A newly released Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) response from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) provides limited insight into internal communications involving unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), despite a broad request targeting multiple keywords tied to the subject.

The request, submitted on May 23, 2024, sought all emails to, from, or copied to Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm containing terms such as “UAP,” “UFO,” “AARO,” and “Grusch,” among others. It also explicitly requested any associated attachments and directed the agency to search both classified and unclassified systems.

According to the DOE’s final response, the search, which was conducted by the Office of the Secretary, identified just two responsive documents. Both were released in part, with significant portions withheld under multiple FOIA exemptions.

During the course of processing, the scope of the request was amended to exclude news bulletins and later limited the search specifically to emails referencing “Luis” Elizondo vs. just “Elizondo”. This narrowing likely contributed to the relatively small number of responsive records, but omitted a lengthy review time of either already publicly available material, or responsive records that include name irrelevant to the topic requested.

The two responsive documents consist of internal DOE emails dated May 22–23, 2024, sent by a staff member to Secretary Granholm in preparation for an oversight hearing.

Both emails reference attached materials that include “UFO and UPA (sic) talking points,” indicating that UAP-related subject matter was included as part of briefing materials prepared for congressional engagement.

One attachment, partially visible in the release, specifically notes that Rep. Tim Burchett, and possibly Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, may raise issues related to “unidentified anomalous phenomena, aka UAPs or UFOs.”

The same document references the July 2023 House Oversight Committee hearing on UAPs and reiterates the Department of Defense’s public position that it has found no verifiable evidence supporting claims of recovered extraterrestrial materials or reverse-engineering programs.

While the presence of UAP-related briefing material is confirmed, the majority of substantive content is withheld which totals more than half the page. The content or context of the information withheld is unknown.

The DOE relied heavily on Exemption (b)(5), which protects “pre-decisional” and “deliberative” communications within agencies. The agency stated that the withheld material consists of internal discussions and recommendations that are part of its decision-making process, and that release “would compromise the deliberative process.”

Despite the original request spanning multiple UAP-related keywords and covering more than three years of potential correspondence, the resulting production consists solely of two emails tied to a single event: preparation for a May 2024 oversight hearing.

No standalone discussions, investigative material, or substantive internal analysis related to UAP topics were released. Additionally, while attachments were included, much of their content remains withheld or unrelated to UAP, focusing instead on energy policy topics such as the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

The release ultimately confirms that UAP-related references did exist within DOE briefing materials at the Secretary level, but provides little additional detail due to the extensive application of FOIA exemptions.

The Black Vault has filed an appeal to argue the extensive (b)(5) redactions. Those results will be posted, when available.

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Document Archive

HQ-2024-01974-F Release Package [14 Pages, 1.3MB]

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