Person
Michael Shellenberger
Also known as Shellenberger
- Journalist and author (Public)
Michael Shellenberger is an American journalist and author who publishes the newsletter Public. He is known for books and reporting on energy, the environment and government censorship. He came to UAP as a reporter on government secrecy rather than as a believer, and calls himself agnostic about what the phenomenon is.
His first UAP story covered the 1996 Varginha creature case in Brazil, where he had lived. He returned to the subject after David Grusch's 2023 testimony and set out to verify Grusch's claims. In November 2024 a source gave him a 12-page whistleblower report describing "Immaculate Constellation", said to be an unacknowledged special access program that pools UAP imagery and signature intelligence from military platforms. Testifying on November 13, 2024 alongside Tim Gallaudet, Luis Elizondo and Michael Gold, he had the report entered into the record. He also relayed a second source's account of a video of orbs rising from the sea off Kuwait.
He told Congress the report did not look like circular reporting and that other sources confirmed the program's name. He also conceded he had not verified every part of it and did not know where the full version is held, and he said he does not know what UAP are. Grusch later referred to Immaculate Constellation as a National Security Council program but would not discuss it. The Defense Department has not publicly acknowledged the program. Shellenberger calls for a Church Committee-style reform of intelligence secrecy.
Sources: November 13, 2024 hearing (transcript and written testimony) · American Alchemy interview · Capitol Hill press conference (June 2026) · Wikipedia
Facts and claims
- claimed Shellenberger testified in November 2024 that a whistleblower report describes Immaculate Constellation as an unacknowledged special access program consolidating UAP imagery and signature intelligence. — Michael Shellenberger Source: Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Exposing the Truth at 56:33
- documented The 12-page report he brought was entered into the hearing record at Rep. Nancy Mace's request as “Report, Pentagon, ‘Immaculate Constellation’”; entry confirms provenance, not accuracy. Source: The United States Department of Defense and the Intelligence Community Are Withholding Information About Anomalous Phenomena From Congress
- documented Asked for evidence that the report was genuine, he testified that it described cases that were new to him, so it was “not obviously circular reporting”, and that he had “the name of the program confirmed by more than one additional source”. — Michael Shellenberger Source: Hearing transcript: “Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Exposing the Truth”
- documented He testified that a second source described a roughly 13-minute, high-definition video, filmed from a helicopter, of a white orb coming out of the ocean about 20 miles off Kuwait and joined by a second orb. — Michael Shellenberger Source: Hearing transcript: “Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Exposing the Truth”
- claimed He said a single, unconfirmed source told him the program is managed by the Department of Defense but held at the White House. — Michael Shellenberger Source: Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Exposing the Truth at 1:34:09
- documented Asked by Rep. Robert Garcia, he said “Yes” when asked whether part of the government is knowingly concealing UAP evidence, but on what UAP are: “Genuinely do not know.” Asked where the non-public version of the report might be found, he said: “I do not know the answer to that.” — Michael Shellenberger Source: Hearing transcript: “Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Exposing the Truth”
- claimed He says his first UAP story was on the 1996 Varginha creature case in Brazil, and that he returned to the subject after David Grusch's testimony to try to verify the claims; he describes himself as agnostic about the phenomenon and motivated by abuse of government power. — Michael Shellenberger Source: Breaking UFO Story: ‘Immaculate Constellation’ UFO Program (Ft. Michael Shellenberger) at 2:20
- claimed He says he did not verify every part of the whistleblower report, and has not verified Chris Sharp's report naming the CIA's Glenn Gaffney as a gatekeeper who blocked a craft transfer to Bigelow. — Michael Shellenberger Source: Breaking UFO Story: ‘Immaculate Constellation’ UFO Program (Ft. Michael Shellenberger) at 7:36
- claimed David Grusch said in June 2026 that he could not comment on Immaculate Constellation's content, calling it a National Security Council program. — David Grusch Source: FULL PRESSER: David Grusch & Lawmakers Call for UAP Records Declassification on Capitol Hill (9 June 2026) at 25:11
Connected files
Claims
Documents
- The United States Department of Defense and the Intelligence Community Are Withholding Information About Anomalous Phenomena From Congress (submitted)
- Michael Shellenberger written testimony + appendices (authored)
People
- Marik von Rennenkampff (endorsed) — Shellenberger says von Rennenkampff has won the Gimbal argument against Mick West's lens-glare explanation
- David Grusch (checked claims of) — He set out to verify Grusch's claims after the 2023 testimony
- Luis Elizondo (testified with) — They testified together on 13 November 2024
- Tim Gallaudet (testified with) — They testified together on 13 November 2024
- Nancy Mace (report entered by) — She entered into the record the “Immaculate Constellation” whistleblower report Shellenberger brought
Hearings & briefings
- Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Exposing the Truth (testified at)
Videos
- Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Exposing the Truth (speaks in)
- Breaking UFO Story: ‘Immaculate Constellation’ UFO Program (Ft. Michael Shellenberger) (appears in)