noted that many of the details in his testimony resonate nicely with details that have filtered through from the world of officialdom over the decades. Whatever the truth might be, David Grusch has become an important part of the long-running UFO mystery.

Just Who Is David Grusch?

Most of the world first heard of David Grusch in the summer of 2023 when he made some remarkable claims during a House of Representatives hearing into UFOs (or UAPs – Unidentified Aerial Phenomena – as they refer to them). While Grusch had filed several complaints and made similar claims going back to 2022, following his statements under oath, he was catapulted into the spotlight around the planet.

Prior to making such claims, Grusch was a combat veteran in Afghanistan, and a decorated one at that. He then went on to work as an intelligence officer with the United States Air Force, working for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) and the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). It was during this time that he worked with the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force.

It would appear that during this time, he believed he had discovered evidence of a cover-up regarding what the government knew about UFOs. In fact, as we shall see, he would seemingly discover much more than that. He was also partly responsible for the National Defense Authorization Act of 2023, which contained measures for protecting potential whistleblowers, as well as exemptions to non-disclosure orders.

Around the same time as the National Defense Authorization Act of 2023, Grusch made his explosive claims, not only in front of Congress but also in a widely viewed interview on NewsNation. We will turn our attention next to Grusch’s explosive claims.

Claims Of “Non-Human Origin Technical Vehicles”

The month before he delivered his mind-blowing testimony during the House of Representatives hearing, in June 2023, Grusch gave two extensive public interviews regarding what he had uncovered. ^[1] On June 5^th, two specific interviews appeared on online – one in The Debrief and the previously mentioned interview on NewsNation.

So, what exactly did he say?

He stated that during his time working with the United Aerial Phenomena Tast Force – a position he left in April 2023 just before going public – he learned of “non-human origin technical vehicles” that had been recovered by the military. And what’s more, there were “quite a number” of these vehicles. It was after he was refused information on a crashed vehicle of unknown origin that he first began to suspect such a cover-up was in place.

The more he learned, the more he found the information “totally nuts”, even believing that someone was attempting to deceive him. Then, more and more people from inside the intelligence community began to approach him, telling him that they were “part of a program”. He stated that these informants would provide him with oral testimony as well as official documents. Ultimately, he concluded that there was indeed a “program” that was operating behind closed doors and outside of the United Aerial Phenomena Task Force.

A Recovery Program That Goes Back Decades!

Grusch claims that this secretive program goes back decades, before the start of the Second World War. According to Grusch, one of the first recovered mystery vehicles – at least that he is aware of – took place in Magenta in Italy in 1933. Grusch stated that this vehicle was “partially intact” and was quickly taken to be reverse-engineered by Italian authorities. Grusch even noted that it had “long been known that the regime of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini” had recorded multiple UFO sightings and that recovered papers from the Italian Secret Service appeared to show basic plans of a disc-shaped object.

Indeed at least one of those UFO encounters over Italy occurred three years after the downed object in the Lombardy region, this time in Venice in August 1936. On this occasion, multiple residents witnessed a “cigar-shaped” object moving over the city.

Even stranger, as the shocked residents looked on, an opening appeared at the back of the object, and two disc-shaped crafts emerged. According to the leaked documents, these objects were metallic and appeared “polished and reflected light”. Furthermore, they didn’t make a single sound, a detail that would show up in multiple reports of the modern age decades later. Two fighters were scrambled by the Italian Air Force, but their speed was no match for these strange crafts.

Whether there is a connection between the downed craft in 1933 and the objects witnessed over Venice in 1936 remains unknown. Was the Venice sighting a second visit from an unknown intelligence? Or was the 1936 incident some kind of test flight of highly advanced aerial technology?

If the latter was true then we might suspect that the Italians, perhaps through the Third Reich (which documents also show were somehow involved in these reverse-engineering programs), would have unleashed this aerial might on the Allied forces in order to turn the tide of the war in their favor. The fact that they didn’t suggests that if the Venice sighting was the result of reverse-engineered technology then Mussolini’s regime’s understanding of it was limited.

