Rick Chambers (00:00):
... a new website with declassified information on UFOs. That information, we understand, is going to include photos and videos for the American public now to dive into.
Kareen Wynter (00:09): And this comes from the Pentagon's relatively new division that specializes in analyzing UFOs. But as Joe Khalil reports, it also comes as the agency's announcing a shakeup in leadership.
Joe Khalil (00:22): Change is coming to the agency within the Pentagon that investigates UFO reports. AARO, or the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, will now answer directly to the Deputy Secretary of Defense, Kathleen Hicks.
Pat Ryder (00:36): It highlights the importance of the program to the department and the fact that it has the Deputy Secretary's full attention.
Joe Khalil (00:43): AARO will soon be publishing a website, making publicly available all unclassified UFO reports it has, complete with witness accounts, videos, and pictures according to Pentagon Spokesman General Pat Ryder, a step toward full transparency. In a recent congressional hearing, former Air Force Intel Officer David Grusch claimed, under oath, he believes the government is running a secret program to reverse engineer non-human origin UFOs, which it has in its possession. A controversial claim, one Grusch says is based on interviews he has done with dozens of people who work in national defense.
David Grusch (01:22): People started confiding in me. They approached me. I have plenty of current former senior intelligence officers that came to me, many of which I knew almost my whole career, that confided in me they were a part of a program. They named the program.
Joe Khalil (01:35): We asked the Pentagon whether any of those interviews would be made public or whether any of the people Grusch spoke with would be made available to Congress. (01:45) Are any of those reports going to be published on this website, those interviews?
Pat Ryder (01:49): As I understand it, AARO is very willing to take any inputs or information and to investigate into claims of UAP. And so if that information is made available to the Department, certainly we'll take a look at it.
Joe Khalil (02:06): In Washington. Joe Khalil, KTLA 5 News.