In 2001, mercurial researcher Steven Greer assembled an intriguing but checkered cast of 20-plus people — military and government types, mostly — to publicly allege a massive UFO coverup by the federal government. Six years later, investigative journalist Leslie Kean helped organize a press conference anchored by a steller international panel of eyewitnesses, all of whom would provide the testimonial foundation of her 2010 bestseller, UFOs: Generals, Pilots and Government Officials Go On the Record. Also in 2010, UFOs and Nukes author Robert Hastings organized half a dozen retired Air Force veterans to discuss their experiences with UFO activity over America’s nuclear weapons facilities.

Aside from the subject matter, what all three had in common was the venue — the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. It was chosen for its proximity to the political center of the civilized world in hopes of nudging the MSM into doing a little spadework of its own. We all know how that worked out.

But yo yo yo, look who’s booked the NPC stage for the spring of 2013 — erstwhile “X Conference” director Steve Bassett. He’s been there many times before, and the last production, in 2010, saddled him with about $20,000 in debt. But that was then. Today, with an assist from a benefactor whose name he declines to reveal, Bassett says he has a clean ledger and $1.1 million for his next project, which he’s calling a Citizen Hearing on Disclosure.

“The problem with the other press conferences was, they lasted a couple of hours and then, boom, they were over,” he says from Los Angeles. “But this is going to last five days, we’re going to get the best witnesses ever brought together in one place, and they’ll give their testimony to five former members of Congress. It’ll be just like a congressional hearing.”

But that’s not all. Bassett says the Citizen Hearing — he anticipates convening 40 witnesses — will be streamed live and translated into French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Russian. With a technical assist from Just Cause Entertainment, which specializes in CG cinema and stop-motion productions, the event will be shot in 2D and 3D. On the back end comes a documentary, which will compress 30 hours of testimony into a 90-minute commercial release.

Now, exactly which retired public servants might lend themselves to this Citizen Hearing — to say nothing of the inducements it might take to get them to approach a subject Washington ranks right below smegma — is still a bit murky. The screening has yet to begin, but Bassett says he wants two Republicans, two Dems and one indie, all of whom have had some experience with intelligence, security, or space/science committees.

As for witnesses, they’ll be multinational, Bassett says, and “many will be names you’ve heard before,” although the as-yet-unnamed lineup will be announced incrementally at his website. Some of his previous “X Conference” panelists, like former USAF Capt. Bob Salas, who penned a blistering 2009 essay called the “Idiocy of the Disclosure Movement,” will definitely not be back.

Anyhow, Bassett’s target is the official White House position, articulated last year, that “The U.S. government has no evidence that any life exists outside our planet, or that an extraterrestrial presence has contacted or engaged any member of the human race. In addition, there is no credible information to suggest that any evidence is being hidden from the public’s eye.”

Bassett reasons that if the Citizen Hearing keeps hammering away at the presumed coverup, eight hours a day, for five straight days, April 29-May 3, using quality witnesses, the sheer unrelenting volume of it will force the hand of the MSM bosses.

“The media is the most powerful lever the public has to stick it to government. without the media, it’s almost impossible to press the government to take action in the public interest. Our targets are obvious — Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, the Podestas, the Panettas,” Bassett says. “We’ll create so much public interest, a lot of the editors are gonna say, Christ almighty, enough is enough, that’s it, let’s get some answers from these guys. And if they ask the right questions, I predict the truth embargo will be over within 60 days.”

So it goes.