Suggestions Of Successful, If Limited, Reverse-Engineering In The 1930s?

According to the documents, and indeed Grusch, the object the regime recovered in 1933 was itself recovered by the Americans at the end of the war. Grusch claimed that the object “was recovered in Magenta, northern Italy” and that it was “kept by Mussolini’s government until 1944 when it was recovered by agents of the Office of Strategic Services”, who, essentially, was the forerunner of the CIA.

It is further interesting to note that the base where the alleged otherworldly object was recovered didn’t sustain any damage during the many bombing raids of the conflict. According to some, members of the Vatican – who were against the Mussolini regime – provided the OSS with information about the object, including its location, so that they could recover it following the war (which was increasingly turning in the Allies’ favor). Armed with this information, the American military put the base “off-limits” to any kind of attack.

It is open to debate how true these claims of downed UFOs in Italy and the alleged reverse-engineering that took place in the years following the end of the Second World War are. It is worth mentioning, however, that there was an apparent sudden leap in aviation ability following the alleged events of 1933.

According to researcher and author Roberto Pinotti in his book UFO Contacts In Italy, Volume Two, by the start of the Second World War, “the Italians were able to produce the prototype of the first jet airplane in history” in the form of the Campini Carproni 1. However, as Pinotti points out, “the aviation industry in Italy was the last in Western Europe” in the years following the end of World War One. Pinotti bluntly asked if “the study of the UFO stored in hangars near Milano gave the Italians the needed technology” to make this sudden leap.

Objects Made From Otherworldly Materials

As well as these strange, futuristic vehicles, there were also claims of their occupants, some of whom, although dead, are also said to have been recovered as part of this program. He offered that, as we might expect, when these crafts were recovered, “sometimes you encounter dead pilots!” And these pilots, like their vehicles, were also non-human.

Grusch also makes claims that suggest that these non-human intelligences might not be arriving here from the far reaches of space, as has been traditionally believed. He stated that “mathematically and based on empirical observation and analysis, that there most likely are physical, additional spatial dimension” all around us. He continued that if this was true, then as opposed to linear time flow, there could be dimensions that exist in a “higher physical space” and that these non-human intelligences might exist in these dimensions.

What is perhaps interesting about this theory (which Grusch points out is just a theory) is that it resonates with the controversial David Icke’s claims of reptilian entities entering our world from another dimension around us. While many would advise, perhaps rightly, to take much of what Icke says with a pinch of salt, it is interesting to note the similar details.

A “Sophisticated Disinformation Campaign!”

There were further intriguing claims from Grusch regarding the materials of these strange crafts. He would state that there were exceptionally high isotopic ratios, as well as “strange, heavy atomic metals” that themselves were “high up in the Periodic Table”, adding that these arrangements we simply not understood by our scientists. He continued that although the program had resulted in some discoveries and revelations, if the recovered technology and attempts to reverse engineer it were opened up to private sectors and other areas of academia, this progress would almost certainly be much faster – and transparent.

Not only would these discoveries and advancements not go exclusively into weaponry, but the wider population would benefit. Such potential advancements in propulsion and energy, for example, could be just one such result.

Instead of transparency, Grusch offers that it is his belief that there is a “sophisticated disinformation campaign” surrounding UFOs and the intelligence behind them. He would highlight the Roswell crash in July 1947, and how the government did a complete about-turn from the object being a metallic “flying disc” to nothing but the remains of a weather balloon.

He further highlighted the 1994 report by the United States Air Force, which claimed to have extensively debunked the claims of a crashed extraterrestrial object. Grusch states that the “analysis they did was a total hack job” in an attempt to put the persistent claims of a cover-up to bed.

Suggestions Of “Malevolent Activities!”

Grusch also mentioned the non-human intelligence behind these advanced vehicles, offering that it was his belief that they wanted to “understand how far advanced in our nuclear fissile kind of technologies” humanity is.

