Documents / Hearing transcript
This is the printed transcript of a September 9, 2025 hearing held by the U.S. House Oversight Committee's Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets, chaired by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna. The witnesses were Jeffrey Nuccetelli, Alexandro Wiggins, George Knapp, Dylan Borland and Joe Spielberger. They described UAP incursions at Vandenberg Air Force Base from 2003 to 2005 and a tic-tac-shaped object seen from USS Jackson in 2023. Members criticized AARO and called for whistleblower protections and the UAP Disclosure Act.
9 vation of sensor data so analysts can evaluate safe and intelligence implications with rigor. I want to underscore three points for the Task Force and the Committee. Aviation and maritime safety: When crews and watchstanders observe objects that maneuver or accelerate in ways that does not match known profiles and do not—and do so near our ships and aircraft, that is first and foremost a safety issue. Stand- ardized checklist and training should ensure we capture the best possible sensor data in real time, including infrared (IR) settings, slant range estimates, and bearing and range altitude snapshots and immediate change of—chain of custody for any recordings. Reporting without stigma, protection without retribution: Sailors need to know that reporting UAP encounters will not harm their careers. Congress can help by reinforcing witness protection and by directing the relevant office to maintain confidential destigmatized channels for servicemembers who step forward with data. Declassification and transparency where possible: The Task Force declassification mission is directly relevant here. Where oper- ational security permits releasing metadata-preserved sensor ex- cerpts or at least technical summaries would improve public trust and accelerate outside scientific scrutiny. That includes, when fea- sible, the time geo-reference IR frames and radar parameters need- ed for independent analysis. To be clear, I am not here to make claims beyond my lane. I am here to provide a first-hand account of what I saw, what our sys- tems recorded, and why I—why it matters for safety, for intel- ligence, and public confidence. My request to you is practical. Help us capture, protect, fairly evaluate the evidence, and provide a safe pathway for those in uniform to report it. In closing, I want to thank the Committee and the Task Force for holding this hearing and for the—and for placing this discus- sion in a forum where evidence can be examined carefully and openly. I appreciate your attention and stand ready to answer your questions. Thank you. Mrs. LUNA. Thank you, Chief. I now recognize Mr. Knapp for his opening statement. STATEMENT OF GEORGE KNAPP, UAP JOURNALIST Mr. KNAPP. Good morning, Chairwoman Luna, Ranking Member Ms. Crockett, and Members of the Task Force. And Dina Titus, I just knew we were going to get you involved in this topic at one point. Great to see you here. I am George Knapp, chief investigative reporter at KLAS-TV in Las Vegas. I began my pursuit of this weird mystery way back in 1987, and for 38 years, I have always approached this as a news story. It is not a matter of faith or belief to me. It is a story, and it is an important one. I am proud to be here alongside these witnesses today, men who have seen strange things and stepped forward to tell the world about it. Whistleblowers and witnesses who step up are routinely insulted, belittled, or worse. They risk their reputations, their ca- reers, their clearances, their livelihoods, and sometimes much more than that, even their freedom.
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Hearing transcript, from the govinfo collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 54 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.