Matthew James Sullivan, a 39-year-old Air Force veteran who had agreed to testify before Congress about classified government UFO programs, died at his home in Falls Church, Virginia, on May 12, 2024, just months before the hearing where sources say he planned to reveal what he knew. Now a Republican congressman wants the FBI to investigate whether his death was more than an accident.
The Northern District Office of the Chief Medical Examiner reported that Sullivan died from a lethal mix of alcohol, alprazolam, cyclobenzaprine, and imipramine. The death was characterized as accidental. But Rep. Eric Burlison (R-Mo.) isn't satisfied with that conclusion, and he's put it in writing.
In an April 16 letter addressed to FBI Director Kash Patel, obtained by the New York Post, Burlison referred Sullivan's death for federal investigation, citing "implications for national security." The congressman's language left little room for ambiguity about his concerns.
"Mr. Sullivan's death was a local Virginia medical examiner case, and the manner and circumstances of his of death raise substantial questions, as he was preparing to provide testimony to Congress."
Burlison went further in the same letter:
"The sudden and suspicious circumstances surrounding his death raise significant concerns about potential foul play and the safety of other individuals involved in this matter."
Sullivan was no fringe figure. His obituary states he earned a Bronze Star for valor in Operation Enduring Freedom. After his military service, he worked for the Air Force Intelligence Agency, the National Air and Space Intelligence Center, and the National Security Agency.
Sources told the Post that Sullivan was part of a "so-called legacy UFO program" and had personally seen UFOs in the federal government's possession. He was prepared to expose the program at a congressional hearing scheduled for November 2024.
He never made it to that hearing.
At Sullivan's funeral, retired Major Gen. David Abba, who served as director of special programs and later as director of the Department of Defense Special Access Program Central Office, offered remarks that, in context, carry a weight worth noting. Abba spoke of "the burden that a select few in this nation have of truly understanding what's going on."
That line, from a man who ran some of the Pentagon's most secretive offices, raises its own questions. The Trump administration has signaled a willingness to open classified UFO files, with the president telling Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to release government UFO documents, promising the first records would come "very, very soon."
The FBI's response to the matter was notable for what it confirmed and what it didn't. The bureau told the Post it would not comment on specific incidents, but then offered a striking admission about the broader landscape.
"While we do not comment on specific incidents, the FBI is spearheading the effort to look for connections into the missing and deceased scientists. We are working with the Department of Energy, Department of War, and with our state and local law enforcement partners to find answers."
Read that again. The FBI acknowledged it is actively investigating connections among missing and deceased scientists, and that Sullivan's death could fall within that scope. The Post reported that his case may be under investigation alongside roughly a dozen other missing or dead U.S. scientists.
A dozen. That is not a statistic that invites casual dismissal.
The Intelligence Community Office of Inspector General, for its part, offered the standard non-answer. The IC OIG told the Post: "IC OIG can neither confirm or deny the existence of any ongoing or potential investigations." That formulation, familiar to anyone who has dealt with classified programs, is itself a kind of answer. It means the door is not closed.
Sullivan's case cannot be understood apart from the broader UFO disclosure movement that has gained traction in Congress over the past several years. In 2023, Air Force and intelligence community veteran David Grusch testified before Congress that the United States was in possession of UFOs and non-human "biologics." That testimony sent shockwaves through Washington and beyond.
Before that public testimony, Grusch had written a letter in May 2022 to the Intelligence Community Office of Inspector General claiming he faced harsh reprisals after reporting evidence of UFOs. He further claimed he received credible death threats before his revelations to the American public.
Sources told the Post that a version of Grusch's letter to the IC OIG included information regarding Sullivan's death. The exact nature of that information remains unclear, but its inclusion in a formal complaint about reprisals and threats adds a layer of gravity to the timeline. Vice President J.D. Vance has also weighed in on the broader debate, calling UFOs "demons" and vowing to crack open classified files before leaving office.
The four substances found in Sullivan's system, alcohol, alprazolam (the generic name for Xanax), cyclobenzaprine (a muscle relaxant), and imipramine (a tricyclic antidepressant), are individually common. Combined, they can be lethal. The medical examiner's finding of accidental overdose is a clinical determination, not an investigative one.
Medical examiner rulings address the mechanism of death. They do not, and are not designed to, address whether someone was coerced, drugged, or placed in circumstances that led to that death. As cases across the country have shown, an official cause-of-death ruling does not always settle the question of what really happened. In the case of Daniel Prude in Rochester, New York, the county medical examiner ruled the death a homicide caused by complications of asphyxia during physical restraint, with PCP listed as a contributing factor, yet a grand jury still declined to indict the officers involved. The gap between a medical finding and a legal conclusion can be vast.
That gap is precisely what Burlison wants the FBI to explore in Sullivan's case. A local medical examiner's office does not have the tools, the clearance, or the mandate to investigate whether a prospective congressional witness with access to some of the nation's most sensitive programs was targeted.
Several facts in this case remain unresolved. What specific evidence supports the claim that Sullivan was part of a legacy UFO program? Who are the sources making these assertions? What information about Sullivan's death appeared in Grusch's letter to the IC OIG? And what hearing, exactly, was Sullivan scheduled to attend in November 2024?
None of these questions have been publicly answered. The FBI has acknowledged the broader investigation. The IC OIG has refused to confirm or deny anything. And the congressman who referred the case has put his name on a letter that uses the phrase "potential foul play."
Sullivan earned a Bronze Star in combat. He served at three of the nation's most sensitive intelligence agencies. He agreed to tell Congress what he knew about programs that, if they exist, represent one of the most consequential secrets in American history. And then he died, at 39, of a four-drug cocktail, alone in his Virginia home, months before his scheduled testimony.
Maybe it was an accident. Maybe it wasn't. The American public deserves to know which, and so does every other potential whistleblower watching to see what happens to the people who try to talk.