Perhaps of more concern, Grusch doesn’t believe that these non-human entities – essentially, aliens – are friendly or peaceful as they are often portrayed in Hollywood blockbusters or as reported by some people over the years. He offered that it was a “fallacy” that “because they’re advanced, they’re kind!” He continued that while he didn’t know their intent or agenda, he believed that “malevolent activity” had already happened based on “nuclear site probing activities and witness testimony!”

This is another intriguing claim, and another one that has been put forward previously, with compelling arguments made. Even though there are many sightings of strange objects on record before the end of the Second World War and the dropping of the bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki, there is no doubt that they increased suddenly and dramatically in the years following, and certainly since the Roswell crash in the summer of 1947.

It isn’t just the non-human life forms that suffered injuries and death in these crashes. Grusch further claims that a lot of those who were part of the recovery units, as well as the scientists and engineers who worked with the wreckage after, “were injured looking at some” of it. He elaborated that there appeared to have been significant “nuclear, radiological, and biological risks to looking at an unknown” object.

Perhaps Grusch’s most concerning claims came when he was asked if any people had been injured or even killed by these apparent alien entities. Instead of answering the question directly, he offered that he couldn’t get into specifics as it would “reveal certain US classified operations!” He did state, though, that he had been “briefed by a few individuals on the program that there were malevolent events like that!”

We might also consider that some kind of deal – as has been theorized and suggest for years – is seemingly in place between this mystery non-human race and the secretive elite department that represents humanity. According to an internal document written by Grusch, one particular line speaks about “agreements that risk putting our future in jeopardy”.

Arguably even more alarming, when asked if people had been harmed by those looking to maintain the secrecy of UFOs and alien entities, Grush offered that “at the very least” he aware of “white collar crime”, but that he had also “heard some really un-American things that I don’t want to repeat right now!”

Similar Frustrating Details To Past Whistleblowers

Despite this apparent wealth of evidence, Grusch hasn’t actually seen any of these advanced technical vehicles nor their apparent alien occupants himself. ^[2] He stated that he has seen “some interesting photos” and “read some very interesting reports”, but, much to the frustration of many, these reports remain classified, meaning he can’t disclose them.

He further offered by way of proving his credibility that he had “provided the proof internally to the inspector general” and that the fact that he was an intelligence officer in the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force furthers his authenticity. However, as we might imagine, he has faced accusations from some of spreading disinformation – ultimately of diverting public attention away from the truth of the UFO and alien mystery.

Only time will tell how accurate or not these claims might be. Without a doubt, it was a huge moment that such a high-ranking intelligence officer chose to make such claims under oath and officially on record. What comes from these, though, and if the proof he claims to have seen makes its way into the public arena – whether through official means or from being leaked – remains to be seen.

“Fuel In The War Machine!”

Grusch concludes that the main reasons for such persistent secrecy regarding UFOs and the apparent reverse-engineering of alien technology was down to “feudalistic dominance” as well as for “fuel in the war machine!”

Once more, these assertions and theories are not at all at odds with similar claims that have been put forward over the decades. It has long been theorized, for example, that the primary reason for reverse-engineering technology would be to find ways to weaponize it. And while this is perhaps, rightly or wrongly, understandable, at least from a military point of view, the secrecy with which this is done makes people suspicious, and a little uneasy.

Furthermore, it has also long been suggested that by studying such advanced technology (assuming that claims of non-human aerial vehicles are entirely accurate for a moment), we might discover cleaner, more efficient methods of propulsion, which in turn could lead to cleaner, and much cheaper, energy to power our modern world.

Indeed, this theory alone ventures into conspiracy territory, with claims that many of the people behind UFO secrecy are ultra-rich oil tycoons whose main drive in suppressing such information is to keep the human population reliant on current energy methods (essentially, oil).

Much More To Come?

