An ex-Department of Defense (DoD) official made some out-of-this-world claims about UFOs on Monday.

Christopher Mellon, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense for intelligence and Senate staffer, told NewsNation host Chris Cuomo that a congressional hearing scheduled for Wednesday provides an “opportunity” to better understand the issue from credible sources.

Christopher Mellon on NewsNation

“I’ve been told that we have recovered technology that did not originate on this earth by officials in the Department of Defense and by former intelligence officials.”#ufotwitter #ufo #uap pic.twitter.com/h72ltWwAfI

— UAP James (@UAPJames) July 25, 2023

Planned by a House Oversight subcommittee, the hearing on unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs) is set to feature testimony from two former Navy pilots who claim to have witnessed mysterious flying objects that appear to defy the laws of physics while participating in training exercises.

Also announced as a witness was David Grusch, a U.S. military and intelligence veteran who has gone public with allegations about crafts of non-human origin being retrieved and kept from Congress.

Lending some credence to Grusch’s assertions about a cover-up, Mellon said he has been told that “we have recovered technology that did not originate on this earth by officials in the Department of Defense and by former intelligence officials,” some of whom he has referred “to the office that is undertaking this investigation.”

Mellon also said he expects Grusch “will provide some new information that we have not heard before” at the hearing, but he stressed that Grusch is limited by law in what he can reveal, including identifying intelligence personnel who may be involved in the matter.

Congress “needs to get” further information from the Intelligence Community inspector general, with whom Grusch has lodged his whistleblower complaint, Mellon added.

Amid rising interest in unanswered questions about UAPs, there has already been a push by lawmakers for legislation to encourage more disclosures.

In response to claims about hidden UAP programs, the DoD has pointed to its All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), which has been tasked with investigating UFOs, and said that team has “not discovered any verifiable information to substantiate claims that any programs regarding the possession or reverse-engineering of any extraterrestrial materials have existed in the past or exist currently.”

Mellon argued there is a “direct conflict” between statements made by AARO Director Sean Kirkpatrick, who claims his office has not been denied any information, and “what these other folks are saying.”

Congress is “in the middle and they’ve got to sort it out,” he said, making the case that having AARO lead the charge in looking into allegations of recovered technology presents “an inherent conflict of interest” akin to “asking the Reagan administration to investigate the Iran-Contra affair.”

Warning against people his own age, a former top intelligence official said the United States needs a younger president sitting in the White House.

Dan Coats, who served as director of national intelligence during the Trump administration, is quoted in a new report from NBC News focused on concerns people have about President Joe Biden’s advanced age as he seeks re-election in 2024.

“As someone who just turned 80, I strongly believe that we need someone younger, whether it’s on the Democratic side or the Republican side,” Coats said.

Biden, who served in the Senate alongside Coats in the past, is also 80 years old. Already the oldest person to be president, Biden would be 86 at the end of a second term.

The president’s tendency to lose his train of thought while speaking and moments caught on camera where he has tripped or fallen over have spurred concerns about his ability to lead effectively.

A recent survey showed a growing number of voters are increasingly anxious about Biden’s and fitness to serve.

Meanwhile former President Donald Trump is campaigning at the age of 77 to win back the Oval Office.

So far, both Trump and Biden generally lead polls by wide margins in their respective party’s nomination contests, facing younger competitors eager to take up the mantle as president.

“The weight of the world falls on the shoulders of the president, and right now, we have two disabled presidents,” Coats said, which the report noted was in reference to Trump and Biden.

“Age plays a major factor in this, and people have to think about what the next generation will provide,” he added.

The story by NBC News contained assurances by people in Biden’s orbit that the incumbent remains steady. It also featured some anecdotes by people in his administration extolling the president’s apparent levels of energy when the cameras aren’t trained on him.

This follows an interview House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) gave to MSNBC in which she brushed off apprehension about Biden’s age. Pelosi, who is 83, said Biden is “just a kid” to her and argued that he should “embrace” his age and experience.

Still, the NBC News report additionally noted signs of an elder statesman becoming increasingly careful, such as using a shorter set of stairs to board aircraft as well as using extra-large font on teleprompters, as time goes on.

One congressional Democrat, who was granted anonymity, told the news outlet that the Democratic Party needs to “be responsive” to people concerned about Biden’s age.

“The number of text messages that I got after the president fell … I mean, my phone was blowing up. People are like, ‘Oh, this is so bad,'” the Democrat also said.