Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) said the American people would be “up at night worrying” if they knew what he’s been briefed on about extraterrestrial life.

“I’ve been briefed by just about every alphabet agency there is. And, I’ll just say this, if they were to release the things that I’ve seen, you’d be up at night, worrying about, thinking about this stuff,” Burchett told Newsmax host Rob Finnerty on Wednesday.

Burchett — a member of the House Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets — recalled that he was briefed two weeks ago “on an issue” about extraterrestrial life that “would have set the Earth” on fire and “unglued” the country if released.

“They would demand answers,” Burchett said without going into further detail.

When Finnerty played a clip of former Rep. Matt Gaetz alleging knowledge of alien-human hybrid breeding programs, Burchett stopped short of directly addressing the explosive claims.

“I’m still a member of Congress, so I can’t really comment too much on what Matt said,” Burchett told Finnerty.

“Wait, seriously?” Finnerty slightly pushed back.

“I’m being 100% serious,” Burchett replied.

Burchett said that he has advocated for “full disclosure” despite the potential impact the truth could have on the public.

“The public has a right to know, dadgummit, it’s your tax dollars. Let’s get it out there,” he said.

Burchett also said that the people handling these sensitive matters are at the heart of the issue.

“When I’m in a meeting, in a closed-door meeting, and I ask about the president’s points on these. And then I’m told by some arrogant, unelected bureaucrat that the president is on a need-to-know basis. I think that says everything it needs to be said about what’s going on,” he told Finnerty.

The congressman said he’s described the handling of sensitive information to President Trump as “layers of the onion,” with each peeled away revealing “another one underneath.”

“When I sit in a meeting, and some little punk with a man bun is sort of running the show, and you have decorated officer military officers in the meeting there that are basically unallowed to say anything, and you can read their faces,” he shared.

Burchett also weighed in on the alarming string of disappearances and deaths among the country’s top researchers in the field — including the mysterious disappearance of retired Air Force Gen. William McCasland in February and his former colleague, rocket scientist Monica Reza, eight months earlier.

“There are no coincidences in this town. These folks have disappeared or died mysteriously,” he said. “I think overall, I think there is a connection there. People just do not disappear … not in this day and age.”

“For the record, I’m not suicidal, and I don’t take risks,” he added.

Burchett’s remarks follow President Trump’s vow in February to direct the Pentagon and other agencies to release files on UFOs and “alien and extraterrestrial life” to the public.

“Based on the tremendous interest shown,” the president wrote, “I will be directing the Secretary of War, and other relevant Departments and Agencies, to begin the process of identifying and releasing Government files related to alien and extraterrestrial life, unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), and unidentified flying objects (UFOs), and any and all other information connected to these highly complex, but extremely interesting and important, matters.”

Since the president’s statement, the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has registered the domains aliens.gov and alien.gov, according to People.

• Green Hill star Avary Stockwell is frequently being intentionally walked by opposing teams.
• Stockwell, a University of Tennessee signee, holds school records for career home runs and RBIs.

MT. JULIET — Green Hill softball made a wise business move several years ago by offering sponsorships for its home runs and foul balls.

Sponsor names are read over the public-address system each time. Foul balls are frequent, of course. 

With the Hawks, the homers usually are too. But this TSSAA softball season feels different.

“I think we’re around 30 home runs this year, which is actually down a little bit,” Green Hill coach Savannah Sanders said. “I don’t feel like I’ve heard (the sponsors) as much this year.”

More: Siegel’s Colton Baron strikes out 11 to lead Nashville’s Week 5 boys top performers

More: Riverdale’s Mackenzie Ventura strikes out 11 to lead Nashville’s Week 5 girls top performers

Green Hill’s homers are down, for one, because teams aren’t pitching to Green Hill senior and Tennessee signee Avary Stockwell much anymore. The Gatorade Tennessee Player of the Year hit 25 homers last year. She has six through 23 games this season. 

Stockwell was intentionally walked in all four at-bats during a 10-6 win over Wilson Central on March 31, marking eight consecutive intentional walks over two games. She’s been intentionally put on base at least once in four consecutive games, and Sanders wonders if any of the Hawks’ district opponents the remainder of the season will throw a pitch to Stockwell. 

“It sucks. Because you know, I want to hit. I’m a competitor,” Stockwell said. “But I have girls — Chezney (Whipker), Taylor (Watson), Julia (O’Donnell) — all those girls behind me can hit. So it’s my job to get on base and score. It’s making sure I have lockdown defense for my pitcher and keeping my energy up, being a leader.” 

Sanders understands the philosophy. There are two fences at Green Hill’s field: The game fence and a roughly eight-foot tall chain link fence behind the outfield that’s about 260 feet from home plate. Stockwell has bashed a home run over the second fence in practice. 

Her power is respected area-wide.

Stockwell’s walks went from 17 as a sophomore to 42 as a junior. She’s at 17 through the game March 31.

She would love to get a chance to clear the second fence during a game her senior season if opponents let her swing. 

“That would be pretty freaking cool,” Stockwell said. 

Tennessee softball signee Avary Stockwell wants to leave specific legacy at Green Hill

Stockwell owns virtually all of Green Hill’s offensive records, including career home runs (68) and RBIs (224). 

“It will take someone special to break those,” Sanders said.

Stockwell is believed to be Green Hill’s first Power 4 signee in any team sport. Green Hill opened in 2020, and its first varsity softball season was in 2021. Sanders, the only coach in program history, couldn’t have asked for a better star to build the program around. 

“You can talk about legacy in terms of stats, but what I think her legacy comes down to is how many kids want to be like Avary,” Sanders said. “There’s a ton of little kids in the stands. The crowd you see tonight is usually the crowd we get every game. We probably have one of the highest attendance rates softball-wise in the state. How many kids want to play for Green Hill softball because she plays for Green Hill softball? How many kids want to play for Tennessee because he’s going to play at Tennessee? What she’s doing in our community for our sport is unbelievable.”

Stockwell understands her role. 

“I’m playing for something bigger than myself. I’m playing for this community, this high school. All those little girls out in the stands, I want to give them someone to look up to in terms of how I portray myself,” Stockwell said. “Good body language, cheering my teammates on, keeping the energy high, things like that.”

Tyler Palmateer covers high school sports for The Tennessean. Have a story idea for Tyler? Reach him at tpalmateer@tennessean.com and on the X platform, @tpalmateer83.

He also contributes to The Tennessean’s high school sports newsletter, The Bootleg. Subscribe to The Bootleg here.