'Non human activities' to military coverups: Key takeaways from Congress' UFO hearing

On Wednesday, a former military intelligence officer-turned-whistleblower made several shocking revelations about the US government’s knowledge regarding Unidentified Objects or UFOs. In a highly publicised testimony, David Grusch alleged that Congress is being kept in the dark about unidentified anomalous phenomena, known as UAP or UFOs. The American whistleblower alleged that the United States is concealing a “multi-decade” program that captures UFOs. 

Grusch who served as an intelligence officer in the Air Force and National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency for 14 years testified before the Oversight Committee's national security subcommittee, on Wednesday, alongside two former fighter pilots who allegedly had a firsthand experience with UFOs. The testimony generated anticipation from among many after the witnesses claimed last month that the United States allegedly has possession of “intact and partially intact” alien vehicles.

While the hearing did not reveal earth-shattering facts about aliens, it did highlight some startling allegations against the mighty American government. Here’s a look at the key takeaways from the hearing that can be considered straight out of a Sci-fi movie. 

Who were the witnesses that testified? 

The three witnesses who testified before the Congress oversight committee are as follows: 

• David Grusch -  A former Air Force and intelligence official, David Grusch was a member of the previous Pentagon task force that was involved in the investigation of UFOs. It was Grusch who emerged as the Whistleblower in the situation during his interview with NewNation. In the interview the US official spoke about a “cover-up” he became aware of as a member of the National Reconnaissance Office, the agency that operates U.S. spy satellites.
• Ryan Graves - Former Navy pilot, Graves has been outspoken about encountering UFOs during his training missions. 
• Rt. Commander David Fravor -  Former commanding officer of the Navy’s Black Aces  Squadron, Fravor recorded the now-famous “Tic Tac” video of an unidentified object back in 2004 

The big revelations

The jaws of the members of the Congress sub-committee dropped after Grusch told the gathering that the US government conducted a “multi-decade” program that attempted to reverse-engineer crashed UFOs. In the hearing, the retired official alleged that the United States has been aware of “nonhuman” activities since the 1930s. In the hearing, Grusch claimed that he was denied access to these programs and accused the Pentagon of misappropriating funds to shield the “shady operations.” The whistleblower also gave out hints of several instances of violence. When asked if anyone has been hurt in an effort to cover up these shady operations, Grusch replied: “Yes.” 

Meanwhile, both Graves and Fravor recalled their encounters with such objects. While Graves described the objects as dark grey or black cubes inside of clear spheres, Fravor described them as  "perfectly white, smooth, no windows," displaying flight capabilities that were unheard of. "We have nothing that can stop in midair and go in the other direction," Fravor said. "Nor do we have anything that can ... come down from space, hang out for three hours and then go back up,” he added. 

Threats involved

During the Wednesday hearing, Grusch reiterated that coming forward with these testimonies posed great risks to their lives. He revealed that the three of them have faced both professional and personal retaliation which he described as “administrative terrorism”. "Certain senior leadership at previous agencies I was associated with have been very brutal," the Whistleblower asserted. "It actually makes me very upset to see that happen to other coworkers and superiors of mine," he furthered. Throughout the hearing, the three witnesses suggested that they could share more behind closed doors. 

Congress pushes for transparency

Following the hearing, lawmakers from both parties expressed their anger over the government’s inability to get information about UAP from the military and intelligence agencies. They described the bureaucracy involved as the system of overclassification that shield reports of the incident from public view. "We should have disclosure today. We should have the disclosure tomorrow. The time has come," said Democratic Rep. Jared Moskowitz of Florida, CBS News reported. "Several of us are going to look forward to getting some answers in a more confidential setting. I assume some legislation will come out of this," said GOP Rep. Glenn Grothman, the subcommittee's chairman.