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Burlison Presses MITRE for Answers on UAP Records, FFRDC Accountability, and Compliance with Federal Declassification Mandates

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Summary

Primary-source House press release (May 26, 2026) from the office of Rep. eric-burlison (R-MO) announcing that he transmitted legislative interrogatories and production requests to The MITRE Corporation, a federally funded research and development center (ffrdc), seeking records on its potential custody, control, analysis, transfer, destruction, or withholding of UAP-related records — including recovered materials, technologies of unknown origin, and alleged legacy crash-retrieval or reverse-engineering programs. The request builds on a prior Burlison letter to MIT Lincoln Laboratory concerning the Beacon Hill Study and a reel-to-reel recording labeled “AF-ATIC-FILM, 03/52.” It invokes the UAP Records Collection established by the FY2024 NDAA, which directs federal agencies to transfer appropriate UAP records to NARA (Record Group 615). Burlison demands a senior coordinating official, a preservation hold, a records-location index, production of unclassified records, identification of classified/sponsor-controlled materials, and a classified briefing for Task Force members. The inquiry follows President Trump’s UAP-file-declassification order and the pursue rollout, and renews calls for whistleblowers to use protected channels.

Key Claims

  • Burlison (House Oversight; Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets) sent legislative interrogatories/production requests to MITRE, an FFRDC, on UAP-related records.
  • FFRDCs “occupy a unique position of public trust” with privileged access to classified information and federal programs; they “cannot become private vaults for federal records.”
  • The MITRE request builds on a prior Burlison letter to MIT Lincoln Laboratory regarding the Beacon Hill Study and the reel “AF-ATIC-FILM, 03/52,” which asked the lab to identify, preserve, digitize, and coordinate transfer of responsive records to NARA for the UAP Records Collection.
  • Congress established the UAP Records Collection via the FY2024 NDAA; agencies are directed to transfer appropriate UAP records to NARA’s Record Group 615.
  • The interrogatories ask MITRE to: designate a senior coordinating official, issue a preservation hold, provide a records-location index, produce unclassified responsive records, identify classified/sponsor-controlled materials, and coordinate a classified briefing for Task Force members and cleared committee staff.
  • The request seeks information on Special Access Programs, Controlled Access Programs, Alternative Compensatory Control Measures (ACCM), classification guides, NDAs, contractor-held federal records, sensor data, materials analysis, third-party relationships, budgetary mechanisms, and any internal disclosures or retaliation concerns.
  • The inquiry follows President Trump’s UAP-file-declassification order and the Task Force’s broader compliance push across agencies, contractors, FFRDCs, and laboratories.
  • Burlison encourages whistleblowers to use protected channels (cognizant IG, U.S. Office of Special Counsel, GAO, House Whistleblower Ombuds, or Member offices).

Notable Quotes

“Federally funded research and development centers occupy a unique position of public trust… They cannot become private vaults for federal records—especially records Congress has directed to be identified, preserved, reviewed, and transferred for public release.” — Rep. Eric Burlison

“This inquiry does not require MITRE to accept any particular conclusion about the origin or nature of UAP. It requires MITRE to tell Congress what it knows, what it holds, what it has held, what it has transferred, what it has destroyed or was directed to destroy, and which federal sponsors or classification authorities control any responsive records.” — Rep. Eric Burlison

“Anyone with information concerning UAP records, contractor-held federal records, improper classification, records destruction, retaliation, or concealment should come forward through appropriate protected channels…” — Rep. Eric Burlison

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