Tennessee U.S. representative says government is blocking UFO investigation

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) - Republican Tennessee U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett spoke Thursday morning ahead of an upcoming bipartisan hearing on UFOs, officially called Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAPs). Burchett has made it clear that he isn’t sure where some UAPs are coming from, but he isn’t counting out visitors from the stars.

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Burchett is part of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability and is leading the charge on declassifying records about UAPs. The hearings are part of a bipartisan effort to release more information from the federal government on research into UAPs. Information that has proven hard to get, Burchett said.

Burchett, joined by other members of the committee, set high expectations for the congressional hearing. He said previous hearings have gotten almost nowhere, with those questioned not sharing much information, answering only “I don’t know” or “That’s classified.”

“This is ridiculous folks. They keep telling us they don’t exist,” Burchett said.

Other members of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability spoke with Burchett, echoing his statements that the American public needs to know about what programs the federal government is heading concerning UAPs since tax dollars are what fund those programs.

They also said that, given the obstacles the committee has faced on the subject of UAPs, the government must be hiding information. Specifically, Burchett and Rep. Anna Luna (R-Florida) spoke about a visit to Eglin Airforce Base, which he said was sparked by a visit from military personnel to Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Florida).

Those current and former members of the military acted as whistleblowers, Burchett said, asking the controversial representative to look into UAPs. Burchett claimed that the rankings and status of the military personnel who speak out about UFOs make the claims more credible than some members of the public might think.

“Decorated military persons [speak about UFOs],” Burchett said. “Why would they risk their lives and careers on this?”

While at Eglin, Burchett said, the committee was not briefed on any subjects concerning UAPs, even though that is what they were promised.

“This is about power, control, money, greed, and corruption,” Burchett said when asked about why the government has such tight lips about UAPs. “We’re over the target and they know it. If there isn’t anything, why the push to cover it up?”

One of the first questions that comes to mind when people talk about UFO sightings is; how do we know we’re not just looking at advanced technology from Russia, China, or another country? Burchett had an answer.

“If Russia owned it, they wouldn’t be fighting in Ukraine. It would be over,” he said, referring to government-owned footage of a UAP sighting that he had watched. “If it was China, they’d be controlling us more than they already do.”

Burchett’s conclusion? It’s either “something extraterrestrial” or a secret government project.

There’s no need to worry yet, Burchett said, adding that, should the federal government release confirmation that they’ve made contact with extraterrestrials, there’d be less panic than people might think.

“Why would [people panic]?” Burchett said. “Look at the polls; more people believe in UFOs than believe in Congress.”

WVLT News spoke with Burchett Wednesday leading up to the presser. In that interview, he also claimed that the federal government is keeping information on UAPs under wraps.

“Quit sending us these redacted files,” Burchett said. “Let the American people see what they show us in private; it’s time to get this out in the open.”

The committee members did reign in their tempers toward the end of the press conference, however, emphasizing that, no matter where UAPs are coming from, their goal is to hold the military accountable and give Americans as much information as possible.

“We’re not going to bring you a little green man or something like that,” Burchett said. “But the American people deserve to know.”

“The military answers to the people and this Congress, and we are going to hold them accountable,” Luna added.

The next UAP hearing was held July 26.

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