Congressional UAP Hearing 2024: What Witnesses Told Congress -

On November 13, 2024, the House Oversight Committee held its second public hearing on unidentified anomalous phenomena. Four witnesses, including a retired Navy admiral and a former Pentagon intelligence officer, testified under oath about alleged secret programs, deleted military emails, and what they described as a decades-long pattern of government concealment. The Pentagon has denied the central claims, and no physical evidence was produced during the hearing.

Full hearing: “Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Exposing the Truth” before the House Oversight Committee, November 13, 2024.

TL;DR: On November 13, 2024, the House Oversight Committee held a hearing titled “Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Exposing the Truth.” Four witnesses testified, including a retired Navy rear admiral who said a video of a UAP was deleted from military servers, and a journalist who alleged the Pentagon operates a secret UAP intelligence program called Immaculate Constellation. A former DOD official confirmed under oath that the government has conducted crash retrieval programs. The Pentagon denied the claims. No physical evidence was presented. Sources linked below.

Timeline

July 26, 2023 Former intelligence officer David Grusch testifies before the House Oversight Committee that the U.S. government has operated a multi-decade program to retrieve and reverse-engineer crashed UAP, including the recovery of non-human biologics.
March 8, 2024 The Pentagon’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) releases its Historical Record Report Volume 1, stating it found “no verifiable evidence” that any UAP sighting represented extraterrestrial activity or that the government has reverse-engineered alien technology.
October 11, 2024 Journalist Michael Shellenberger publishes a story on his outlet Public alleging the Pentagon runs a secret UAP intelligence program called Immaculate Constellation, based on a whistleblower report.
November 8, 2024 The House Oversight Committee announces a joint subcommittee hearing on UAP for November 13, naming four witnesses: Tim Gallaudet, Luis Elizondo, Michael Gold, and Michael Shellenberger.
November 13, 2024 The hearing “Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Exposing the Truth” is held in Room 2154 of the Rayburn House Office Building. Witnesses testify under oath about alleged secret programs, a deleted military email, and the Immaculate Constellation allegation. Rep. Nancy Mace enters a 12-page document describing the alleged program into the congressional record.
November 14, 2024 AARO releases its fiscal year 2024 annual report. The Pentagon reiterates it has found no evidence of extraterrestrial technology, hidden UAP programs, or unauthorized concealment of information from Congress.
January 27, 2026 The Black Vault, a transparency organization run by John Greenwald, reports that the Pentagon refused to search for Immaculate Constellation-related emails under the Freedom of Information Act. The Office of the Secretary of Defense/Joint Staff stated “no search would be conducted.”
February 20, 2026 President Trump directs federal agencies to begin declassifying records related to UAP and extraterrestrial life. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirms the Pentagon will comply with the forthcoming executive order.

The Hearing

The hearing was held jointly by two subcommittees of the House Oversight Committee: the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Government Innovation, chaired by Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), and the Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs, chaired by Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-WI). The ranking members were Rep. Gerald Connolly (D-VA) and Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA).

Full hearing: ‘Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Exposing the Truth’ before the House Oversight Committee, November 13, 2024.

It followed the July 2023 hearing in which former intelligence officer David Grusch alleged the U.S. government has operated a multi-decade crash retrieval and reverse engineering program. Grusch did not testify at the 2024 hearing, but his claims set the context for the new testimony.

The four witnesses were:

Dr. Tim Gallaudet, retired Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy; CEO of Ocean STL Consulting, LLC
Luis Elizondo, author and former Department of Defense official who led the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP)
Michael Gold, former NASA Associate Administrator of Space Policy and Partnerships; member of NASA’s UAP Independent Study Team; Chief Growth Officer at Redwire Corporation
Michael Shellenberger, journalist and founder of the news outlet Public

The Go Fast Email

Gallaudet testified that in January 2015, he was involved in a pre-deployment naval exercise off the U.S. East Coast. During the exercise, a Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet recorded what became known as the “Go Fast” video, showing an unidentified object over the Atlantic Ocean.

