No, the U.S. government didn't say alien bodies have been discovered

On July 26, the House Oversight subcommittee held a hearing titled: Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Implications on National Security, Public Safety, and Government Transparency.” An “unidentified anomalous phenomena” – or UAPS – is known more casually as UFOs. 

According to some of the testimony, the U.S. is allegedly concealing a longstanding program that retrieves and reverse engineers UFOs. A former military major testified that at least one UFO has crashed, U.S. government officials retrieved it and found other non-human objects along with it, but then concealed that information from the American public.

Clips from the testimony went viral on social media, with people wondering if this means aliens exist and if the government knows about them.

Even singer Lizzo got in on the action, writing, “Aye.. I know there’s a lot of pop culture news and memes going on rn but… THE GOVERNMENT JUST STATED *UNDER OATH* THAT THEY ARE IN POSSESSION OF UFOs AND NON-HUMAN ALIEN BODIES YALL”

Other people on social media made similar claims. We looked into those viral posts to clear up some confusion, and several VERIFY viewers asked us what was revealed at the hearing.

QUESTION #1

Did the U.S. government say under oath they are in possession of UFOs?

THE SOURCES

• Original testimony from the hearing
• National Whistleblower Center

THE ANSWER

No, the U.S. government didn’t say under oath they are in possession of UFOs. 

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WHAT WE FOUND

U.S. government officials did not testify before the Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs on July 26. The testimony referenced in the viral posts came from retired Maj. David Grusch, a former U.S. Air Force intelligence officer, who referred to himself during the hearing as a whistleblower.

Grusch said he was asked in 2019 by the head of a government task force on UAPs to identify all highly classified programs relating to the task force’s mission. At the time, Grusch was detailed to the National Reconnaissance Office, the agency that operates U.S. spy satellites.

Grusch said he felt the need to come forward as a whistleblower to expose what he calls a government cover-up regarding the existence of UFOs.

“I became a whistleblower … following concerning reports from multiple esteemed and credentialed current and former military and Intelligence Community individuals that the U.S. Government is operating with secrecy - above Congressional oversight - with regards to UAPs,” Grusch told the committee.

“My testimony is based on information I have been given by individuals with a longstanding track record of legitimacy and service to this country – many of whom also shared compelling evidence in the form of photography, official documentation, and classified oral testimony,” Grusch said.

Later in the hearing, Grusch was asked if he believed the U.S. was in possession of UAPs. He responded, “Absolutely,” adding that he knew the locations based on information he retrieved after conducting interviews with more than 40 people with firsthand knowledge of where the spacecrafts are held.

In a statement to the Associated Press, Defense Department spokeswoman Sue Gough said investigators have not discovered “any verifiable information to substantiate claims that any programs regarding the possession or reverse-engineering of extraterrestrial materials have existed in the past or exist currently.”

QUESTION #2

Did someone testify that the U.S. was in possession of alien bodies?

THE SOURCES

• Original testimony from the hearing
• Food & Drug Administration
• Labroots, a scientific website that connects scientists across the world
• Office of the Director of National Intelligence annual report on unidentified aerial phenomena

THE ANSWER

No, no one said during the hearing that the U.S. was in possession of alien bodies. Retired Maj. David Grusch said there was evidence of “non-human biologics” under evaluation, and that’s not the same thing.

WHAT WE FOUND

Several hours into the hearing, Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) questioned Grusch about allegations the government is in possession of “non-human spacecraft.” 

Here is a transcript:

Mace: You’ve stated that the government is in possession of potentially non-human spacecraft. Based on your experience and extensive conversations with experts, do you believe our government has made contact with intelligent extraterrestrials?

Grusch: Something I can’t discuss in public setting.

Mace: OK, and I can’t ask when you think this occurred. If you believe we have crashed craft stated earlier, do we have the bodies of the pilots who piloted this craft?

Grusch: As I’ve stated publicly already in my NewsNation interview, biologics came with some of these recoveries, yeah.

Mace: Were they, I guess, human or non-human biologics?

Grusch: Non-human. And that was the assessment of people with direct knowledge on the program I talked to, that are currently on the program

The Food & Drug Administration defines a biologic – which are found on Earth – as a wide range of products, including blood and blood components, allergenics, cells, tissues, proteins, sugars and acids. A biologic could be a complex combination of those and can even be living entities as cells and tissues. 

Biologics can be produced from living organisms or contain components of living organisms, according to Labroots, a scientific website that connects scientists across the world. 

The term ‘non-human’ is defined by Merriam-Webster as a “being other than a human being” or “not belonging to, appropriate to, or produced by human beings.” For example, any material from animals, plants, fungi or other organisms would be considered non-human. Non-human does not mean “not from Earth.” 

In January 2023, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence declassified an annual report on unidentified aerial phenomena.

The report said as of Aug. 30, 2022, there were a total of 510 UAP reports since they started tracking the phenomena in 2005. Nowhere in the report does it say extraterrestrials or aliens were seen or recovered.