Person
Eric Burlison
Also known as Burlison
- U.S. Representative (R-MO)
Eric Burlison is a Republican U.S. Representative from Missouri, in Congress since 2023, and a member of the House Oversight Committee. He has become the House's most persistent investigator of crash-retrieval allegations. He describes himself as having no security clearance, relying instead on briefings, whistleblowers and sworn testimony.
At the July 2023 hearing he asked David Grusch whether he had seen the bodies, and Grusch said he had not. In November 2024 he asked Luis Elizondo the same question about the United States, and Elizondo said yes. As a member of Anna Paulina Luna's declassification task force he played, in September 2025, the Yemen MQ-9 video of a Hellfire missile fired at an orb, footage the Pentagon has not authenticated. He says it reached him through a "dead drop". With Chris Mellon he has compiled lists of specific videos to release, and he has pressed for whistleblower immunity and the waiver of non-disclosure agreements.
He credits DNI Tulsi Gabbard with changing classification rules, and says the PURSUE releases followed an ODNI briefing on intelligence and FBI personnel encountering orbs at a western base in late 2025. He says the government has lied about UAP for 79 years and would be surprised if it did not hold non-human craft, while admitting he cannot know for certain. He employed David Grusch in his office in 2026, and says Grusch's still-suspended clearance deters other whistleblowers.
Sources: July 26, 2023, November 13, 2024 and September 9, 2025 hearings (transcripts) · May 1, 2025 briefing · Capitol Hill press conference (June 2026) · Dr. Phil Podcast (October 2026) · Wikipedia
Facts and claims
- claimed A lead investigator tracking crash-retrieval allegations. Source: Restoring Public Trust Through UAP Transparency and Whistleblower Protection
- documented At the July 2023 hearing he asked David Grusch whether he had seen the bodies; Grusch answered: “That is something I have not witnessed myself.” In November 2024 he asked Luis Elizondo whether the United States possesses bodies; Elizondo answered “Yes”. — Eric Burlison Source: Hearing transcript: UAP — Implications on National Security, Public Safety, and Government Transparency (House Oversight, July 26, 2023)
- claimed At the May 2025 congressional briefing he credited DNI Tulsi Gabbard's Director's Initiatives Group with harmonising classification guides to allow responsible releases, calling it systemic change rather than a one-time data dump. — Eric Burlison Source: Understanding UAP: Science, National Security & Innovation (House Oversight and Government Reform) at 3:37
- documented At the September 2025 task-force hearing he played a video he said he had been given, taken on October 30, 2024, of an MQ-9 drone tracking an orb off Yemen as another MQ-9 fired a Hellfire missile at it. The Defense Department and AARO have not authenticated it. — Eric Burlison Source: Hearing transcript: Restoring Public Trust Through UAP Transparency and Whistleblower Protection (Sept 9, 2025)
- claimed At the June 2026 press conference he said the Yemen footage reached his office through a “Tom Clancy style dead drop”, listed the task force's inquiries, including Russian and Brazilian records, an FBI inquiry into Varginha, MIT Lincoln Laboratory and MITRE, and the death of would-be whistleblower Matthew Sullivan, and asked the President to waive whistleblowers' non-disclosure agreements and grant immunity. — Eric Burlison Source: FULL PRESSER: David Grusch & Lawmakers Call for UAP Records Declassification on Capitol Hill (9 June 2026) at 4:13
- claimed In October 2026 he said: “our government has been lying to us for 79 years”, citing the Robertson Panel, and that President Trump has ordered disclosure but “bureaucrats down the line” are blocking it. — Eric Burlison Source: Rep. Eric Burlison on the Dr. Phil Podcast: "A Congressman Was Briefed on a Secret Test to Lure UFOs" (15 October 2026) at 4:14
- claimed He says that after a fall 2025 ODNI briefing on a years-long investigation that had found little, ODNI called him back because “things have changed”, and briefed him on a late-2025 event at a western military installation where intelligence and FBI personnel saw glowing orbs that seemed to move intelligently, later declassified in the PURSUE releases. — Eric Burlison Source: Rep. Eric Burlison on the Dr. Phil Podcast: "A Congressman Was Briefed on a Secret Test to Lure UFOs" (15 October 2026) at 15:41