Ultimately, when we consider the lack of what the vast majority of us would consider “full disclosure”, we should also note Grusch’s thoughts on official internal attitudes to UFO transparency. What’s more, he claims that the three videos that were leaked to the public in 2017 are but a tiny fraction of the evidence that languishes behind closed doors, adding that there are “more videos (yet to be released) that left me with a lot of questions!”

He continued that there are potentially further “credible witnesses” that could tell what they know before Congress just as he had. Moreover, they could speak in detail of huge spacecraft that were “like a football field kind of size!” These crafts, Grusch offered further, were being stored in a facility run by a private aerospace company. Once more, while these details match details offered up by other researchers and whistleblowers until there is physical evidence to confirm, they remain just claims.

The Falcon – A Cautionary Tale From The World Of Whistleblowers?

With the accounts and claims of David Grusch in mind, and certainly for balance, it is worth our time exploring the claims of another UFO whistleblower from decades earlier, and how history might be repeating itself. In a recent article, veteran researcher and author, Nick Redfern, detailed the case of The Falcon – a deep operative of the CIA. ^[3] According to the article, The Falcon was, in fact, a one-time agent for the Office of Strategic Services in the years following the Second World War before becoming an agent of the CIA who specialized in Soviet propaganda, particularly propaganda aimed at the West.

In reality, The Falcon was a resident of Brooklyn, New York, named Harry Rositzke. And here is where the account takes an intriguing twist. It is known that Rositzke – who died in 2002 at the age of 91 – didn’t have any type of European accent. However, during the 1980s, another apparent deep agent going by the name of The Falcon appeared on the scene – an agent with a distinct European twang to his voice.

Redfern detailed an account told by Greg Bishop in his book Project Beta that relayed details of William Moore, who, during the fall of 1980, was taking part in various radio interviews while promoting the book The Roswell Incident. Following one of these interviews, Moore received a phone call at the station in question from an apparent colonel from Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska. This mystery man was seemingly impressed with Moore’s knowledge and research, and wished to arrange a meeting with him. Moore took the man’s contact details, assuring him he would be in touch to arrange a meeting. Before he had a chance to do so, however, the colonel contacted Moore again.

Following this second contact, Moore agreed to meet this curious gentleman at a restaurant in Albuquerque. Upon meeting the colonel, he described him as being quite elderly, and that he certainly didn’t appear to be in the best of health. What’s more, he could now notice a distinct Eastern European accent. The colonel, however, didn’t reveal his name. Instead, he said that Moore should refer to him as The Falcon.

A Forced Deal!

From here the tale takes even more twists and turns. The Falcon told Moore that he was part of a group of United States intelligence agents who were against UFO secrecy , and, as such, wanted to find ways of releasing more information into the public arena. What’s more, they wished to use Moore to do this as they regarded him as credible researcher. There was, though, conditions attached.

This group would supply Moore with very limited information on various aspects of UFO secrecy. However, in a move similar to the finest mafia movie, one day, they would call on him to perform a duty for them in return. As Bishop wrote, Moore quickly realized he would “have to enter it (the deal); like it or not”. Not only did he realize that he couldn’t pass up an opportunity to get closer to the truth of the UFO mysteries, but to go against the group could put his own life in very real danger.

As they years unfolded, Moore would indeed receive invaluable pieces of information, often after being told to travel to certain locations (ranging from New York, Los Angeles, California, and Seattle, Washington) to meet one mysterious “insider” or another, as well as meeting The Falcon again on several occasions.

Then, though, came the payback.

The Hijacked Research Of Paul Bennewitz

Here is where Moore’s path crossed with that of another researcher – a physicist from New Mexico, Paul Bennewitz. According to Redfern’s article, Bennewitz’s research had led him to Kirtland Air Force Base, where he believed ominous extraterrestrial activity was taking place. It would appear, in reality, that the activity taking place at the military facility was of a more clandestine military nature. In short, by digging into what he thought was a case of UFOs and aliens, there was a perceived danger he would uncover top-secret military projects. And what’s more, this information could end up in the hands of Soviet spies.

