At the Eisenhower Presidential Library in Abilene, Kansas, inside the Richard Mervin Bissell Jr. Papers, there is a letter. The National Archives catalog describes it as: “Letter from Richard M. Bissell regarding Majestic 12.” Catalog identifier: 493468585. It is publicly accessible.
Who Richard Bissell Was
Richard Bissell was not a fringe figure. He was the CIA’s Deputy Director for Plans — the operational head of all CIA covert activities, the most powerful operational position in the US intelligence community. He held this role from 1959 to 1962.
His record:
- He directed the U-2 spy plane program — the most significant airborne intelligence collection system of the Cold War
- He oversaw the Bay of Pigs invasion — the CIA’s most ambitious covert operation, which ended in failure and his resignation
- He sat at the apex of America’s classified technical intelligence programs from the mid-1950s through the early 1960s
- He operated at the direct intersection of advanced aerospace technology and national security secrecy
What Majestic 12 Is
Majestic 12 — or MJ-12 — is the alleged ultra-secret committee established by President Truman after the 1947 Roswell incident to manage recovered non-human technology and control UAP information. The committee allegedly consisted of 12 senior military officers, scientists and intelligence officials, and operated completely outside normal congressional oversight.
The existence of MJ-12 has been contested for decades. Its alleged founding members include figures like James Forrestal (first Secretary of Defense, died under mysterious circumstances), Vannevar Bush (director of the wartime OSRD), and Roscoe Hillenkoetter (first CIA Director).
Why This Letter Matters
Bissell was the Deputy Director for Plans during the Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations. If MJ-12 or any equivalent control structure existed, it would have operated directly within or alongside the covert programs Bissell ran. A letter from him referencing MJ-12 by name is not the work of a hobbyist researcher or a hoaxer. It is a document from the man who ran America’s most classified programs, referencing the alleged control structure for UAP secrecy.
The letter has been in the National Archives since the Bissell papers were accessioned. It is in Record Group 615 — the UAP Records Collection. Anyone can request access at catalog.archives.gov, identifier 493468585.
UAP Oracle is filing a request for the full text.
Source: National Archives and Records Administration. Eisenhower Presidential Library. Catalog ID 493468585.