Claim · E-026
Luis Elizondo: Argues that a secret program for the retrieval of non-human craft has existed for decades, called the “Legacy Program,” covered by about eighty years of official denials, and that the Air Force took part in the cover-up. In the documentary The Age of Disclosure, of which he is narrator and executive producer, the same thesis is presented as a program active for over 80 years.
Luis Elizondo · Aug 20, 2024 · Book “Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs” (HarperCollins, August 20, 2024); later narration of the documentary “The Age of Disclosure” (SXSW March 9, 2025, Prime Video November 21, 2025) (Book)
Hearsay Legacy program and recoveries
Unverifiable
It is based on others' accounts and on classified information without public evidence, and AARO states that it has found no corroboration; the claims made under oath on the same subject are assessed separately (E-041).
- In support
- Similar claims, without public evidence, are made by David Grusch (2023 hearing, based on hearsay), Hal Puthoff and Eric Davis in the documentary, and Jay Stratton (2025–2026), who says he saw non-human craft and beings with his own eyes. Stratton is an executive producer, with Elizondo, of the documentary and in October 2026 published the book “Out of the Shadows,” from which a television series is in development (The Debrief, September 24, 2026): his testimony therefore has a link to the production of the film.
- Against or denials
- AARO (March 2024) states that it has no evidence for the reverse engineering narrative and attributes these claims to a small group of people linked to AAWSAP/AATIP; the AARO FY2025 report (July 2026) again rejects the claims about possession of recovered material; Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who appears in the film, said he has no way to independently verify the participants' claims; critics (27% on Rotten Tomatoes) stressed the absence of evidence.
Sources
- Justin Snead – what Elizondo's book adds to the historical reconstruction (analysis)
- Wikipedia – “The Age of Disclosure” (cross-reference) (other)
- Justin Snead – summary of the 2024 AARO historical report, Vol. 1 (analysis)
- The Black Vault – AARO releases the FY2025 report, July 21, 2026 (analysis)
- The Debrief, la storia di Jay Stratton diventa una serie televisiva (24/9/2026) (press, pro-disclosure)
- Skeptic (Michael Shermer), review of “The Age of Disclosure” (November 23, 2025), with the caption on the executive producers (analysis, skeptical)
On this site
People 1
Claims 5
- Luis Elizondo: Answers “yes” under oath to the question of whether the government has conducted secret programs to retrieve… Disputed
- Luis Elizondo: Asked whether there had been talk of possessing bodies, he answers “yes” under oath, but specifies that he… Unverifiable
- Luis Elizondo: According to what Ross Coulthart reported, he says he never claimed to have been part of the “legacy… Unverifiable
- Luis Elizondo: Calls the first volume of AARO's historical report intentionally dishonest, inaccurate and dangerously… Unverifiable
- Luis Elizondo: According to the Wall Street Journal, he told AARO that he had once possessed documents proving the… Contradicted
Inconsistencies 1
Documents 1
- AARO's Consolidated Annual Report on UAP for Fiscal Year 2025 Original available
Where the claims come from 1
- A “Legacy Program” exists, that is, a set of “legacy” programs that for about eighty years has been…
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