According to Gallaudet’s written testimony, the operations officer of Fleet Forces Command sent an email to a group of commanders involved in the exercise, warning of “multiple near-midair collisions” and stating that if the situation was not resolved, the exercise would have to be shut down. The email contained the video. “The very next day, the email disappeared from my account and those of the other recipients without explanation,” Gallaudet stated.

Gallaudet told the committee he did not know who deleted the email or why. He said the incident demonstrated that UAP represent a flight safety concern for military operations and that the response from within the government was to suppress information rather than investigate it, according to The Guardian.

Gallaudet did not use the words “alien” or “extraterrestrial” during his testimony. Instead, he said there was “a new realization that we are not the only advanced intelligence in the universe,” according to his written statement. He also accused “elements of the government” of conducting a disinformation campaign to discredit UAP whistleblowers, according to Forbes.

Crash Retrieval and Reverse Engineering

One of the hearing’s most notable exchanges came when Rep. Mace questioned Elizondo. Under oath, Elizondo stated: “Let me be clear: UAP are real. Advanced technologies not made by our Government or any other government are monitoring sensitive military installations around the globe,” according to his written testimony published on the House Oversight Committee website.

When Mace asked directly whether the government has conducted crash retrieval and reverse engineering programs, Elizondo confirmed under oath that it has, according to Medill on the Hill. He said the programs were designed to identify and exploit technology from craft not made by any human government. Elizondo also confirmed the involvement of U.S. defense contractors in these alleged retrieval programs.

Elizondo described what he called “a multi-decade, secretive arms race” driven by the recovery of advanced technology. He said he left his position at the Pentagon in 2017 in protest of what he characterized as a cover-up, according to his book “Imminent” and statements at the hearing.

It is important to note that Elizondo’s claims about crash retrieval programs have not been independently verified. The Pentagon has repeatedly denied the existence of such programs, and AARO’s historical review found no evidence to support them.

The Immaculate Constellation Allegation

Shellenberger testified about a 12-page whistleblower report he obtained alleging the existence of a secret Pentagon UAP program called Immaculate Constellation. According to Shellenberger’s reporting, first published on October 11, 2024, the program was established as an Unacknowledged Special Access Program (USAP) within the Department of Defense, allegedly created in 2017 after the New York Times published its initial report on the Pentagon’s AATIP program.

Shellenberger told Congress that current or former government officials had informed him the program held “maybe thousands” of pieces of evidence related to UAP, including visual data and other intelligence, according to The Guardian.

Rep. Mace entered the 12-page document into the congressional record during the hearing, according to the congressional transcript. The document was later released publicly by Shellenberger and by Mace’s office.

The Pentagon has denied that Immaculate Constellation exists. In January 2026, The Black Vault reported that the Pentagon’s FOIA office refused to search for emails related to the alleged program. In its response dated January 26, 2026, the Office of the Secretary of Defense/Joint Staff stated that “a search was not conducted as they confirmed the subject matter itself does not exist.”

In April and May 2025, a Pentagon employee later identified as Matthew Brown went public in a NewsNation investigation, claiming he was the whistleblower who wrote the Immaculate Constellation report, according to NewsNation.

NASA and the Case for Scientific Study

Michael Gold, the former NASA official, took a different approach from the other witnesses. Rather than alleging specific cover-ups, Gold urged cooperation between NASA and those investigating UAP, according to The Hill.

Gold, who served on NASA’s UAP Independent Study Team in 2023, called for ending what he described as the “stigmatization” of UAP research. In his written testimony, published by the House Oversight Committee, Gold argued that whatever UAP turn out to be, studying them benefits national security and scientific understanding. He emphasized NASA’s role in providing scientific rigor to the investigation.

Gold did not make specific allegations about secret programs or retrieved technology. His testimony focused on process and institutional support for UAP research.

Congressional Response

The hearing reflected bipartisan interest in UAP transparency, though the committee members varied in their levels of skepticism.

Rep. Mace pressed witnesses on specific details and entered the Immaculate Constellation document into the record. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) also participated actively, introducing a document she described as a report on the alleged program.

Several members of Congress expressed frustration with what they described as a lack of cooperation from the Pentagon and intelligence agencies in providing information about UAP to Congress. The hearing did not resolve whether the specific allegations made by witnesses are accurate.

