Who?
Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) — Member, Armed Services & Intelligence Committees
LISTEN: Laslo & Rounds
Ask a Pol asks:
In the new Age of Disclosure documentary, you talk about “eminent domain,” which is included in your UAP Disclosure Act with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. Why are military contractors exempt from FOIA [Freedom of Information Act], because they’re so woven into the contemporary Pentagon?
Key Rounds:
“There is a general discussion about the fact that some of the stuff that they have is proprietary in nature, and we turn around and we buy their services,” Sen. Mike Rounds exclusively tells Ask a Pol UAP. “So if they’ve got something that is proprietary in nature, they’re not necessarily just simply going to give it up to the US government. They’re going to expect us to buy it from them.
“We buy their products, but not necessarily the patents that created it in the first place. We’re changing a lot of that right now, by the way.”
But it seems like the Pentagon can hide stuff from Congress by having a contractor handle it?
“That’s been a discussion for some time,” Rounds says. “But no resolution.”
“We’re changing a lot of that right now.”
Any plan for your UAP Disclosure Act this year?
“I’ll talk with other folks and see where they’re at,” Rounds tells us. “What I’d really like to be able to do would be to have a more permanent solution than what we’ve got today to make it clear that, look, as time goes along and more of the issues might be more available for public review, there’ll be a place so that it could be accurately held and accurately displayed in the future.
“I just don’t want to do anything that’s going to impact our ability to keep our really sensitive programs secret — or keep them protected.”
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Caught our ear:
“We’re changing a lot of that right now…”
Below find a rough transcript of Ask a Pol’s exclusive interview with Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD), slightly edited for clarity.
TRANSCRIPT: Sen. Mike Rounds (2-5-2026)
SCENE: Sen. Mike Rounds and aides are followed by a large scrum of reporters as they make their way through the basement of the US Capitol. Ask a Pol’s Matt Laslo stands in back of the Senator.
When the underground tram that ferries Senators to their offices across the street arrives, Laslo enters the closest car. A few seconds later, he’s joined by the Senator and his team.
Matt Laslo: “I saw you in a documentary.”
The tram door shuts.
Sen. Mike Rounds: “I haven’t seen it yet, so you’re ahead of me on it!”
Laslo: “That Age of Disclosure one?”
Rounds: “Yeah.”
Laslo: “Well, now — your comments in there about eminent domain…?”
Rounds: “Eminent domain?”
Laslo: “…in your UAP Disclosure Act with Schumer…?”
Rounds: “Eminent domain?”
Laslo: “You have, in that UAP Disclosure Act, there’s a provision dealing with eminent domain — I think it’s aimed at contractors and Congress not…”
The Senator looks either confused or is signaling he’s not gonna expound…so Laslo adapts.
Laslo: “I’ll ask you a separate question: Why are military contractors exempt from FOIA because they’re so woven into the contemporary Pentagon?”
Rounds: “You know, I think there is a general discussion about the fact that some of the stuff that they have is proprietary in nature and we turn around and we buy their services. So if they’ve got something that is proprietary in nature, they’re not necessarily just simply going to give it up to the US government, they’re going to expect us to buy it from them.”
Laslo: “Yeah?”
Rounds: “We buy their products, but not necessarily the patents that created it in the first place. We’re changing a lot of that right now, by the way.”
Laslo: “But it seems like the Pentagon can hide stuff from Congress by having a contractor handle it?”
Rounds: “I think that’s been a discussion for some time.”
Laslo: “Yeah? But no resolution?”
Rounds: “But no resolution.”
Laslo: “Are you — after [last] year’s NDAA [National Defense Authorization Act], plans to reintroduce your UAPDA with Schumer?”
Rounds: “I’ll talk with other folks and see, you know, where they’re at. What I’d really like to be able to do would be to have a more permanent solution than what we’ve got today to make it clear that, look, as time goes along and more of the issues might be more available for public review…”
Laslo: “Yeah?”
Rounds: “…but there’ll be a place so that it could be accurately held and accurately displayed in the future.”
Laslo: “Yeah?”
Rounds: “I just don’t want to do anything that’s going to impact our ability to keep our really sensitive programs secret — or keep them protected.”
Laslo: “Like, in classified settings, are you now sufficiently convinced that, like, the Pentagon’s good — that they’ve handled this? Specifically, the incursions over military bases and nuclear sites?”
Rounds: “No.”
Laslo: “No?”
Rounds: “No. You mean in terms of, do they have a way to protect against the incursions?”
Laslo: “Yeah or even…”
Rounds: “We’re getting there. We’re working really hard at it. But I don’t think we should ever be satisfied that they’ve got their work done.”
Laslo: “But like two, three years out from the Langley [AFB] incursion — where Langley was shut down for 17 days…”
Rounds: “We would be better today than what we were then.”
Laslo: “But [Senate intel Vice-chair Mark] Warner and [Sen. Tim] Kaine still haven’t gotten answers from the Pentagon on who the hell it was. And they say that’s because the Pentagon — they’re pretty convinced — the Pentagon has no idea who it was that shut down Langley for 17 days.”
Rounds: “I can’t — I won’t comment on that.”
Laslo: “Yeah? You won’t?”
Rounds: “I can just tell you that, I think we’re in better shape today than what we were three years ago.”
Laslo: “Just trust you — you’re the government?”
Rounds: “Nope, nope.”
Laslo laughs.
Rounds: “Just my belief is I think we’re better off, but we are not perfect.”
Laslo: “Yeah? Yeah.”
Rounds: “See ya.”
Rounds and aides enter elevator.
Laslo: “I’ll look for you after you watch that doc.”
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