In the first book on the subject, The Roswell Incident, Haut was said to be "not a witness."[3] He told interviewers in 1979 that base commander Colonel William Blanchard asked him to write and distribute the press release, but when Haut asked to see the object in question, he was told "his request was impossible."[4]
In UFO Crash at Roswell, Haut appears as a witness, though not to any of actual debris. During a March 1989 interview he said he knew "nothing" about what was recovered.[5] He described being asked by Blanchard to write the press release. "I didn't hear about it until, I guess, Jess [Jesse Marcel, head intelligence officer, who initially investigated and recovered some of the debris] was on his way to the flightline."[5] He did, however, describe what Marcel told him: "It was something he had never seen and didn't believe it was of this planet. I trusted him on his knowledge."[6] He further stated: "I think there was a giant cover-up on this thing."[7]
In an affidavit signed May 14, 1993, he repeated the above claimed sequence of events and added "I believe Col. Blanchard saw the material, because he sounded positive about what the material was. There is no chance he would have mistaken it for a weather balloon. Neither is there any chance that Major Marcel would have been mistaken."[8] By this time, Haut, along with Max Littell and Glenn Dennis, had opened the International UFO Museum and Research Center.[2]
Prior to Haut's death, ufologist Donald R. Schmitt conducted interviews with Haut covering material that Schmitt says Haut requested to be kept confidential during his life.[9] Schmitt composed and emailed an "affidavit" to Haut's family, which Haut signed at his International UFO Museum and Research Center in front of daughter Julie Shuster, staff notary Beverlee Morgan, and a museum guest.[10] Schmitt and the family agreed not to release this 2002 document until after Haut's death.[11] Haut passed in 2005; in 2007, Donald Schmitt and Tom Carey published the book Witness to Roswell, which prominently featured the document, presented as the "Sealed Affidavit of Walter G. Haut".[12] The book was criticized for a lack of evidence, inconsistencies with previous accounts, and presenting the 2002 document as Haut's affidavit.[13]
Schmitt 2007, 21:36, "It was suggested to us by an attorney that a sealed statement might provide that opportunity and that's what was done. And it was prepared. It was based on things that Walter had told us in confidence for a number of years leading up to that time";
Shuster 2007, p. 15, "Don to put in writing the information they had discussed. The statement was prepared and e-mailed to me.";
Clarke 2008; "Don Schmit revealed that Haut did not personally write the affidavit, which is usually a sworn statement made in writing under oath.";
Thomas 2009, p. 53, "Balthaser attacked the alleged affidavit, writing: "We have learned that Walter Haut did not write the affidavit he signed in 2002, but rather it was prepared for his signature based on comments and remarks Haut had made over a period of time to Schmitt, Carey and others".
Barrett 2007, "[Shuster] just happens to draw a salary for running Roswell's UFO museum; it was co-founded by her father and is the centerpiece of what passes for the local tourist industry. Shuster tells Forbes she was unaware that her father had signed another affidavit in 1993 that made no mention of multiple crash sites or bodies. In any event, Haut himself won't have to explain any inconsistencies; he died in 2005 at age 83.";
Clarke 2008, "So rather than providing the ‘smoking gun’ sought by the UFOlogists, the Haut affidavit turns out to be just another dead end.";
Thomas 2009, p. 53, "The centerpiece of the book was a new affidavit allegedly written by Walter Haut, [...] Is Roswell still the “best” UFO incident? If it is, UFO proponents should be very, very worried."
Carey, Thomas J.; Schmitt, Donald R. (July 22, 2007). "Thomas J. Carey and Donald R. Schmitt". The Paracast (Interview). Interviewed by Steinberg, Gene; Biedny, David.
