Last Thursday — the last day the US House of Representatives is slated to be in session this year — after voting, Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) was deflated and a tad down after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s UAP amendment to the NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act) was gutted behind closed-doors.
“The public got ripped off. We got screwed,” Burchett exclusively tells Ask a Pol. “But I knew we would.”
Still, as Burchett prepared to head back home to Tennessee for the holidays, he couldn’t help but be his usual jovial and joking self. He held court with two different groups of congressional reporters while sitting on the Capitol steps.
Eventually, Burchett and I get to discuss UAPs, while slowly strolling back to his office across the street (along with a photographer, an NBC reporter and some young Fox News producers…as you’ll hear…haha. Burchett’s a hoot).
We asked the congressman who’s pulling the strings at the Capitol. Burchett — along with the rest of the Congressional UAP Caucus — is still trying to figure that out.
“Do you trust Schumer?” I ask.
“I don't trust anybody, dude,” Burchett replies. “That's where they want to be, because just look at the missile defense system, who's given money. I mean, the war machine, they're getting fat. Whatever this has, if they're just using it to circumvent Congress, oversight – whatever they're doing with it, it's a real thing, I think.”
Trust or not, Burchett tells me, while he hasn’t yet, he plans to ask for a meeting with Schumer in the New Year.
“I'm fixin to,” Burchett says. “But I'm the 435th most powerful member of Congress. I'd probably meet with his junior staffer.”
We also asked Burchett about Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick resigning as head of AARO — “I think it's a positive” — and we confirmed that the UAP Caucus has been told they get to read the initial classified report UFO whistleblower David Grusch’s submitted to the Inspector General — “Yeah. Allegedly.”
In our interview, Burchett mentions the wrong date for their next briefing in a SCIF (sensitive compartmented information facility).
Ask a Pol has confirmed the next classified briefing is currently scheduled to take place Friday, Jan. 12, 2024.
Matt Laslo’s a veteran congressional correspondent, new media prof. & founder of Ask a Pol — a new, people-powered press corps, asking your questions at the Capitol. @Ask_a_Pol (or @askpols).
Ask a Pol is a new, people-powered press corps, asking your lawmakers your questions at your US Capitol. Follow us on the socials @Ask_a_Pol (or @askpols on Insta).
VIPS: Subscriber-Only Content
Below find a rough transcript of Ask a Pol’s UAP interview with Rep. Tim Burchett, slightly edited for clarity.
Programming Note: The free version of Burchett is includes another 10 or so mins of Burchett fielding questions from the press corps on Trump, government spending, the NDAA, Taylor Swift, etc.
Tim Burchett: “Hey baby, what’s up?”
Matt Laslo: “So it seems like y'all just got screwed on the NDAA?”
TB: “Oh, we got it huge, man. The uniparty won once again, but I knew they would.”
ML: “What do you – like, how do you look at this year in review in regards to UAPs?”
TB: “Exactly what I expected.”
ML: “Yeah?”
TB: “Yeah. We got, the public got ripped off. We got screwed, but I knew we would.”
ML: “But you did get that public hearing with Grusch?”
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