{"type":"documents","slug":"1987-majestic-12-documents","title":"MJ12 Documents","url":"https://disclosdex.com/documents/1987-majestic-12-documents","description":"Controversial papers purporting to reveal a secret U.S. group investigating crashed UFOs","date":"1987-06-01T00:00:00.000Z","tags":["Leak"],"updated":"2025-06-13T13:26:43.000Z","disclosureRating":3,"connectionCount":3,"content":{"markdown":"## Questionable Origins\n\nBeginning in the mid-1980s, photocopies surfaced alleging that President Truman created a committee called [Majestic 12](/organizations/majestic-12) to recover and study alien craft.[^1] Researchers quickly noticed inconsistencies in typefaces and signatures, leading many to suspect forgery.[^2][^3] Despite doubts, the documents continue to inspire conspiracy theories and FOIA requests.[^4][^5]\n\n<PDF src=\"https://ia800500.us.archive.org/35/items/majestic-12-documents-for-majic-eyes-only/Eisenhower%20Briefing%20Document_text.pdf\" />\n\n<PDF src=\"https://vault.fbi.gov/Majestic%2012/Majestic%2012%20Part%2001%20%28Final%29\" />\n\n## Purported Roster\n\nThe supposed briefing named a dozen prominent officials from the late-1940s national-security establishment.[^6]\n\n| Name                    | 1947 role                                  | Later career                                 |\n| ----------------------- | ------------------------------------------ | -------------------------------------------- |\n| Lloyd V. Berkner        | Naval research physicist                   | Organized the International Geophysical Year |\n| Detlev W. Bronk         | Johns Hopkins University president         | Led the National Academy of Sciences         |\n| Vannevar Bush           | Joint Research and Development Board chair | Shaped U.S. federal science policy           |\n| James V. Forrestal      | Secretary of Defense                       | Died in 1949 amid controversy                |\n| Gordon Gray             | Assistant Secretary of the Army            | National Security Advisor to Eisenhower      |\n| Roscoe H. Hillenkoetter | Director of Central Intelligence           | Joined NICAP UFO lobby                       |\n| Jerome C. Hunsaker      | NACA chair                                 | MIT aeronautics pioneer                      |\n| Donald H. Menzel        | Harvard astrophysicist                     | Vocal UFO skeptic                            |\n| Robert M. Montague      | Sandia Base commander                      | Korea Eighth Army deputy commander           |\n| Sidney W. Souers        | National Security Council secretary        | Truman confidant                             |\n| Nathan F. Twining       | Air Materiel Command chief                 | Joint Chiefs chairman                        |\n| Hoyt S. Vandenberg      | Air Force chief of staff designate         | Air Force chief of staff                     |\n\n## Authenticity Verdict\n\nFBI examiners labeled the mailed copies \"completely bogus\".[^2] No supporting orders or minutes exist in the National Archives, and some dates conflict with the known careers of the men listed.[^7][^8]\n\n[^1]: https://www.archives.gov/research/military/air-force/ufos#mj12\n\n[^2]: https://vault.fbi.gov/Majestic%2012/Majestic%2012%20Part%2001%20%28Final%29\n\n[^3]: https://skepticalinquirer.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2019/03/Issue-02-12.pdf\n\n[^4]: https://www.theblackvault.com/documentarchive/majestic-12/\n\n[^5]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Majestic_12\n\n[^6]: https://vault.fbi.gov/Majestic%2012\n\n[^7]: https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp99-00418r000100400001-7\n\n[^8]: https://www.wired.com/2007/09/dayintech-0924/","readingTime":"2 min read"},"relatedRecords":[{"ref":{"type":"people","slug":"timothy-good","title":"Timothy Good","url":"https://disclosdex.com/people/timothy-good"},"direction":"inbound","weight":1},{"ref":{"type":"people","slug":"richard-doty","title":"Richard Doty","url":"https://disclosdex.com/people/richard-doty"},"direction":"inbound","weight":1},{"ref":{"type":"organizations","slug":"majestic-12","title":"Majestic 12","url":"https://disclosdex.com/organizations/majestic-12"},"direction":"outbound","weight":1}],"citation":{"canonicalUrl":"https://disclosdex.com/documents/1987-majestic-12-documents","title":"MJ12 Documents","publisher":"Disclosdex","retrievedFrom":"https://disclosdex.com/api/v1/documents/1987-majestic-12-documents","license":"CC-BY-4.0"}}