2022 Congressional Hearings Documentation

The House Intelligence Counterterrorism, Counterintelligence, and Counterproliferation Subcommittee held an open hearing on unidentified aerial phenomena in May 2022.¹

Defense officials Scott Bray and Ronald Moultrie presented declassified videos and answered lawmakers' questions about reporting procedures and national security.²³

Transcripts and video are archived online for research.^45678910

  Detailed timeline

On 17 May 2022 the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Counterintelligence, and Counterproliferation convened the first open congressional hearing on unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) in more than fifty years.

Meeting in room HVC-210 of the Capitol Visitor Center, Members questioned Department of Defense and Intelligence Community leaders on how the government collects, vets, and disseminates reports of unexplained objects in restricted airspace.

    Background Discussed

    Committee membership and witnesses

Discussion in hearing:

1. Receive an update on AOIMSG organization, staffing, and milestones
2. Assess whether aviators and analysts can now report UAP encounters without stigma
3. Understand DoD/IC plans for investigating sightings that remain unexplained
4. Ensure Congress and the public get maximum transparency consistent with protection of sensitive sources and methods

  Key evidence and releases

The hearing produced the first publicly released congressional transcript on UAP since 1969, two de-classified Navy sensor videos (one spherical UAP fly-by, one triangular night-vision recording), high-resolution stills, and written statements from senior Defense intelligence officials.

The committee repository archived all PDFs, permitting public scrutiny and academic citation. Subsequent media coverage on C-SPAN and major outlets embedded the footage, ensuring durable open-source availability for independent researchers.

    Discussion highlights

• Members demanded a repeatable process to rule out U.S. classified platforms ("blue-on-blue" events).
• Concerns raised over misinformation from private groups and the need for standardized public data releases.
• Witnesses committed to balancing openness with national-security needs and to declassifying information where feasible.
• Historical incidents such as the 2004 USS Nimitz encounter and reports from Malmstrom AFB were deferred to the closed session.

  Historic session

The House Intelligence Counterterrorism Subcommittee received testimony from Navy and intelligence leaders about UAP investigations. Lawmakers reviewed previously classified videos and asked about data-sharing with civilians.

  Released materials

The hearing produced transcripts, slides, and additional footage. While officials offered few definitive answers, the event signaled growing bipartisan interest in transparency.

  References

1. congress.gov ↩

2. c-span.org ↩ ↩²

3. nytimes.com ↩

4. thehill.com ↩

5. defense.gov ↩

6. docs.house.gov ↩

7. c-span.org ↩

8. defense.gov ↩

9. npr.org ↩

10. en.wikipedia.org ↩

11. docs.house.gov ↩ ↩² ↩³

12. docs.house.gov ↩

13. docs.house.gov ↩

14. docs.house.gov ↩

15. docs.house.gov ↩

16. c-span.org ↩

17. docs.house.gov ↩ ↩²