- claimed Asked whether the U.S. holds non-human craft: “At this point, I would be surprised if that were not true”, adding that he does not know with certainty and does not hold a security clearance. — Eric Burlison Source: Rep. Eric Burlison on the Dr. Phil Podcast: "A Congressman Was Briefed on a Secret Test to Lure UFOs" (15 October 2026) at 28:53
- claimed Chris Mellon says he has helped Burlison compile lists of specific UAP videos for release. — Chris Mellon Source: UAP & National Security: Mellon, Gallaudet, von Rennenkampff & McConnell at Disclosure Forum 2026 at 1:12:59
- claimed He says David Grusch worked in his office for a short period, and that Grusch's clearance has not been restored, which deters other whistleblowers. — Eric Burlison Source: Rep. Eric Burlison on the Dr. Phil Podcast: "A Congressman Was Briefed on a Secret Test to Lure UFOs" (15 October 2026) at 43:44
Connected files
Claims
- The U.S. has recovered the bodies of non-human beings from crashed craft (comments on claim)
- The U.S. holds recovered craft of non-human origin and runs a secret program to reverse-engineer them (asserts)
Events
- Capitol Hill UAP declassification press conference (speaker at)
- Planned House Oversight UAP hearing (November 2026, not yet scheduled) (related to)
- James Fox's Varginha press conference at the National Press Club (20 January 2026) (speaker at)
Incidents
- USS Jackson “tic-tac” formation (raised)
- Western U.S. military facility orb encounter (followed up) — Burlison said he would look into whether the witnesses could testify publicly
- Yemen MQ-9 “Hellfire” orb video (presented)
News
Organizations
People
- Anna Paulina Luna (colleague of) — Burlison is a member of her declassification task force
- Chris Mellon (worked with) — Mellon has helped Burlison compile lists of specific UAP videos for release
- David Grusch (employed) — He questioned Grusch at the 2023 hearing and employed him in his office in 2026
- Luis Elizondo (questioned) — He asked Elizondo in November 2024 whether the U.S. possesses bodies; Elizondo answered “Yes”
Hearings & briefings
Programs
- PURSUE — Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters (commented on) — He says the PURSUE releases followed an ODNI briefing on personnel encountering orbs at a western base
Videos
- House holds hearing on UFOs, government transparency | full video (discussed in)
- Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Exposing the Truth (discussed in)
- Understanding UAP: Science, National Security & Innovation (House Oversight and Government Reform) (speaks in)
- Restoring Public Trust Through UAP Transparency and Whistleblower Protection (discussed in)
- Varginha press conference at the National Press Club: James Fox and the Brazilian witnesses (NewsNation live, 20 January 2026) (appears in)
- FULL PRESSER: David Grusch & Lawmakers Call for UAP Records Declassification on Capitol Hill (9 June 2026) (appears in)
- David Grusch on the Dr. Phil Podcast: craft, cadavers and the retrieval program (August 2026) (mentioned in)
- UAP & National Security: Mellon, Gallaudet, von Rennenkampff & McConnell at Disclosure Forum 2026 (discussed in)
- Rep. Eric Burlison on the Dr. Phil Podcast: "A Congressman Was Briefed on a Secret Test to Lure UFOs" (15 October 2026) (appears in)
- Rep. Eric Burlison on UAP disclosure, government secrecy and David Grusch (Rebelliously Curious, October 2026) (appears in)
Mentioned in videos
- House holds hearing on UFOs, government transparency | full video
- Understanding UAP: Science, National Security & Innovation (House Oversight and Government Reform)
- Restoring Public Trust Through UAP Transparency and Whistleblower Protection
- Varginha press conference at the National Press Club: James Fox and the Brazilian witnesses (NewsNation live, 20 January 2026)
- FULL PRESSER: David Grusch & Lawmakers Call for UAP Records Declassification on Capitol Hill (9 June 2026)
- UAP & National Security: Mellon, Gallaudet, von Rennenkampff & McConnell at Disclosure Forum 2026
- Rep. Eric Burlison on the Dr. Phil Podcast: "A Congressman Was Briefed on a Secret Test to Lure UFOs" (15 October 2026)
- “A Top Government Official Told Me Aliens Run Everything!” -Dylan Borland UNLEASHED