{"id":15956,"date":"2022-03-07T14:35:28","date_gmt":"2022-03-07T14:35:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theblackvault.com\/documentarchive\/?p=15956"},"modified":"2023-08-29T16:32:32","modified_gmt":"2023-08-29T16:32:32","slug":"luis-elizondo-and-his-letters-to-the-pentagon-about-his-claims-and-credibility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theblackvault.com\/documentarchive\/luis-elizondo-and-his-letters-to-the-pentagon-about-his-claims-and-credibility\/","title":{"rendered":"Luis Elizondo and His Letters to the Pentagon About His Claims and Credibility"},"content":{"rendered":"

NOTE: Since this article was written, additional documents have been released that reveal more of the story. Those are linked at the end of this article with an additional link to a thread on the social media X which outlines some of them.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Luis Elizondo’s resignation letter, effective October 4, 2017<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When Luis Elizondo<\/a> was introduced to the world in October of 2017<\/a> shortly after his retirement from working inside the Pentagon, it is likely no one quite realized the full extent of the story that would unfold. Although Elizondo’s claims seemed extraordinary at the time; they were entirely believable to those that heard them. And as a result, they were profiled and highlighted by nearly every mainstream media outlet around the world at one time or another.<\/p>\n

But then, in June of 2019, the Pentagon seemingly struck back<\/a> at Elizondo’s claims that he ran a secretive Pentagon program known as the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP) to study UFOs.<\/p>\n

“Mr. Elizondo had no responsibilities with regard to the AATIP program while he worked in OUSDI [the Office of Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence], up until the time he resigned effective 10\/4\/2017,” they told Keith Kloor of The Intercept. (This was later changed to “no assigned<\/em> responsibilities<\/a>“.)<\/p>\n

The Pentagon, whether being truthful or not, tried to instill doubt around Elizondo’s story. Although the attempt was futile to many, it was accepted by some, and that resulted in a harsh divide within the UFO conversation.<\/p>\n

Whether you believed Elizondo, or the Pentagon, one fact has been recently revealed: Elizondo did not ignore the controversy and he did not stay quiet behind the scenes.<\/p>\n

Instead, he wrote multiple letters directly to the Pentagon stating his case, and outlining what he described as “false accusations” on their part.<\/p>\n

The first letter was sent four days after The Intercept wrote their scathing article about his claims. That e-mail, revealed via a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request by The Black Vault (OSD\/JS FOIA 21-F-0938<\/a>), showed that Elizondo sent a letter to the Office of Public Affairs (the identity of the recipient was redacted), as he outlined what he called his “final effort to avoid seeing this unfortunate situation escalate.”<\/p>\n

Elizondo confirmed to The Black Vault after this e-mail was received via the FOIA, that it was his first attempt to address the situation with the DoD.<\/p>\n

That two-page email is republished in full, here:<\/p>\n

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Note: As referenced in the letter above, and noted with the redacted “Attachments” line – there is additional information that was attached to this e-mail. It was not released in the FOIA request, and The Black Vault is currently working with the Pentagon to obtain the material. An appeal letter is being written if the FOIA office does not release a copy of the attachments. The Black Vault has also contacted Mr. Elizondo for the attachments. Should permission be granted on that front to release them, they will also be added here. This story will be updated if they are released in a timely manner from either party. Since there is no indication how long that process will take, The Black Vault is publishing this article without them until the situation changes.<\/em><\/p>\n

The second e-mail that was revealed via FOIA was written just about a year after the first. This letter was previously published in October of 2021 by OpenMinds.tv<\/a> Journalist Alejandro Rojas<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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In an email to Pentagon spokesperson Susan Gough in 2020, @LueElizondo<\/a> provided a list of people who could confirm his role w\/ #AATIP<\/a>. According to Elizondo, she never responded. I wonder if the Pentagon ever called anyone on the list? \ud83e\udd14 Via #FOIA<\/a>: https:\/\/t.co\/N0tFvn4n5q<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Alejandro Rojas (@alejandrotrojas) October 13, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n