Who?
Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) — Armed Services & Intelligence Committees*
*one of only a handful — eight in this new 119th Congress, by our late night count — of US senators on both powerful committees
LISTEN: Laslo & Rounds
Ask a Pol asks:
Did you catch that Wall Street Journal Roswell piece?
Key Rounds:
“Which one?” Rounds asks Ask a Pol.
This past weekend — they had a big deep dive on, kinda, Roswell, but about UAPs, UFOs.
“No,” Rounds says.
Wall Street Journal article (unpaywalled from MSN):
Is it UAPDA season on Capitol Hill?
So now we’re getting into NDAA — National Defense Authorization Act — season, are we going to see your and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s UAPDA — Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Disclosure Act — again this year?
“I'm open to it. Look, I just think we'd be better off if we made sure that individuals that may have information regarding, you know, their own knowledge of things that were simply unexplainable,” Rounds says.
“If they felt that there was a place where they could go to make the reports, but also for individuals who may have — because of their official capacity — information that could help us explain some of these phenomenon, that they knew that there was a place where they were expected to make that report to a central filing location.”
Even if this Wall Street Journal article is verified, if anything, UAPDA would help set the record straight?
“I think so,” Rounds says.
ICYMI — UAP Caucus isn’t buyin’ what WSJ & AARO sellin’
Caught our ear:
“Using cover stories — and I think even Project Blue Book indicated that some of those reports out there may have very well been to cover the work that we were doing on stealth [tech] and some other projects as well,” Rounds tells Ask a Pol.
Below find a rough transcript of Ask a Pol’s exclusive interview with Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD), slightly edited for clarity.
NEW: Ask a Pol’s now on Instagram, TikTok & YouTube!
Tiktok failed to load.Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser
TRANSCRIPT: Sen. Mike Rounds (6-10-25)
Scene: Ask a Pol’s Matt Laslo chats up Sen. Mike Rounds as he makes his way back to his office walking alongside the Senate’s underground trams after voting on the Senate floor.
Matt Laslo: “Hey!”
Mike Rounds: “Hey, how you doing?”
ML: “Living the dream.”
MR: “What would you be working on today?”
ML: “Did you catch that Wall Street Journal piece?”
MR: “Which one?”
ML: “This weekend — they had a big deep dive on, kinda Roswell, but about UAPs, UFOs.”
MR: “No.”
ML: “Oh you got to check it out. Your office can give it to you.”
Laslo makes eye contact with Rounds’ aide.
MR: “No, I didn’t — no.”
ML: “Well yeah, they kind of claim — and I think it’s Kirkpatrick from AARO [All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office], is their main source, but they say they have at least a dozen, maybe two dozen others…”*
*WSJ says they interview two dozen sources for their story.
MR: “Whose making that statement? The Wall Street [Journal]?”
ML: “So it’s [fmr. AARO Director Sean] Kirkpatrick, but their whole report claims that Roswell itself was kind of like a deepfake planted by the Air Force over the years.”
ICYMI: Secretary of State Marco Rubio sees Sean Kirkpatrick as a failure
MR: “Really?”
ML: “Because to protect their stealth programs.”
MR: “Well, I will tell you that our Intel and our Armed Services are very good at finding cover stories.”
ML: “Yeah?”
MR: “And using cover stories — and I think even Project Blue Book…”
SUBSCRIBER-ONLY CONTENT*
ML: “Yeah?”
MR: “…indicated that some of those reports out there, may have very well been to cover the work that we were doing on stealth and some other projects as well.”
ML: “And with you — and they say I guess…”
MR: “I would not discount that at all.”
ML: “So now they say there’s like a decades long problem of a lot of people within the Air Force, in the armed services, repeating these lies because they were all told never speak of this, and that they put the fear of God in them they say.”
MR: “Well, I've talked to a lot of people that don't want to go public because of the stigma that comes with, you know, the idea that if they talk about something which is, you know, which doesn't have a good explanation to it, that they're basically seen as not being all there.”
ML: “Yeah?”
MR: “And that exists today.”
ML: “Have you — when was the last time you met with the new head of AARO? Do you think…?”
MR: “Oh man, it's been a while. It’s been a couple months.”
ML: “Yeah? Do you — ‘cause they’re getting ready to release a new report this year.”
MR: “Oh, okay.”
ML: “And I guess some of this might come out — some of this legacy stuff.”
MR: “It wouldn’t surprise me.”
ML: “So now we’re getting into NDAA [National Defense Authorization Act] season.”
