Who?
Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT) — Ranking Democrat, House Intelligence Committee
LISTEN: Laslo & Himes
Ask a Pol asks:
Have you heard about Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) hoping to bring AARO — aka All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office — in for a public hearing?
Key Himes:
“Senators need to get briefed and then move on,” Rep. Jim Himes exclusively tells Ask a Pol. “Just way too much energy, and there is no there there. So, before senators start talking about it, they need to get briefed.”
NEWS:
“So I got an extensive briefing three weeks — or four weeks ago by [AARO],” Himes told us. “And they looked at every single compartmented program — and yeah, there was a program here or there that was set up in the event that we found something, but there’s just nothing there.”
Caught our ear:
“And I mean it just pains me to say, because there’s thousands of people out there who wake up in the morning desperate for there to be evidence of alien life, but there’s none,” Himes says. “And they [AARO] looked at every single compartmented program — and yeah there was a program here or there that was set up in the event that we found something, but there’s just nothing there.”
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Some people, like Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) — who’s Intel and Armed Services, same with Gillibrand — they both aren’t convinced that Congress knows every SAP or Special Access Program.
“Well they need to get briefed by AARO,” Himes contends. “AARO will take them through every single compartmented program.”
So you’re convinced that AARO has full access to everything in the Pentagon?
ICYMI — Ask a Pol’s exclusive w/ Gillibrand
“Yes,” Himes says.
But also in Department of Energy, etc?
“Yes, yes.”
Yeah?
“Yes.”
Interesting.
“Now, are there two or three or four or five phenomenon that we don’t have the science around that we don’t — or some sighting or whatever — no, it’s not perfection,” Himes tells Ask a Pol. “But, you know, again, I wish we had aliens, but we don’t.”
Below find a rough transcript of Ask a Pol’s exclusive interview with Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT), slightly edited for clarity.
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(rough*) TRANSCRIPT: Rep. Jim Himes
*debate night, so rushed. Please triple check before quoting this transcript. Apologies!
SCENE: Ask a Pol’s Matt Laslo runs into a mesmerized Rep. Jim Himes in a tunnel connecting the US Capitol to the House Office Buildings across the street. New art work from a high school student in every congressional district was just hung in the space. When Laslo initially approaches Himes, the congressman is studying some of the new art.
Matt Laslo: “What’s your favorite one so far, sir?”
Jim Himes: “Well of course it’s the one from the 4th District of Connecticut.”
ML: “You’re paid to say that.”
Both laugh.
JH: “I kinda am, aren’t I? I kinda am. No, actually I’m seeing them for the first time.”
ML: “Well, they’ve gotten a lot better over the years.”
JH: “Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know it’s interesting to me, I’ll tell you what I’m observing is that it’s interesting how unpolitical they are, right? You know I figured there’d be a little more politics than usual, but I don’t see politics, you know?”
ML: “They weed that out. Remember during Black Lives Matter how there was a protest…?”
JH: “…I was just thinking about the painting of like a police officer with a face of a pig. That was ugly.”
ML: “You, so how — NDAA [National Defense Authorization Act] this year doesn’t seem like there’s much tension, or are we gonna see that?”
JH: “Well, you know, the sad thing is we’ve got three [appropriations] bills this week and because they have — every one of those bills, they’re culture war fever dreams, we’re just going to vote no. Right?”
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ML: “Yeah?”
JH: “So I mean it’s almost — it’s too bad, right? (inaudible)…”
ML: “So I guess the NDAA then they did put all that social policy in?”
JH: “Yeah you had a lot of Democrats who were yesses and then after the amendment process there wasn’t a single Democrat who was a yes.”
ML: “Cause, you know, I’m still fishing around to find out what happened to [Sen. Chuck] Shumer’s UAP amendment last year in the NDAA. And I haven’t found out…”
JH: “So I got an extensive brief three weeks — or four weeks ago — by whatever the hell. What’s the unit that, you know…?”
ML: “AARO?”
JH: “AARO?”
ML: “AARO.”
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JH: “And I mean it just pains me to say, because there’s thousands of people out there who wake up in the morning desperate for there to be evidence of alien life, but there’s none.”
ML: “Yeah?”
JH: “And they looked at every single compartmented program — and yeah there was a program here or there that was set up in the event that we found something, but there’s just nothing there.”
ML: “Huh?”
JH: “I don’t talk about it because I’ll, you know — nine out of ten people don’t care and one out of ten people would light themselves on fire if I — if they see that.”
ML: “Yeah, fair.”
Both laugh.
ML: “Well cause Sen. Gillibrand wants to bring in AARO, either in July or September, for a public hearing to kind of explain some of their thinking and metrics. But she also wants to focus on some of the stuff they haven’t been able to ID…”
JH: “Senators need to get briefed and then move on.”
ML: “Yeah?”
JH: “Just way too much energy, and there is no there there.”
ML: “Interesting.”
JH: “So, before senators start talking about it, they need to get briefed.”
ML: “Well have you — because some people like Sen. Rounds, who’s Intel and Armed Services, same with Gillibrand, they both aren’t convinced that Congress knows every SAP or Special Access Program.”
JH: “Well they need to get briefed by AARO, AARO will take them through every single compartmented program.”
ML: “So you’re convinced that AARO has full access to everything in the Pentagon?”
JH: “Yes.”
ML: “But also in Department of Energy, etc?”
JH: “Yes, yes.”
ML: “Yeah?”
JH: “Yes.”
ML: “Interesting.”
JH: “Now, are there two or three or four or five phenomenon that we don’t have the science around that we don’t — or some sighting or whatever — no, it’s not perfection. But, you know, again, I wish we had aliens but we don’t.”
ML: “Yeah? What do you think, cause Gillibrand also in the NDAA is fighting for more censors above military installations and nuclear facilities which some say is drone incursions. Are you convinced that the Air Force, etc., has American skies protected? That we — I mean, cause last year, remember the balloon invaded US airspace.”
JH: “So again, hopefully we’re off the UAP thing, but a balloon wandered over our airspace. Why? Because we had the best censors in the world looking for really fast moving things coming from the north. We didn’t have censors looking for slow moving things coming from the west. Or — yeah, the west. So yeah there’s work to do.”
ML: “Yeah.”
JH: “Yeah.”
ML: “Preciate ya.”
JH: “Okay.”
ML: “Have a good one.”
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