January 8, 1999: Disclosure '99 - Stephen Bassett & Peter Davenport
Dr. Steven M. Greer joins to announce his Witness Archive Project, an effort to record broadcast-quality testimony from nearly 200 military witnesses before they pass away. Richard C. Hoagland discusses anomalous weather radar signatures he believes reveal a covert defense system, and teases a forthcoming Fox television special linking Cydonia on Mars to a chamber beneath the Sphinx in Egypt. Attorney Peter Gersten of Citizens Against UFO Secrecy reflects on lessons learned from the Robert Stevens hoax.
Throughout the evening, the guests debate whether disclosure can come through political channels or requires a civilian-led media effort to overwhelm government secrecy. Bassett suggests President Clinton, seeking a post-impeachment legacy, could become the ideal disclosure president.
Key Moments
Diamond-shaped craft over Chico, California: Peter Davenport of the National UFO Reporting Center plays a fresh witness recording. A pilot in the Chico area describes a horrendous noise that shook the house, runs outside, and sees an elongated diamond-shaped black craft larger than a full moon, ringed with lights and a starburst, heading west toward the Pacific with a deep humming roar for three minutes.
Defining disclosure: Stephen Bassett, founder of Paradigm Research Group and the only registered UFO lobbyist in Washington, D.C., gives an unambiguous definition of disclosure: formal acknowledgement by the U.S. government of an alien presence. He frames the rolling 1997-98-99 petition for open congressional hearings as the political vehicle to force that admission.