PENTAGON.
“On July 26, 2023, the House Oversight and Accountability Committee's subcommittee on national security convened a hearing that made history.”
Grusch stated that he had personally spoken with more than 40 witnesses across the intelligence community who had direct knowledge of the program. He had reported his findings through official whistleblower channels to the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community, who deemed the complaint "urgent and credible." Despite this, he alleged that he had been retaliated against and that colleagues involved in these programs had been threatened to prevent disclosure.
Commander David Fravor — the Navy pilot who encountered the Tic-Tac in 2004 — testified alongside Grusch, as did Ryan Graves of Americans for Safe Aerospace, who described ongoing encounters by active military pilots who go unreported due to professional stigma. The combined testimony from three credentialed witnesses, all speaking under penalty of perjury, represented the most significant congressional UAP event since the Cold War.
No member of Congress challenged the witnesses' core claims under oath. In the weeks following, multiple legislators — including members of both parties — publicly stated they believed Grusch's testimony. By 2024, hearings escalated to the Senate and former Congressional leaders were calling for immediate mandatory declassification. The 2023 hearing is now regarded as the opening act of formal government disclosure.