President Donald Trump on Thursday ordered the release of government documents about alien and extraterrestrial life. Photo by Jim Lo Scalzo/UPI | License Photo
President Donald Trump on Thursday said he will direct the Department of Defense to start the process of releasing government files related to “alien and extraterrestrial life,” as his administration faces criticism over its handling of documents tied to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
“Based on the tremendous interest shown, I will be directing the Secretary of War, and other relevant Departments and Agencies, to begin the process of identifying and releasing Government files related to alien and extraterrestrial life, unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) and unidentified flying objects (UFOs), and any and all other information connected to these highly complex, but extremely interesting and important matters,” Trump said in the social media statement.
No other information was given.
“OUT OF THIS WORLD NEWS from President Trump,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote on X.
The announcement came in the wake of former President Barack Obama’s recent appearance on a podcast in which he responded to a question about the existence of aliens.
“They’re real, but I haven’t seen them, and they’re not being kept in … Area 51,” Obama said. “There’s no underground facility unless there’s this enormous conspiracy, and they hid it from the president of the United States.”
Obama later clarified on Instagram that he was speaking “statistically” about the likelihood of life elsewhere in the universe.
The announcement to make public classified information about high-profile cases is the latest from the Trump administration that advertises itself as “the most transparent administration in history.”
File dumps during his second term have included documents about the assassinations of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and President John F. Kennedy, but he and his administration have faced increasing criticism over their handling of Epstein-related records, including complaints about redactions and demands to release more material tied to allegations of sexual abuse and trafficking of minors.
Hours before making the announcement, Trump was asked by reporters aboard Air Force One about Obama’s comments on aliens and accused the former president of leaking classified information.
“He’s not supposed to be doing that,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. “He made, he made a big mistake. He took it out of classified information.”
Trump then added he might “get him out of trouble by declassifying” the related documents.
This week in Washington
President Donald Trump speaks alongside Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency Lee Zeldin in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on Thursday. The Trump administration has announced the finalization of rules that revoke the EPA’s ability to regulate climate pollution by ending the endangerment finding that determined six greenhouse gases could be categorized as dangerous to human health. Photo by Will Oliver/UPI | License Photo
