Bob Lazar: Mike Thigpen and the Clearance Investigation
This brief interview with agent Mike Thigpen was originally going to be included in a more detailed forthcoming article, but I have decided to publish it on it’s own as it is newly relevant.
At a 1992 MUFON Conference in Springfield, Missouri, George Knapp presented new evidence of Bob Lazar’s credibility. Lazar said that a man named Mike Thigpen had visited his house and interviewed him as part of the clearance investigation tied to his work at S4. Knapp was able to confirm Thigpen’s employment with the Office of Federal Investigation, the agency responsible for background clearance investigations for those working on the Tonopah Test Range, presumably including the Groom Lake site known as Area 51.
“How did Bob Lazar know the name Mike Thigpen?” Knapp asked.
In Jeremy Corbell’s 2019 documentary, Corbell said the following regarding his contact with Mike Thigpen.
After 30 years, and this guy dodging you, I found Mike Thigpen.
I found Thigpen. I couldn’t believe it. He’s on the East Coast. I’ve called him. I’ve talked to him multiple times.
He won’t go on camera, because he doesn’t want to kind of put a dark shadow on the work that he did before. But personally, he conveyed to me that that was his job, that was exactly what he did in Las Vegas in 1989, and in fact he remembers Bob Lazar.
-Jeremy Corbell (Bob Lazar: Area 51 and Flying Saucers [1:03:50])
More recently, on August 4th, Corbell spoke about it with Joe Rogan:
I know I had a guy, I found the guy, after 30 years — he wouldn’t talk with George — the guy that did his security clearance. I found him. I talked to him multiple times about this. And he did clearance for Bob for the test site. (Joe Rogan Experience #1853 [49:00])
I spoke with Mike Thigpen in August of 2021 to confirm Corbell’s account of their conversations.
When asked if he had any recollection of Mr. Lazar or conducting a background investigation on him:
Mike Thigpen: It’s possible. I don’t remember him, no. I only got knowledge of him, where I recall it, after he got into the news.
I did stop and pause and listen when they threw my name up in this story.
Author: You didn’t remember Mr. Lazar — as far as you were aware you did not conduct a background or clearance investigation on him?
Thigpen: As far as I recall. I did so many of them, if I did his background — and I’m not saying I did at all — but if I did I didn’t recall him.
Author: You did not tell Mr. Corbell that you remembered Bob?
Thigpen: Personally, no. I don’t know Bob, I don’t recall meeting him. If I told him I did, it was in error. I certainly didn’t mean to say or imply that to Mr. Corbell.
It should be noted, Mr. Thigpen readily agreed to allow the publication of this interview.
Gene Huff’s recollection of Knapp’s conversation with Thigpen is memorialized in a 1995 newsgroup post:
George Knapp later asked Thigpen what he was doing at Bob’s house. Thigpen claimed he had no file on it and he couldn’t remember being there. He said maybe he was there asking Bob questions about Jim Tagliani, a friend of ours who was then trying to get clearance to work as an electronics technician at the stealth fighter base on the Tonopah Test Range.
In an interview for screenwriters working on a screenplay for New Line Cinema, Lazar recollects being questioned about Jim Tagliani by Mr. Thigpen:
Lazar: They came 3 times because the time after that, Thigpen alone showed up and Wayne and his wife were in the photo room working. And at that time, my wife’s sister Kristen was here. And so everyone got to see him. Thigpen and I went into the lab just to talk.
Roy: What was the nature of that talk?
Lazar: He wanted to know about the house that I had just moved out of on Ann Greta, up here.
And he said, “The neighbors said you had someone living with you, and we haven’t been able to find him.” That was Jim — crazy Jim. And so they wanted to know about him, what was the {UNCLEAR from tape}, why was he living in the house. He always seems to follow me wherever I move. He’s just one of those friends. And they had asked the neighbors. The neighbors said, “Well, there were always weird things going on at your house.” And I kind of explained, “Well, we had rockets in our backyard. And they were just weird neighbors.” And then he left.
In a separate portion of the interview where Bob walks through his calendar for January 1989, both Gene Huff and Bob seem to refer to a visit by Thigpen that was related to investigation for Jim’s security clearance.
Lazar: So before this… before January 1st is when they came in with the transcript to the door… with a conversation between Gene and I and had outlined various things we were talking about… I thought that happened much further on… but it must have happened…
Gene Huff: Are you sure you’re not thinking of the one with Jim… because they did one with Jim before the one with you and I.
Lazar: Huh?
Huff: I thought that’s how I remembered it… the first time…
Q: Did the fellows with the transcript come over before Thigpen or after? Or do you remember?
Lazar: The fellows with the transcript came over after Thigpen… that’s why this would make a lot more sense if this was Jim… this calendar’s doing exactly the opposite of what it’s suppose to…
