US Risks a ‘Blemish’ on Transparency if China or Russia Reveal Crashed UFOs First, Lawmaker Warns

Eric Burlison warns that disclosure of alleged UFO recoveries by rival powers could tarnish America’s reputation for openness and public transparency By U.S. House of Representatives/Wikimedia Commons US Representative Eric Burlison has warned that America’s global reputation for transparency could be damaged if China or Russia publicly reveal evidence of crashed UFOs before Washington, in comments to the New York Post.

The Missouri Republican was addressing the Trump administration’s promises of transparency about UFOs and possible evidence of extraterrestrial life.

He warned that failure to follow through could hand America’s rivals a propaganda victory, allowing another government to appear more forthcoming with its citizens than Washington.

‘I think it would definitely be a misstep because of what we would be demonstrating to our people,’ Burlison told the news outlet.

‘We’re supposed to be the most transparent country in the world to its citizenry and if another country is able to be more transparent than the United States on this topic it would be a blemish on our otherwise pristine legacy on transparency.’

The concern he outlined centred on what Americans could learn from their own government. He framed a foreign disclosure as a test of US openness, with a potential cost to the country’s reputation for transparency.

Burlison also identified a possible benefit in other governments releasing their own material. He suggested that overseas disclosures could corroborate information already released in the US, strengthening public confidence in what Americans were being told.

Brazil features in that discussion through former presidential candidate and defence minister Aldo Rebelo. He stated that Brazil would release its own files if the US published its records concerning the alleged 1996 UFO crash in Varginha.

Rebelo was speaking as a former minister, and the proposed release depended on Washington acting first. His comments concerned access to records about the Varginha incident, whose description as a UFO crash remains an allegation.

Burlison welcomed the possibility of foreign material supporting an American release.

‘If a foreign country validates what we release, it will give more confidence to the American people that this isn’t some disinformation campaign or a hoax and I think that would be a good thing,’ he stated.

He also offered to work with Rebelo on releasing information if the former minister had access to it.

‘I’d suggest that if he has access to it and wants to bring it to me, I will be happy to work with to release that information.’

The concern about China and Russia draws on allegations from whistleblower David Grusch, a former member of Burlison’s staff. On Joe Rogan’s podcast, Grusch claimed that both countries possessed crashed UFOs.

IBTimes UK cannot independently verify those recovery claims. Investigations into unexplained sightings are distinct from evidence that a government possesses recovered craft or material of extraterrestrial origin.

China has publicly acknowledged that it investigates reports of UFO sightings. The South China Morning Post reported in 2021 that artificial intelligence was being employed to improve understanding of those sightings. That account concerned efforts to investigate unidentified objects, rather than confirmation of Grusch’s later claims about crashed craft.

A separate account concerns Soviet records. Investigative reporter George Knapp released documents in February that he had secretly taken out of the USSR in 1991. The Post described the records as pointing to Soviet authorities investigating thousands of UFO reports while officially denying the existence of UFOs.