The Defense Department has issued a legal waiver allowing personnel to disclose UAP-related information to a White House-directed program without violating nondisclosure agreements.
Key facts
- •The waiver allows personnel to share UAP information with the White House-directed PURSUE program without risking loss of clearance or civil lawsuits.
- •A July 31 memo from Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence Aaron Lukas previously signaled that NDAs prohibiting disclosure to the President or designees were no longer in force.
- •The waiver does not protect whistleblowers who speak to the public, the press, or Congress.
- •Critics note the policy excludes intelligence agencies like the CIA and does not resolve issues regarding NDAs held by private contractors.
- •The Pentagon release acknowledges that individuals with direct knowledge of UAP programs have historically feared legal liability for speaking.
The U.S. Department of Defense has issued a targeted legal waiver allowing current and former service members, civilian personnel, and contractors to disclose national defense information regarding unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP). This directive permits disclosures specifically to the White House-directed PURSUE team, which has been collecting UAP files since May. The waiver supersedes civil and administrative enforcement of nondisclosure agreements for those communicating with the program.
Scope and Limitations of the Waiver
The waiver applies only to communications directed to the PURSUE team and does not extend to disclosures made to Congress, the press, or the public. It covers agreements previously executed within the United States but does not address criminal law. Furthermore, the directive is limited to those who have worked with the Pentagon, leaving out personnel from intelligence agencies such as the CIA, the NSA, and the FBI, as well as agencies like NASA.
Whistleblower and Expert Perspectives
Dylan Borland, a former Air Force geospatial intelligence specialist, stated that the waiver does not address concerns regarding public disclosure or the limitations of previous protections already established for the Pentagon's All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO). Marik von Rennenkampff of the Sol Foundation noted that while the move signals political interest in UAP claims, it does not yet cover the core of alleged legacy programs or information held by private contractors not party to government agreements.
Timeline
- December 2022Congress passed a provision stating that authorized UAP disclosures through AARO are not violations of nondisclosure agreements.
- May 2024The White House-directed PURSUE program began collecting UAP files on war.gov.
- July 31, 2024Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence Aaron Lukas issued a memo stating NDAs prohibiting disclosure to the President or PURSUE are no longer in force.
- September 14, 2024The Defense Department announced it had issued a targeted legal waiver for UAP-related disclosures.
Advertisement
This article was independently rewritten by ManyPress editorial AI from reporting originally published by Wired.
