U.S. President Barack Obama walks on the Ellipse with White House counselor John Podesta near the White House in Washington May 21, 2014. (REUTERS/Larry Downing)
By Fox News
It looks like we won’t be seeing the real-life Mulder and Scully anytime soon, as least according to recently departed White House adviser John Podesta.
“Finally, my biggest failure of 2014: Once again not securing the #disclosure of the UFO files. #thetruthisstilloutthere,”he tweeted on Friday, his last day in the White House.
Podesta’s love of the “X-Files” TV show, along with his fascination with all things extraterrestrial, is well documented. Back in 2002 Podesta even discussed the importance of disclosing government UFO records at a conference organized by the Coalition for Freedom of Information. “I think it’s time to open the book on questions that have remained in the dark, on the question of government investigations of UFOs,” he said. “We ought to do it, really, because it’s right, we ought to do it because the American people, quite frankly, can handle the truth, and we ought to do it because it’s a law.”
More recently, Podesta wrote the foreword to Leslie Kean’s 2010 book “UFOs: Generals, Pilots, and Government Officials Go on the Record.”
The public’s appetite for information on UFOs remains strong. Earlier this year, for example, a slew of UFO files hit the Web when UFO enthusiast John Greenewald posted declassified records from Project Blue Book -- the U.S. Air Force’s records on alleged UFO and extraterrestrial sightings -- on an online database. Greenwald had spent decades filing Freedom of Information Act requests on the topic.
However, scant reference is made to Roswell, New Mexico, in the database. The alleged 1947 Roswell incident continues to be a source of controversy, with conspiracy theorists claiming the U.S. military found and covered up evidence of an alien spaceship crash.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Obama advisor still frustrated by his inability to force
UFO file disclosure
By Jason McClellan
John Podesta has concluded his service as Counselor to President Barack Obama.
In January 2015, he announced that he would be stepping down from his White House position to work with Hillary Clinton on what many suspect to be a presidential campaign.
President Obama and John Podesta. (Credit: Center for American Progress Action Fund)
On Friday, February 13, Podesta posted on Twitter, “My last day as Counselor to President Obama. It’s been a tremendous privilege to serve a great President and the country for this last year.” But, more interesting is his Tweet that reveals his “biggest failure of 2014,” which he says was “not securing the disclosure of the UFO files.”
Podesta is a known sci-fi enthusiast and big fan of the TV show The X-Files. But his interest in the UFO subject goes beyond simple sci-fi TV show fandom.
He served as Bill Clinton’s Chief of Staff, and was charged by the administration with the task of declassifying millions of government documents. Podesta even spoke at a press conference at the National Press Club in Washington, DC about the importance of declassifying UFO files. He stated, “It is time for the government to declassify records that are more than 25 years old, and to provide scientists with data that will assist in determining the real nature of this phenomenon.”
Although Podesta’s Twitter post about his inability to force UFO disclosure being his “biggest failure” was likely made in jest, he remains a proponent of government disclosure. After trying with Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, maybe he’ll have more luck under Hillary’s administration.