(NewsNation) — The Office of the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community said in a letter that it has not conducted an audit of any alleged UAP retrieval programs run by the U.S. government.
Rep. Tim Burchett sent the letter on behalf of the House Oversight subcommittee that has been looking into claims made by whistleblower David Grusch that the Pentagon is operating a secret UFO retrieval program.
The committee held a public hearing on the issue, but Grusch was unable answer a number of questions or name individuals connected to the alleged program in an unclassified setting. Grusch told the committee that he had provided that information to the IG office of the Intelligence Community as part of his whistleblower complaint.
Burchett requested the office provide the information on individuals, facilities, bases or other intelligence resources connected with any UAP retrieval programs or reverse engineering technology from UAPs.
In the letter, the office reiterated its commitment to providing whistleblowers with the protection afforded to them by law as well as a commitment to supporting congressional oversight.
However, the office did not provide the information Burchett requested.
“As a matter of discretion, IC IG notes that it has not conducted any audit, inspection, evaluation, or review of alleged UAP programs within the responsibility and authority of the DNI that would enable this office to provide a fulsome response to your question,” the letter concluded.
Burchett, who posted the letter on X, formerly known as Twitter, called the letter a “cover-up.”
UAPs, known to most people as UFOs, have been in the headlines since Grusch came forward with his testimony. In light of the interest, some government agencies have stepped up efforts to give the subject more serious attention than it has previously received.
Most recently, the Pentagon launched a new website dedicated to releasing unclassified information on UAP sightings and collecting reports from civilians who have witnessed UAPs. NASA also released a report calling for more data to be gathered, noting that while the agency has no evidence UAPs are extraterrestrial in origin, there is a lack of quality, systematically collected data that would be needed to fully evaluate the phenomenon.