Sep 18, 2025
Written By [Christopher Sharp](https://www.liberationtimes.com/?author=610434e320e3e945538177b1)
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Written by [Christopher Sharp](https://twitter.com/ChrisUKSharp) \- 18 September 2025
Amid a jittery world – where a campus rally or a stray Russian drone can feel like a tripwire – one subject is drawing unlikely allies together.
At the 9 September Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) hearing in the U.S. Congress, Democrats and Republicans compared notes on the same problem: mysterious incursions into sensitive airspace by possibly advanced, non-human technology.
And the convergence may not end at party lines; it could cross borders. Russia – perhaps the West’s most intractable adversary – faces the same challenge.
Journalist George Knapp testified that during a 1993 reporting trip to Moscow, he reviewed Russian Ministry of Defense files documenting a sweeping, years-long Soviet investigation into such incursions, including attempts to understand – and even attempt to reverse-engineer – the technology.
He added that the late former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Gang of Eight member briefed at the highest levels, believed the United States, Russia, and China had recovered advanced, unknown materials and were racing to make sense of them.
The hearing’s power lay in its suggestion that our universe – and our world—may be more extraordinary than we’ve allowed ourselves to imagine.
What happened and who testified
After months of speculation, uncertainty and delay, House Oversight Committee staff confirmed on 2 September that the long-anticipated hearing would take place on 9 September – a [development first reported by Liberation Times](https://x.com/ChrisUKSharp/status/1962872201499046196).
An official announcement from the Oversight Committee’s Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets, where the hearing would be held, followed the next day.
The hearing was titled ‘ [Restoring Public Trust Through UAP Transparency and Whistleblower Protection](https://oversight.house.gov/hearing/restoring-public-trust-through-uap-transparency-and-whistleblower-protection/ “https://oversight.house.gov/hearing/restoring-public-trust-through-uap-transparency-and-whistleblower-protection/”).’
Three witnesses were confirmed:
– U.S. Air Force veteran, Jeffrey Nuccetelli
– U.S. Navy Senior Chief, Alexandro Wiggins
– Journalist, George Knapp
Liberation Times understands that UAP advocates who helped coordinate the hearing initially encountered resistance from committee staff to adding a fourth witness.
Working directly with Task Force members, they overcame the bottleneck.
On 3 September, the committee named the fourth witness: Dylan Borland, a U.S. Air Force veteran.
Democrats, the minority on the Task Force, then added a fifth: Joe Spielberger, a senior policy counsel at the Project On Government Oversight (POGO).
In their written testimony, a coherent picture emerged.
Jeffrey Nuccetelli and Chief Alexandro Wiggins described encounters with what appeared to be advanced craft near key military assets – an urgent, ongoing issue which must be addressed.
George Knapp – widely regarded as the most knowledgeable and best-connected reporter on this beat – offered insights that may shape Congress’s next steps.
Joe Spielberger detailed how limited government transparency and procedural hurdles continue to deter whistleblowers.
Borland, a geospatial-intelligence imagery analyst by training who has served as a senior analyst with BAE Systems and Intrepid Solutions, specialising in the exploitation of video, radar and advanced electro-optical imagery, stated in his written testimony that he was ‘exposed to classified information from the UAP legacy crash retrieval program’ through a sensitive role within a Special Access Program (SAP).
In plain terms, he may have been in a position to know, with possible certainty, that UAP equated to advanced non-human vehicles piloted by non-human beings.
It is one thing to report encounters with exotic craft; it is quite another to assert that the U.S. government, via an alleged SAP, has actually recovered them.
Inside the hearing room
Above: Witnesses testifying before the Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets on 9 September 2025
At the hearing, Borland made clear he could not discuss the alleged crash-retrieval program he says he encountered.
He appeared on edge – rattled and visibly marked by the strain of whistleblowing – and said he has faced retaliation for coming forward, being “blacklisted from certain agencies within the Intelligence Community” and left on the brink of unemployment with no means to support himself.
He further felt the pressure originated from the Intelligence Community’s Inspector General – the very office meant to protect whistleblowers – recounting that, during his interview, it was evident they were there to “assess just how much I know, not to move forward with an investigation based on new information.”
Explaining why he could not expand on what he knew about UAP crash retrievals, Borland said:
“If I say the wrong word, technically, I can be charged with espionage. Espionage is a death penalty – whistleblowers have faced it.”
When asked if he could speak with Task Force members in a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF), he replied:
“It would, pending I am legally allowed to speak…and that the people in the room are legally allowed to hear it.”
He advised members to coordinate with Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard to navigate the legal and procedural steps for his testimony.
Above: Dylan Borland
Jeremy Corbell, who helped coordinate the hearing, told Liberation Times that each witness went through a rigorous vetting process:
“The frontline of the battle for transparency on the UAP issue – ironically – is often fought behind closed doors and obscured from public view.
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“Each congressional UAP hearing is a hard-won step toward clarity, requiring meticulous planning to meaningfully advance our understanding. From the selection of witnesses who were willing and able to testify, to navigating months of vetting and security reviews by a variety of agencies; it is through determination, commitment, and fortitude that we arrive at testimony like we saw on September 9th.
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“The objective was clear: to establish, under oath and on the congressional record, credible testimony backed by tangible evidence. To bring forward a core group of witnesses and whistleblowers who would speak from unique, often firsthand knowledge of the UAP reality. To shine a light on the persistent and parasitic cover-up. And to reveal new information – as well as continue establishing a foundational public record for broader understanding.
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“These witnesses, united in courage, form a powerful chain of voices. Each brought significant insight and emboldened others to step forward. The impact is already rippling outward.
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“I can confirm that many more witnesses and whistleblowers stand ready to speak out – about their experien
*[Read full article at Liberation Times]*