Burlison letter to FBI Director Patel raises Matthew James Sullivan death

Representative Eric Burlison wrote to FBI Director Kash Patel on 16 April 2026 raising the death of Matthew James Sullivan, a former United States Air Force intelligence officer who had agreed to testify before Congress about classified UAP programs. Sullivan, aged 39, was found dead at his home in Falls Church, Virginia on 12 May 2024, weeks after committing to congressional hearings scheduled for the following November. The Northern District Office of the Chief Medical Examiner attributed death to a fatal combination of alcohol with alprazolam, cyclobenzaprine and imipramine, and ruled the manner accidental. Burlison's letter to Patel said the case was a local Virginia medical examiner matter and that the manner and circumstances of his death raise substantial questions, citing potential foul play. Sullivan had previously held roles with the Air Force Intelligence Agency, the National Air and Space Intelligence Center and the National Security Agency. The letter sits alongside the wider Comer and Burlison enquiry into the missing and deceased nuclear and rocket scientists and aligns with the FBI's confirmation, on 20 April 2026, that it is examining links between the cases.