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2026 · US Capitol steps, Washington, DC

Grusch and the UAP task force on the Capitol steps, 9 June 2026

On the record
Strength C · 6/10 · 1 independent
Evidence 2/4 · Witnesses 3/3 · Backing 1/3

Named members of Congress and a former intelligence officer on the record and on video, not under oath; no documents were released at the event.

Plausibility High
Score 11 · 8 factors for, 0 against

Scored as an official record: sitting members of the House task force and David Grusch speaking on camera, by name. Not sworn, and nothing was released at the event; the FBI Varginha inquiry, the DIA records and the Espionage Act referral are described, not shown.

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Aggregate
WhenJune 9, 2026
WhereUS Capitol steps, Washington, DC
Backing1 independent
Evidenceofficial records

On 9 June 2026 James Fox and Leslie Kean hosted a press conference of about 35 minutes on the Capitol steps. Reps. Anna Paulina Luna, Eric Burlison, Tim Burchett, Jared Moskowitz and Scott Perry spoke, then Kean and David Grusch; Tim Gallaudet, Dylan Borland, Jeffrey Nuccetelli and Kirk McConnell stood behind them. Fox and Burlison said former Brazilian defence minister Aldo Rebelo has confirmed the 1996 Varginha incident, and Burlison said the task force has reviewed a formal FBI inquiry into it. Luna said the White House is weighing immunity for whistleblowers. Kean said McConnell was present when senators, including Marco Rubio, were briefed on recovered non-human bodies. Grusch, on the record, described intelligence on foreign adversary crash-retrieval programs that DIA has not given Congress, and said the Air Force sought an Espionage Act investigation of him after his 2023 testimony.

Evidence, in date order (1)

  1. 9 Jun 2026Reps. Luna, Burlison, Burchett, Moskowitz and Perryofficial
    on-the-record statements by sitting members of the House task force Cristina Gomez, 'LIVE: Grusch Returns To Congress To Address UFOs' (YouTube livestream, 9 Jun 2026)

How plausible · High

Scored as an official record: sitting members of the House task force and David Grusch speaking on camera, by name. Not sworn, and nothing was released at the event; the FBI Varginha inquiry, the DIA records and the Espionage Act referral are described, not shown.

  • ●●
    Access Task force members describe their own inquiries and SCIF briefings; Grusch the intelligence he handled.
  • ●●
    Character record Elected members and a decorated former intelligence officer.
  • ●●
    Checkable details check out The full event is on video.
  • ●○
    Cost of speaking Named and on camera, but not under oath.
  • ●○
    No gain sought Political attention for the members; Fox has a Varginha film.
  • ●○
    Independent convergence Several members independently describe the same agency obstruction; Fox and Burlison both cite Rebelo.

Plausibility weighs how well an account fits where secrecy hides the documents by design, so missing records never count against it. Strength measures what is documented. Assessed 2026-10-30.

On the record

  • The full event, streamed live by Cristina Gomez (YouTube, 9 Jun 2026).
  • Statements by five sitting members of Congress, Leslie Kean and David Grusch, by name and on camera.Hearing, 2023

Claims

He investigated Varginha 1996 for 16 years; dozens of firsthand reports describe direct contact with living non-human beings who, according to multiple Brazilian witnesses, were flown from Brazil to the United States in January 1996. Former Brazilian defence minister Aldo Rebelo 'confirmed the incident occurred' and said that if the US disclosed information on the case, Brazil could do the same. Fox asked the President to declassify all files on it.Varginha: the "ET de Varginha" and the Army inquiryCristina Gomez: live from the Capitol steps as Grusch returns to CongressfirsthandSourced, unconfirmedJames Fox
The whistleblower protections and the UAP Disclosure Act have been stonewalled time and again by intelligence agencies and House staff. The next step is a meeting with the White House to ask temporary or permanent immunity for whistleblowers who can give locations of craft or advanced technology; in the Q&A she said she believes the White House will grant permanent immunity from the Espionage Act.UAP Disclosure ActThe squeezeCristina Gomez: live from the Capitol steps as Grusch returns to CongressfirsthandSourced, unconfirmedAnna Paulina Luna
The task force has reviewed Russian and Brazilian records, 'including a formal FBI inquiry into the '96 Varginha incident', and Aldo Rebelo 'came forward and admitted that this event was true'. It has sent targeted inquiries to MIT Lincoln Laboratory, MITRE and every agency connected to UAP, worked with lawmakers on four continents, and continues to receive 'credible claims of recovered craft and reverse-engineering programs' that point to 'specific facilities, contractors, records'. Matthew Sullivan's death 'deserves far more scrutiny'. He asked the President to waive NDAs and grant immunity to everyone who comes forward.Varginha: the "ET de Varginha" and the Army inquiryMIT Lincoln LaboratoryThe MITRE CorporationMatthew James SullivanCristina Gomez: live from the Capitol steps as Grusch returns to CongressfirsthandSourced, unconfirmedEric Burlison
In a SCIF 'some little punk in a man bun tells me the president's on a need-to-know basis'. Officials deny it in public and confirm it in the SCIF; craft 'have been moved into private entities' out of reach of FOIA. When the 2023 hearing began, staff tried to fold it into the Chinese balloon inquiry, and a member tried to disrupt a SCIF session with Grusch.Hearing, 2023Cristina Gomez: live from the Capitol steps as Grusch returns to CongressfirsthandSourced, unconfirmedTim Burchett
The agencies would 'secretly go to the chairman of committees' to strip UAP language out of bills. 'We know about these advanced technology programs. We know they come out of Area 51', citing the helicopter used on the bin Laden raid, 'that Congress never funded'.UAP Disclosure ActCristina Gomez: live from the Capitol steps as Grusch returns to CongressfirsthandSourced, unconfirmedRep. Jared Moskowitz
Kirk McConnell, for decades on the staff of the congressional intelligence and defence committees, 'was present in classified settings when highly credible sources briefed senators, including Marco Rubio, about recovered non-human bodies'. She asked the President to prioritise releasing evidence on recovered non-human biological entities, since biology raises no national-security case.Kirk McConnellMarco RubioCristina Gomez: live from the Capitol steps as Grusch returns to CongresssecondhandSourced, unconfirmedLeslie Kean

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Sources

Heard in (1)

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