MR: “Yeah.”
Rounds laughs.
ML: “Are we going to see UAPDA [Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Disclosure Act]?”
MR: “I'm open to it. Look, I just think we'd be better off if we made sure that individuals that may have information regarding, you know, their own knowledge of things that were simply unexplainable.”
ML: “Uh-huh?”
MR: “If they felt that there was a place where they could go to make the reports, but also for individuals who may have — because of their official capacity — information that could help us explain some of these phenomenon, that they knew that there was a place where they were expected to make that report to…”
ML: “Yeah?”
MR: “…a central filing location.”
ML: “It’s like, even if this Wall Street Journal report is verified, if anything, UAPDA would help set the record…”
MR: “I think so.”
ML: “…straight further?”
MR: “Yeah, I think so. I mean, look, bottom line is, you know, we were in a Cold War arms race like crazy…”
ML: “Yeah?”
MR: “…and we didn't know exactly how much the other guys had developed. We knew that they had the hydrogen bomb, which — we knew that they had weapon systems.”
ML: “Yeah?”
MR: “We were going to stay ahead of them no matter what, and we were concerned about what their capabilities were. So, you know, anything that we could do that would give us an edge was something that our nation was trying to do then, just as we are now.”
ML: “Yeah?”
ICYMI — Pentagon still clueless on what shut down Langley
ML: “Do you think we have a good handle on these intrusions over bases, Langley, Luk Air Force Base , etc., Jersey?”
MR: “With regard to the drones?”*
*’drones’ = UAPs on Capitol Hill
ML: “Well…”
MR: “Yeah, yeah I do.”
ML: “Really?”
MR: “Yeah.”
ML: “Because last time I talked to [Sens. Mark] Warner (D-VA) and [Tim] Kaine (D-VA), they were really pissed at the Pentagon, because they said, a year after Langley, they still had no idea where they came from — what they were.”
MR: “Umm — I think it's fair to say that they were not attributing where they were coming from, but I think there's a high probability that they know where they were coming from now, I think.”
ML: “Do we know how to stop them now?”
MR: “We're developing the anti-drone systems. There's a number of them that are usable. Some of them are — you can use in the United States because they're not kinetic in nature.”
ML: “Yeah?”
MR: “So you don't have a arms, you know, release of an explosive device or anything…”
ML: “Yeah?”
MR: “…and, you know, we've come a long way in terms of our electronic warfare capabilities as well. So yeah, if we know that something's gonna go on, or if we have one deployed in a location, we can be pretty effective against them.”
ML: “But it seems like…”
MR: “I mean, we’ve been using them…”
ML: “…we’re putting a lot more money in.”
MR: “…we’ve been using them in the Middle East, so, you know.”
ML: “Effectively?”
MR: “Yeah.”
ML: “Well because some people wanted those here on US soil and there's the debate over — like what Kaine brought it up last year, rules of engagement in suburban areas.”
MR: “That’s the deal, that’s the reason why you want something which is non-kinetic in nature.”
ML: “Yeah?”
MR: “And they have the authorities right now to protect the bases and those sensitive properties. They have that capability now. They have the authorization now.”
ML: “And have you heard that they recovered one at Langley? That one crashed?”
MR: “What a drone?”
ML: “One of those, yeah.”
MR: “It's entirely — I don't remember hearing about it, but…”
ML: “Yeah?”
MR: “…it wouldn’t surprise me any. I mean, it’s drones — a lot of these are commercial grade drones and…”
ML: “Yeah?”
MR: “Yeah, they can be — they can crash, and they can be taken down fairly easily.”
ML: “And it seems like technology must have improved, because…?”
Laslo nervously laughs.
MR: “It’s had to improve because of the nature of war.”
ML: “Yeah? Interesting.”
MR: “Drones changed the nature of war.”
ML: “Right?”
MR: “See you later.”
ML: “Have a good one.”
Discussion about this episode
Share this post
I still worry that the UAPDA’s declass committee (who all require existing security clearances) can be gamed to continue any existing coverups.
Not to split hairs here, Matt, but the WSJ piece focused on Area 51 as opposed to Roswell. The Roswell incident is a separate piece of UFO history, which may be related in 'spirit' but occurred 8 years prior to the establishment of Area 51.
Thanks! 🙏 I literally had question marks in my notes — Roswell? 51? — cause I knew I had one of em wrong!!!
🙏 keep keepin me honest and informed! 🙏