
The US Department of Defense (Pentagon) has approved a legal exemption that allows 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 the New York Post, the measure aims to create an authorized route 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 US administration to review and publish documents related to UAPs.
Exclusion from confidentiality agreements
The new rules provide that information submitted through authorized PURSUE channels may be exempt from the restrictions of non-disclosure agreements and special classified program agreements, known as SAPIAs.
According to the report, persons who provide information in accordance with established procedures may be protected from loss of security clearance or punitive measures for disclosing relevant materials.
Goal: More transparency
The initiative is related to efforts by President Donald Trump's administration to increase transparency on government documents related to UAPs and unidentified incidents.
Through PURSUE, US authorities aim to identify, review, declassify, and publish historical materials located in government archives.
The official US Department of Defense website for PURSUE indicates that the publication of the documents is being carried out in several stages, while the materials include unsolved cases for which the government has not definitively determined the nature of the observed phenomena.
The debate over UFO evidence
Unidentified aerial phenomena have been at the center of hearings in the US Congress and discussions on government transparency.
Former soldiers and people with experience in protection programs have called for 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.
US authorities treat UAPs as a matter of national security, surveillance, and investigation of unexplained aerial phenomena.
The change in rules aims to facilitate the reporting of information to authorized authorities, while their publication will depend on review and declassification processes.