House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman James Comer (R-KY) and Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs Chairman Eric Burlison (R-MO) are investigating the disappearances and deaths of scientists connected to nuclear programs.
In letters to Department of Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Department of War Secretary Pete Hegseth, FBI Director Kash Patel, and NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, the lawmakers wrote, “The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is investigating recent unconfirmed public reporting on the disappearance and death of individuals with access to sensitive U.S. scientific information. These reports allege that at least ten individuals who ‘had a connection to U.S. nuclear secrets or rocket technology,’ have ‘died or mysteriously vanished in recent years.’ If the reports are accurate, these deaths and disappearances may represent a grave threat to U.S. national security and to U.S. personnel with access to scientific secrets. We request a briefing on any information regarding these deaths and disappearances, as well as the processes and procedures in place to protect American scientific secrets and ensure personnel safety.”
Those who vanished or died under mysterious circumstances include researcher Amy Eskridge, retired Air Force Maj. Gen. William “Neil” McCasland, NASA scientist Monica Jacinto Reza, contractor Steven Garcia, astrophysicist Carl Grillmair, MIT physicist Nuno Loureiro, NASA engineer Frank Maiwald, Los Alamos-linked employees Melissa Casias and Anthony Chavez, NASA researcher Michael David Hicks, and pharmaceutical scientist Jason Thomas.
President Trump recently weighed in on the matter, telling reporters, “I hope it’s random, but we’re going to know in the next week and a half.” He added that he had “just left a meeting” on the subject and described the situation as “pretty serious.”
