Burchett: Classified UFO briefing ‘energized’ Congress on issue, more hearings expected

Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) said a classified briefing on unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs), commonly known as UFOs, may have only nudged the House a bit on the issue. It was energizing.”

“On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd say it's a 4. I would say the needle moved … it was bipartisan,” Burchett told NewsNation host Chris Cuomo. in an interview Friday when asked how the hearing went.

He noted that “the whole gang” was in the room, including Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (R-New York) and Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.). state).

“There used to be 16 members,” he added. “And these were people you wouldn't normally… see.”

Lawmakers left the hearing with mixed feelings. Some were frustrated by the limited information, while others claimed they had gained more insight since the conversation started last summer with shocking testimony from a whistleblower.

Thomas Monheim, the Intelligence Community Inspector General, spoke with members of the House Oversight and Accountability Community to increase transparency about what the government knows about UAPs.

Burchett said he couldn't tell Cuomo “what the big issues were” in the meeting, but that the closed-door meeting provided “some legitimacy to what was said.”

The Tennessee Republican lawmaker noted that more hearings are scheduled to be held on the issue and said what was accomplished at Friday's meeting was that it “energized” Congress to continue considering the issue. ” he said.

The secret talks followed a hearing in July in which former military intelligence officer David Groush gave startling testimony, claiming the Pentagon and other agencies were withholding information about unmanned fighter jets. The Pentagon denied those claims.

Burchett has previously said he believes in extraterrestrial life and accused the government of suppressing evidence.

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