December 1984 claimed receipt; public circulation in 1987; FBI inquiry in 1988 / T157
Majestic 12: receipt, publication and authenticity must be separated
California; Washington, D.C.; British press coverage
Witness account
Jaime Shandera reported receiving an anonymous roll of film in December 1984 that reproduced supposed high-level papers about a secret Majestic 12 group. The documents became widely publicized in 1987, including reporting linked to Timothy Good. They purported to describe decisions originating in 1947 and a later presidential briefing; those printed dates are claims within the documents, not established dates of an authentic program.
Public record
FBI records document a 1988 inquiry and the Air Force’s assessment that the material was bogus. NARA has explained the problems with corroboration and with a purported Cutler–Twining memorandum found in archival files. GAO later reported that executive-branch provenance for the MJ-12 material could not be established.