(NewsNation) — Newly released public documents show whistleblower David Grusch, who said the Pentagon is operating a secret UFO-retrieval program, refused to meet with the governmental office tasked with investigating unknown aerial phenomena.

The documents were released to The Black Vault’s John Greenewald in response to a Freedom of Information Act request. They show the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office repeatedly tried to meet Grusch following his whistleblower complaint.

Grusch, a former Air Force and intelligence officer, said in a complaint to the Office of the Inspector General for the Intelligence Community that the government was operating a secret program to retrieve and reverse-engineer UFO technology and even had possession of nonhuman bodies.

Grusch said he was made aware of the program while working on the Pentagon’s UAP Task Force by those who were familiar with the alleged activity.

The newly released documents show that then-AARO leader Sean Kirkpatrick repeatedly tried to arrange a meeting with Grusch over several months. At one point, a meeting was scheduled, but Grusch failed to appear.

According to communications in the document, Grusch had concerns about providing classified information to AARO that was not authorized. The office did assure him that it was authorized to hear any information on UAPs, but supporters note Grusch was concerned about the legal ramifications of providing sensitive information and doubted AARO’s willingness to investigate his claims.

Grusch’s claims kicked off a rush of renewed interest in UFOs, including among members of Congress. A congressional hearing was held, and a bipartisan UAP Caucus was formed.

Lawmakers have received classified briefings on the subject, and the AARO released a report denying any evidence that indicates the existence of extraterrestrials or contact with nonhuman life from beyond our planet.

The agency did admit plans for the Kona Blue program, which was devised to potentially reverse-engineer UFO technology but was never put into practice because no such technology was ever recovered.

Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., has suggested the Pentagon is deliberately sending people with incomplete knowledge to talk to lawmakers and that the report is a cover-up. He has said there are likely to be more hearings in the future.

After this article was published, Grusch issued a statement responding to the information included in the documents.

“AARO officially made contact with me in November 2023 as indicated by the email chain in the FOIA release. Prior to this, neither my attorney nor myself had been officially contacted in any way by AARO. To date, my 8 January 2024 email to AARO requesting them to answer my security-related concerns I sent to them via email on 13 November 2023 has gone unanswered. The DoD SAPCO and DNI CAPCO memorandums do not address the variety of serious procedural issues I voiced in November 2023 as it relates to non-UAP related compartmented programs, as well as National Security Council SAPs and CIA Directorate of Operations human intelligence programs. Protecting classified information is a lifelong obligation. To be clear, AARO does not have access to the information I provided to the Intelligence Community Inspector General (ICIG) and the Congressional Intelligence Committees under the PPD-19 whistleblowing process. I trust in the investigative and law enforcement/criminal referral authorities ICIG has independent of DoD oversight”

David Grusch

Read the full details of Grusch’s interactions with the AARO at The Black Vault.