Michael Shellenberger, a journalist known for breaking the Twitter Files and reporting on government secrecy, sat down with Jesse Michels immediately after the November 13, 2024 UAP congressional hearing at the Rayburn House Office Building to discuss his newly released “Immaculate Constellation” report, which details a secret US government UAP/UFO program and was referenced during the hearing itself.
The Immaculate Constellation Report
Shellenberger published a detailed report titled “Immaculate Constellation” describing a large-scale, strategic intelligence project within the US government that collects and analyzes UAP data from multiple sources: still images, video, signals intelligence, and human reports.
The program is described as an Unacknowledged Special Access Program (USAP) controlled by the White House but administered by the Department of Defense, though Shellenberger notes this characterization comes from a single source and he lacks full corroboration.
The report includes analysis of different categories of UAPs and their observed psychological and biological effects on witnesses, which Shellenberger finds particularly compelling.
He spent time verifying that the information was not simply compiled from existing UFO lore or prior public cases, to avoid the problem of circular reporting that plagues the field.
The Congressional Hearing and Whistleblower Dynamics
The November 13, 2024 hearing marked a notable shift in tone: Shellenberger observed genuine bipartisan engagement, with no ridicule, uncomfortable giggling, or character assassination from any member of Congress, unlike previous hearings he has testified at on other topics.
He testified before Congress for the 13th time and noted this was the first time he witnessed Republicans and Democrats unified on an issue, treating it with seriousness and mutual respect.
Shellenberger protected his source for the Immaculate Constellation report, refusing to reveal gender, agency, or specific details, though he confirmed the source is within the Department of Defense and is “very scared” of reprisals.
He emphasized that whistleblowers face real risks: the federal government has historically prosecuted leakers aggressively, with Barack Obama prosecuting more whistleblowers than all previous presidents combined, and existing protections remain inadequate.
Lou Elizondo, when asked directly whether he had been read into Immaculate Constellation, responded “I can neither confirm nor deny,” which Shellenberger found curious and suggestive.
Evidence the Government Is Hiding
Shellenberger reported, from a single carefully vetted source, the existence of a high-definition, full-color video shot from a military helicopter showing an orb emerging from the ocean about 20 miles off the coast of Kuwait, joined by a second orb.
He argued that the government’s claim that secrecy is needed to protect intelligence methods does not hold up, since everyone already knows the military has helicopters and high-definition cameras, and sensitive details could be redacted.
He believes the secrecy is driven by deeper motives: ego, legacy concerns, politics, possible criminality, and ethical discomfort rather than legitimate national security needs.
John Greenwald, who runs Black Vault and uses FOIA extensively, has documented that UAP-related secrecy is actually increasing, not decreasing, contradicting claims that the government is in the process of gradual disclosure.
Greenwald has also caught the Pentagon making contradictory statements about whether additional UAP videos exist and has noted they are justifying secrecy under law enforcement provisions rather than national security ones, which is suspicious and potentially an abuse of that legal framework.
The Broader Secrecy Apparatus and Disinformation
Shellenberger drew direct parallels between the Twitter Files revelations and UAP secrecy, noting that the same individuals involved in suppressing the Hunter Biden laptop story through the Aspen Institute are now involved in UAP-related information operations.
Garrett Graf, who helped orchestrate the pre-bunking of the Hunter Biden laptop in 2020 alongside Vivian Schiller (former NPR head, New York Times executive, Twitter media lead), published a book earlier in 2024 called “UFO” that systematically debunks UAP cases.
Shellenberger finds this overlap suspicious and notes that many alleged debunkings, when examined closely, do not actually debunk the cases they target, citing the ongoing debate around the Gimbal video where Mick West ran out of responses to Mark Rademaker’s persistent technical challenges.
He described a hierarchy of debunkers: Stephen Greenstreet and Sean Kirkpatrick represent old-fashioned ridicule; Mick West is slightly more sophisticated; and Graf represents the most sophisticated form, acknowledging UAPs exist but claiming the government simply doesn’t know what they are, a position Shellenberger calls disingenuous.
Crash Retrievals, Biologics, and the Limits of Knowledge
Shellenberger addressed longstanding claims about crash retrieval and reverse engineering programs, including Chris Sharp’s reporting in The Liberation Times about CIA official Glenn Gaffney allegedly blocking the transfer of a recovered craft from Lockheed to Bigelow Aerospace via AATIP/ASAP in the 1950s.
He has not verified these specific claims but notes they are consistent with decades-old reports and sound reasonable given the broader pattern.
On the topic of biologics and alleged hybrid programs involving non-human genetic material, Shellenberger acknowledged the testimony from David Grush and others but said he has no independent knowledge of what these biologics might be.
He noted that Congresswoman Mace pressed witnesses on the topic of hybrids during the hearing, reflecting how far the conversation has moved into previously unthinkable territory.
The Path Forward: Transparency Over Speculation
Shellenberger argued that the movement’s primary focus should be on demanding government transparency and disclosure rather than trying to prove the nature of UAPs or the non-human intelligence hypothesis.
He believes maintaining genuine agnosticism about what UAPs are actually strengthens the case for disclosure, because even if the explanation turns out to be mundane, the public still deserves to know.
He sees the UAP issue as part of a much broader problem of accumulated government secrecy over the past 50 years, comparable to what the Church Committee addressed in 1975, and believes comprehensive intelligence reform is overdue and should be bipartisan.
He expressed optimism about the incoming Trump administration’s stated commitment to transparency on JFK files, Epstein files, COVID origins, and UAPs, but warned that if significant disclosure does not happen within the next couple of years, he would become pessimistic.
He advocated for stronger whistleblower protections not just for UAP issues but across the entire government, including FBI entrapment cases and CIA abuses.
Spirituality, Faith, and the Nature of the Phenomenon
Shellenberger, who returned to Christianity six years ago, reflected on the relationship between faith and UAP phenomena, noting that people with spiritual or religious convictions are often drawn to the topic but this does not invalidate their observations.
He referenced Jacques Vallée’s hypothesis that there are three levels of deception in the UAP phenomenon: government deception, witness distortion (often omitting the strangest elements), and possible deception by the non-human intelligence itself, which may be deliberately shaping human perceptions.
He noted that Colonel Carl Nell and Catholic scholar Diana Paola have drawn connections between traditional angel hierarchies described by Thomas Aquinas and the types of non-human intelligence encounters reported by modern witnesses, and he sees the name “Immaculate Constellation” as resonating with this intersection.
He argued that the government’s fear that disclosure would undermine religious faith is overstated, and that people of genuine faith should be able to handle the truth, whatever it is.
He called for tolerance and openness in discussing these topics, allowing space for speculation, imagination, and spirituality without censorship or stigma, while maintaining clear distinctions between what is proven, what is suspected, and what remains unknown.
