Pentagon Issues Legal Waiver Protecting UAP Whistleblowers Who Disclose to Trump's PURSUE Project

On September 14, 2026, the Department of Defense announced a formal legal waiver establishing what it described as an "authorized pipeline for systematic review, security evaluation, and potential declassification of historical and ongoing UAP data in furtherance of national mission objectives." The announcement was published via a Pentagon press release and reported by DefenseScoop senior reporter Brandi Vincent.

The waiver is directed at a broad class of individuals: past and present civilian personnel, active and former service members, and contractors who hold or held access to UAP-related national defense information. These individuals are directed to disclose what they know "directly to official PURSUE representatives." Pentagon spokespersons did not identify who those PURSUE representatives are and did not respond to DefenseScoop's questions about the waiver on the day of the announcement.

The policy specifically supersedes civil and administrative enforcement provisions within NDAs and Special Access Program Indoctrination Agreements (SAPIAs) executed in the United States. According to the Pentagon press release, "Historically, individuals with direct knowledge of UAP-related programs cited concerns regarding potential legal liability, loss of clearances, or administrative prosecution stemming from standard NDAs and SAP indoctrination terms. This waiver removes those barriers by explicitly authorizing covered disclosures to PURSUE representatives without triggering breach-of-agreement penalties or standard NDA violations."

Jordan Flowers, Executive Director of the Disclosure Foundation — a nonpartisan nonprofit that convenes experts, briefs lawmakers, and supports UAP whistleblowers — commented on the announcement. "Today's action establishes an authorized, legally protected pathway for those individuals to provide what they know to designated investigators. Removing those barriers matters," Flowers said. "This is a meaningful step toward establishing the facts and toward the transparency and accountability the American public has been asking for." Flowers also noted that existing binding law already protects individuals who share UAP information with AARO and now PURSUE against lawsuit, prosecution, and retaliation regardless of an NDA or other restraint, and that the Disclosure Foundation continues to represent individuals seeking to submit UAP information lawfully to Congress.

The waiver builds on a sequence of institutional actions dating to 2022, when the Biden administration established the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) under congressional mandate. AARO's caseload has since exceeded 2,000 reported UAP incidents. President Trump's PURSUE initiative, unveiled earlier in 2026, expanded the disclosure framework across all federal agencies and military branches. The September 14 waiver represents the most direct legal intervention to date to encourage whistleblower participation in that framework.