OUSD(I) Orders Deletion of Elizondo's Pentagon Files

Shortly after Elizondo's departure from the Pentagon, someone in OUSD(I) allegedly authorized the complete deletion of all his electronic files, folders, and emails, claiming they had "no historic value". This was despite the files being under a court-ordered preservation order related to the 9/11 criminal prosecution at Guantanamo Bay.

A FOIA response from the Pentagon itself later confirmed the deletion claim. The deliberate destruction of these records — which included AATIP program documentation — is cited by Elizondo as evidence of a systematic cover-up to erase the institutional record of the UAP investigation program.

Deliberate destruction of AATIP records suggests institutional cover-up efforts to erase evidence of the Pentagon UAP program.