David Grusch on The Dr. Phil Podcast: Second-Hand Claims of Allegedly Living Detained NHI and Consciousness Communication (Aug. 13, 2026)

In the episode published on August 13, 2026, **'David Grusch: The Whistleblower Who Told Congress We're Not Alone,'** Dr. Phil McGraw asked former intelligence officer David Grusch whether occupants of recovered craft had, to his knowledge, been taken alive and held. Grusch answered yes, but expressly said only that he knew people with direct interactions in a “detainment situation.” He therefore did not describe a personal experience. Asked about communication, he spoke of an alleged form of consciousness communication or telepathy; here too, he said he could not explain how it worked and had no personal experience outside his normal human experience.

**Boundary of the statement:** The segment gives no verifiable names, places, programs, documents, or physical evidence. Grusch's joking allusion to a former vice president (“Darth Vader”) does not establish an identity or any role for Dick Cheney or another official, and is therefore not reproduced as a factual claim.

**Context:** At his 2023 congressional hearing, Grusch likewise said his UAP statements were based on interviews with more than 40 people; NPR reported that he had not personally seen recovered vehicles or bodies. The Pentagon stated at the time that it had found no verifiable information substantiating programs to possess or reverse-engineer extraterrestrial materials. This entry therefore documents a public, more far-reaching claim and its media circulation — not living non-human beings, their detention, or telepathy as established facts.