U.S. – Pentagon Eases Rules, Allows Reporting of Classified UFO Information

The U.S. Department of Defense (the Pentagon) has approved a legal exemption enabling current and former government personnel, including military, civilians and contractors, to share classified information on unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) without facing legal consequences for violating previous confidentiality agreements.

According to a New York Post report, the measure aims to create an authorized channel for submitting information to the presidential system (PURSUE) – the presidential system for declassifying and reporting cases of unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) – set up by the U.S. administration to review and publish documents related to UAPs.

Exemption from confidentiality agreements

The new rules provide that information submitted through PURSUE’s authorized channels may be exempted from the restrictions of nondisclosure agreements and special classified-program agreements, known as SAPIAs.

According to the report, persons providing information in accordance with the established procedures may be protected from loss of security clearance or punitive measures for disclosing the relevant materials.

Goal: more transparency

The initiative is linked to the efforts of President Donald Trump’s administration to increase transparency over government documents concerning UAPs and unidentified incidents.

Through PURSUE, U.S. authorities aim to identify, review, declassify and publish historical materials held in government archives.

The official U.S. Department of Defense page for PURSUE shows that document publication is being carried out in several phases, while the materials include unresolved cases for which the government has not definitively determined the nature of the observed phenomena.

Debate over UFO testimony

Unidentified aerial phenomena have been at the center of hearings in the U.S. Congress and discussions on government transparency.

Former military personnel and people with defense-program experience have demanded more protection for whistleblowers who want to report information on these phenomena.

However, the fact that a phenomenon remains unidentified does not constitute evidence that it is of extraterrestrial origin.

U.S. authorities treat UAPs as matters of national security, surveillance and investigation of unexplained aerial phenomena.

The rule change aims to ease the reporting of information to authorized authorities, while their publication will depend on review and declassification processes.