It was decided that Bennewitz was to be fed a wealth of misinformation about UFOs, particularly misinformation that revolved around his own beliefs on the subject after entering his home without his knowledge and going through his files. From this, they created a scenario that not only confirmed (to Bennewitz) his beliefs but led him away from what the agency was intent on keeping him from discovering. And it appeared to work exactly as they planned, with Bennewitz now focusing much of his investigation on Dulce in New Mexico and, ultimately, away from what was going on at Kirtland Air Force Base.

With the groundwork now in place, the intelligence services turned to William Moore. In return for the information he had already been provided with, as well as for future information, he was tasked with keeping close tabs on Bennewitz and reporting back to them on how well the intelligence agency’s plans were unfolding, as well as on his general state of mind, something Moore duly did. Bennewitz, incidentally, would suffer a nervous breakdown of sorts several years later, almost certainly connected to the masses of misinformation he was fed resulting in his research going off the tracks.

A Connection Between Leaked UFO Documents And Espionage?

One of the documents that appeared to have entered the public arena during this time – not only with Moore but with several other researchers – was the claims surrounding Majestic-12. Although this document was sent to researchers around 1984, the documents didn’t become known to the wider public three years later following the release of Above Top Secret by Timothy Good, who claimed only that he received the documents from a “CIA source”. Following the release of Good’s book, Moore, along with Jamie Shandera went public with their documents regarding MJ-12, not wanting, as Redfern states, to be “marginalized” concerning the documents they had had in their possession for several years.

Of particular interest to us here, however, is information Redfern also relays that was passed to him by Richard L. Huff, who once worked as Bureau Co-Director for the Office of Information Act. According to Redfern, Huff informed him of an FBI file concerning the Majestic 12 documents. And of most interest, this file was filed under “Espionage”. Although it isn’t absolute proof by any stretch of the imagination, which Redfern himself points out, it does raise the distinct possibility that the Majestic 12 documents, as well as possibly many others “leaked to the public” concerning UFOs and alien life, were part of a complex intelligence operation.

Furthermore, we have to question if some of those leaking information to UFO researchers in the West were Soviet intelligence operatives. And if so, for what purposes might they have done so? Perhaps it is also not too much of a stretch of the imagination to question whether more recent revelations might also be part of some kind of nuanced and layered intelligence operation. That is not to say that people such as David Grusch are part of that operation, but they could certainly be open to being used, against their will and without their knowledge, for purposes and agendas unknown.

Still No Closer To Disclosure Or Clarity

Ultimately, only time will tell if the testimony and claims of David Grusch are accurate or not. As it stands (at the time of writing), we are a year on from the claims but are no closer to disclosure on alleged UFO projects and programs. Despite the apparent attempts to suppress and tone down their initial responses to the leaked videos that kickstarted this recent drive for information to be shared, it appears clear to most that there are more secrets to be revealed from the government.

What is abundantly clear is that whenever disclosure does happen and whatever it looks like, the waters are unlikely to clear immediately. Instead, they are very likely to become even murkier, at least temporarily, as we deal with what could prove to be life-changing and history-shattering admissions. Just who is behind these strange and mysterious crafts? Why are they coming here? And just how much does this apparent top-secret elite-run department know about them? Is there even some kind of collusion? These are just some of the questions that would immediately arise following any kind of disclosure.

The fact is, the UFO world is full of this kind of disinformation, often hidden between discreet truths, with the distinct possibility that the increasing widespread belief and research into UFOs could have been used to cover up other more terrestrial but potentially more ominous activities for decades. That is not to say that all UFO sightings and encounters are of this orchestrated nature. Many are most likely very real and authentic. We need, though, to treat the vast majority of accounts and claims with measured caution, lest we find ourselves being led down the wrong path and away from hidden truths.

The video below features David Grusch speaking about his revelations.