According to the congressional transcript, no classified information was presented during the public session. The witnesses called for additional classified briefings where more sensitive information could be discussed.

The Official Counter-Position

The day after the hearing, on November 14, 2024, AARO released its fiscal year 2024 annual report. According to Stars and Stripes, the report covered nearly 300 cases analyzed during the year and concluded that the Pentagon “has not found any verifiable evidence of extraterrestrial beings.”

AARO reported that among its closed cases during the May 2023 to June 2024 period, approximately 70 percent of UAP were identified as balloons, 16 percent as drones, 8 percent as birds, 4 percent as satellites, and 2 percent as aircraft, according to DefenseScoop. However, the report noted that 21 cases required “further analysis” and could not be resolved with available data.

Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh stated that “to date, the department has discovered no verifiable evidence of extraterrestrial beings, activity or technology,” according to Fox News.

The Pentagon has previously denied the existence of any secret government programs to retrieve alien spacecraft, and no physical evidence of such programs has ever been made public, according to The Guardian.

Aftermath

The hearing did not produce any legislative action directly. However, it contributed to a growing congressional push for UAP transparency that continued into 2025 and 2026.

In the 119th Congress, Rep. Eric Burlison (R-MO) introduced the UAP Disclosure Act of 2025 as an amendment to the FY2026 National Defense Authorization Act. The bill would establish an independent review board modeled on the JFK Assassination Records Review Board to oversee the declassification of UAP-related records.

In February 2026, President Trump directed federal agencies to begin declassifying records related to UAP and extraterrestrial life. According to DefenseScoop, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed on February 25, 2026, that the Pentagon is prepared to comply with a forthcoming executive order on UAP declassification.

AARO’s caseload has grown to over 2,000 cases as of early 2026, according to the same DefenseScoop report. The office continues to investigate new reports while maintaining that the vast majority of UAP sightings have conventional explanations.

Opposing Perspectives

The claims made at the November 2024 hearing are contested, and several significant counterpoints should be considered.

The evidence gap. No physical evidence was presented at the hearing. Elizondo’s testimony about crash retrieval programs is based on his personal account and alleged knowledge from his time at the Pentagon, but he did not produce documents, photographs, or other material to support the claims. The Immaculate Constellation report is a 12-page document from an anonymous whistleblower. The Pentagon denies the program exists, and FOIA requests for related records have been refused on the grounds that the program does not exist.

Source reliability concerns. Elizondo resigned from the Pentagon in 2017 and has since become an advocate for UAP disclosure. Critics, including former colleagues, have questioned some of his claims about his role in AATIP and the scope of the program. Shellenberger is a journalist, not an intelligence official, and his reporting on Immaculate Constellation is based on anonymous sources. Gallaudet’s testimony about the deleted email is based on his personal recollection of events from 2015 and has not been independently corroborated.

AARO’s findings. The Pentagon’s UAP office has investigated hundreds of cases and has consistently concluded that the vast majority have conventional explanations. Its historical review found no evidence of crash retrieval programs or reverse engineering of alien technology. Supporters of the witnesses’ claims argue that AARO lacks access to the most sensitive programs, but this assertion has not been proven.

The prosaic explanation. AARO’s breakdown of its closed cases provides a useful framework: 70 percent were balloons, 16 percent drones, and the remainder were birds, satellites, and aircraft. While this does not explain every UAP sighting, it demonstrates that the overwhelming majority of reports have conventional explanations. The 21 cases requiring “further analysis” represent less than 8 percent of the total caseload.

Pattern of unverified claims. Since 2017, when the New York Times first reported on AATIP, a series of dramatic claims about UAP have been made by current and former government officials. To date, none of these claims about recovered alien technology or secret reverse-engineering programs have been substantiated with physical evidence or independently verified documentation.

Readers should weigh the testimony of credible witnesses against the absence of physical evidence and the Pentagon’s consistent denials.

FOX 5 DC coverage of the House Oversight Committee UAP hearing, November 13, 2024.

Full hearing: witnesses testify about UAP before the House Oversight Committee, November 2024.

Congressional UAP Hearing 2024: What Witnesses Told Congress