Reality Check with Ross Coulthart
Episode overview

White House authorized secret UFO 'retrieval' program, Coulthart says | Reality Check

Reality Check with Ross Coulthart · 30 August 2026 · 40m · 3 Egleze moments
White House authorized secret UFO 'retrieval' program, Coulthart says | Reality Check ▶

What happened in this episode?

Ross Coulthart fields audience questions on NewsNation’s Reality Check, ranging from US UAP secrecy claims to reported aerial incursions over Australian military bases. He welcomes billionaire Robert Bigelow’s return to public commentary and suggests the period ahead of US midterm elections could bring increased “exposure” in the UAP space.

On US government activity, Coulthart alleges a covert “luring and retrieval” operation exists involving the White House, ODNI and the Defense Department, claiming it was authorised “directly by the president” and remains active. He separately accuses the Pentagon’s AARO of misleading the public, saying he knows the identities of AARO representatives who allegedly observed retrieval activity at White Sands; he provides no documentation in the episode.

Coulthart discusses claims about “non-human intelligences” and revisits longstanding allegations of secret agreements, referencing David Grusch’s prior remarks and disputed Majestic 12 material. He rejects the idea that scientist Avi Loeb is part of a disinformation effort, while claiming Loeb’s advisory group is frustrated by limited access to classified data.

Shifting to Australia, Coulthart describes local reports of silent, orb-like objects near RAAF Base Williamtown and says official figures show “drone or unidentified” incursions at ADF bases rising from 21 (FY23) to 60 (2024) and 147 (last year). He also recounts an anecdote from Jacques Vallée’s journals about Donald Rumsfeld allegedly telling astronomer J. Allen Hynek he lacked a “need to know” about a secret UFO study, and answers a question about why NASA has not released continuous full-orbit Moon video, citing technical and programme choices.

What are the key points?

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Named speakers identified in Egleze's source-linked moments from this episode.

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Programme
Reality Check with Ross Coulthart
Published
30 August 2026
Duration
40m
Original episode
Open the original source ↗

Egleze verifies the speaker, source and timestamp for each linked moment. Unless a moment is explicitly marked independently verified, statements remain attributed claims by the named speaker rather than established facts.

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3 moments from this episode

Source-linked · editorially selected
01
UFO & Paranormal

Ross Coulthart alleges presidentially authorised covert UAP luring and retrieval programme

Ross Coulthart · at 11:03 · Attributed speaker claim
The big issue is um who in the Pentagon knows the full details of what we revealed a few weeks ago. The uh USD uh ODNI defense White House collaboration in a in a covert luring and retrieval program. Um that's been authorized directly by the president um at the very highest levels of his intelligence committee in the White House.

Ross Coulthart alleges on NewsNation’s Reality Check Q&A that a covert Pentagon–White House “luring and retrieval” effort has been authorised directly by the president. He says he has received recent corroboration, but offers no documentation on air.

02
UFO & Paranormal

Ross Coulthart alleges AARO staff witnessed UAP “luring” and retrieval at White Sands

Ross Coulthart · at 12:39 · Attributed speaker claim
What is a problem is the enduring lie that has been told by the Pentagon's UAP Investigation Office, AARO. And I don't know how they can sit comfortably at night with themselves when I know that AARO representatives, in fact, I I even know their names, the people that have been standing on the sand in White Sands watching these luring operations and retrieval operations.

Ross Coulthart alleges the Pentagon’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) has misled the public about what it knows regarding UAPs. He claims AARO representatives were present at White Sands during alleged “luring” and retrieval operations, but he does not name them or provide evidence in the segment.

03
UFO & Paranormal

Coulthart says ADF reports show incursions rose to 147 last year

Ross Coulthart · at 26:34 · Attributed speaker claim
All they're willing to report from the Department of Defense, and I've got the figures in front of me. In the financial year ended June '23, they had 21 incursions of drone or unidentified aerial objects incursions at ADF bases. Went up to 60 in 2024. And in last year, 147.

Ross Coulthart says Australian Defence figures show 21 reported “drone or unidentified aerial object” incursions at ADF bases in the year ending June 2023, rising to 60 in 2024 and 147 last year. He argues “drone” is sometimes used as a default explanation even when witnesses describe silent, glowing objects.