Document · D-011
Elizondo's two resignation letters (October 2017)
Luis D. Elizondo – resignation letter of October 3, 2017, and memorandum «Letter of Resignation & Deferred Retirement» (FOIA 18-F-0324)
Luis Elizondo – OUSD(I), Department of Defense · Oct 3, 2017 · USA · Letter
Original available
PDF read: it is the official FOIA response with the two letters, Reid's memorandum and an info memo of his to the Secretary of Defense; the second letter is a poor-quality scan. The DoD disputes the provenance of the second letter, not the authenticity of the released copy.
- What it contains
- The first letter, dated October 3, 2017, announces in a few lines the resignation as director of the National Programs Special Management Staff effective October 4 and requests deferred retirement, giving no reasons. The second, set up as a memorandum for the record but addressed to “Mr. Secretary,” explains the resignation by internal opposition to research on anomalous aerospace threats, despite “overwhelming evidence at both the unclassified and classified levels,” and speaks of a correlation with nuclear and military capabilities. It closes with three questions: who else is aware of it, what capabilities it has, and why more effort is not devoted to the subject.
- What it shows and what it does not
- It documents the two versions of the resignation: a letter without reasons delivered in person and a memorandum that links the resignation to UAP. According to Garry Reid's info memo contained in the same FOIA response, the second text was delivered by another person after Elizondo's departure, was inconsistent with the first and was not forwarded to the Secretary. The letters prove neither the existence of the “overwhelming” evidence nor a direct assignment from the Secretary of Defense.
- How it came to light
- Released by the DoD's FOIA office to The Black Vault through request 18-F-0324 (filed on December 17, 2017, final response of August 17, 2022); the second letter also appears, photographed, in the emails of the Office of Inspector General (DODIG-2022-000313).
- The document
- Open the document (documents2.theblackvault.com)
Sources
- DoD OIG, FOIA response DODIG-2022-000313 (June 28, 2022), with the photo of the resignation memorandum (primary source)
- The Black Vault – Elizondo's resignation (timeline page) (analysis)
On this site
People 2
Claims 3
- Luis Elizondo: In the resignation letter he claims that there is overwhelming evidence, classified and unclassified, of… Unverifiable
- Luis Elizondo: Claims to have left the Pentagon in protest against internal opposition and the lack of resources, and to… Disputed
- Luis Elizondo: Claims under oath that in his last assignment he was Director of the National Programs Special Management… Partly verified
Inconsistencies 3
- Luis Elizondo: Title in AATIP: “director” or no formal role?
- Luis Elizondo: Why he resigned
- Luis Elizondo: The approach to Mattis: aerospace threats or transfer of material?
Timeline 1
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UAPgrade's entries are compiled with artificial intelligence (three verifiers with opposing roles) and checked against the sources listed above: how we work. Have a document that changes this entry? Bring it to the Investigations Unit.