McClellan Subcommittee Statement Concerning Air Force Handling of UFO Reports

This collection of memoranda documents the interactions between the United States Air Force and the Senate Committee on Investigating Government Operations, commonly referred to as the McClellan Subcommittee, in early 1958. The primary impetus for these discussions was pressure from Major Donald Keyhoe of the National Investigation Committee on Aerial Phenomena, who had been lobbying the subcommittee to hold open hearings regarding the existence of unidentified flying objects and allegations that the Air Force was withholding information. In response, an informal meeting was held on 31 January 1958 at the Air Force offices, attended by representatives from the Air Force, the FBI, and the subcommittee. During this meeting, Air Force officials, including Mr. William Weitzen and Major Lawrence J. Tacker, assured the subcommittee investigators that the Air Force was conducting proper investigations and was not withholding information. The investigators subsequently indicated that there was no need for formal hearings. Following these discussions, the Air Force's Office of Information Services sought to have the subcommittee issue a formal statement certifying that the Air Force was handling the matter correctly and possessed a valid public information plan. However, in a memorandum dated 3 March 1959, Major General Joe W. Kelly reported that the subcommittee was unwilling to issue such a statement. The committee felt that further investment of time and money into the subject was not worthwhile, but they also did not want to be publicly committed to this position, fearing that they might be 'shackled' by a press release if the situation regarding UFOs were to change in the future.