(Tribune News Service) —Multiple whistleblowers with access to restricted government information have claimed first-hand knowledge about U.S. activity involving UFOs, Sen. Marco Rubio said this week.

Rubio, vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, revealed in an interview with NewsNation that current and former government employees with high-level security clearances have “over the last couple of years” shared information with the committee involving what are now referred to as unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAPs.

Rubio’s remarks come after intelligence whistleblower and former member of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency David Grusch told Congress that the U.S. government has been storing non-human spacecrafts and has failed to disclose its activities. The House Oversight Committee has said it will investigate Grusch’s claims and will hold a hearing led in part by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida.

Rubio, whose NewsNation interview was published Monday, said Grusch’s claims were found to be credible by the inspector general of the intelligence community.

Grusch, according to published reports, is an Air Force veteran who previously served at the National Reconnaissance Office, which according to its website seeks to “develop, acquire, launch, and operate the nation’s space-based intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities to secure and expand the U.S. intelligence advantage.” The Debrief reported that from 2019 to 2021 Grusch worked as the reconnaissance office representative to the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena task force.

Rubio also said that government employees have shared with the Intelligence Committee what they described as first-hand knowledge about UAPs and the federal government. He said many of the people who came forward “are very fearful of their career” because of the sensitivity of the government information involved.

“People who we entrusted to do some really important things for our country are saying some pretty incredible things that I think we have an obligation to take seriously and listen to,” Rubio told NewsNation.

Fascination with possible alien life and government secrets has existed for decades in the U.S., including stories about Roswell, New Mexico, and Area 51 in Nevada. The government rekindled talk of UFOs several years ago when it released previously leaked video of unidentified objects in the sky moving strangely.

Rubio, whose staff referred McClatchy to his full NewsNation interview when asked for comment, said it’s easy to laugh off talk of non-human aircraft. But he said the credentials of the people testifying to the committee underscore the seriousness of the matter.

“I don’t think you go from being the commander of a naval fighting wing off an aircraft carrier to being some lunatic that’s out to mislead the government,” Rubio said, adding later: “There’s a stigma associated with it, right? I mean, nobody wants to be known as the UFO guy. But these are things that are important for us to understand.”

Defense and intelligence officials have repeatedly said they have no evidence that extraterrestrial life exists or is responsible for the sightings, though several incidents remain unexplained. Last summer, after Congress passed the National Defense Authorization Act, the Defense Department set up a new office, called the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, to concentrate resources on the investigation of reports of unidentified aerial phenomena.

As the issue has reemerged in public debate, Congress has taken bipartisan action to protect government employees who testify about their knowledge of government work involving UAPs, and to compel government agencies potentially holding information about UAPs to disclose what they are up to.

Last week, the Senate Intelligence Committee voted to withhold funding governmental agencies that research “unidentified anomalous phenomena” and do not report their discoveries to Congress or the Director of National Intelligence.

Rubio, a Republican, and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a Democrat, pushed the provision that established the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, which is tasked with overseeing government involvement with UAPs.

“What is undisputed is that there are things flying over restricted airspace, sensitive, restricted airspace in the United States, and they claim it’s not ours. That alone is reason to be looking at this stuff,” Rubio told NewsNation.

©2023 Miami Herald.

Visit miamiherald.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.