UFO Disclosure Battle Commences As Trump Administration Releases Files
Written by Christopher Sharp - 10 May 2026
President Donald Trump’s administration has done something unprecedented.
It has committed itself to UFO transparency, putting its weight and authority behind a series of intriguing files, images and videos.
Some were previously unclassified.
Others were previously classified.
Since its launch on Friday 8 May, the WAR.GOV/UFO website, hosting the files, has received nearly 500 million hits as of 14 hours ago.
We now expect the next batch of material, in what appears to be an ongoing process.
Transparency advocate Representative Tim Burchett has promised a “holy crap” moment.
He, along with other prominent lawmakers, including Eric Burlison and Anna Paulina Luna, is pressing for the release of 46 videos that could shift public opinion and embarrass the political and media elites who have so far sneered at the first batch of disclosures.
But behind the optimism, several distinct groups of sources have told Liberation Times that the first release falls far short of what real disclosure would require.
Despite promising signs and intent, sources tell Liberation Times that they have been left unimpressed and that the public must now stand up and demand more.
On the quality of the material released so far, an intelligence source familiar with collection systems told Liberation Times that future imagery and video releases must come from national systems, rather than tactical systems with lower security classifications.
They said:
‘The video footage that has been released came from tactical military systems with lower security classifications. What has not been released was collected by the national systems controlled by the National Reconnaissance Office and CIA, deployed in sensitive areas where no U.S. or allied presence is publicly acknowledged.’
The source suggested that the CIA’s clandestine collection capabilities may have captured scientific data relating to UFOs.
They also claimed that more substantial disclosure could come from space-based electro-optical reconnaissance platforms, operated by the National Reconnaissance Office.
The systems were not designed to monitor UFOs, but the source said such objects have likely appeared within their frames.
The lack of analytical context has also caused frustration among people familiar with how such material would normally be assessed inside government.
Adding to frustrations, President Trump posted on Truth Social that ‘the people can decide for themselves.’
One source added:
‘These files do not include the finished intelligence analyses produced by various departments and agencies. Those finished analyses would be classified and require review by the original classification authority before release.’
Liberation Times understands from another source that members of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, who are aware of classified UFO information, may have expected fuller analytical context from the Trump administration.
According to a person familiar with those expectations, the released documents were not regarded as disclosure.
Furthermore, there are fears that files may have been planted in the release to discredit the topic.
Another source who spoke to Liberation Times was baffled as to why the files included multiple FBI records but no content from the Department of Homeland Security, whose responsibilities include countering drone threats to the homeland.
This is seen as a big omission, as UFOs are consistently misidentified as drones and vice versa.
Several intelligence and defense sources told Liberation Times that, in their view, UFO disclosure would mean:
An explicit acknowledgement that the U.S. has recovered vehicles and bodies of non-human origin, potentially including living beings
An acknowledgement that the U.S. government has entered into cooperative agreements with non-human entities, and has used their assistance to understand and adapt exotic technologies.
Three sources have claimed to Liberation Times that the Trump administration is facing resistance in its quest to release more substantial information by figures linked to the CIA.
One person allegedly providing resistance, according to those sources, is Aaron Lukas, Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence.
Lukas previously worked for the CIA, serving as an intelligence analyst and later as a Station Chief, a title usually associated with a substantial operational career. Much of his work with the Agency remains classified.
But he was previously described as a foreign service officer with the Department of State during this period. However, official records indicate that he was employed by the CIA from April 2004 onward, first as an analyst and then as an operations officer.
His official biography reads:
‘A seasoned intelligence professional and former CIA Chief of Station, PDDNI Lukas has managed sensitive clandestine programs that have significantly impacted US national security.
‘He is certified in the CIA's most advanced tradecraft and has conducted covert operations and managed liaison relationships around the globe, leveraging his unique training and foreign language skills.’
Politico recently reported that Lukas is seen as a favourite to lead the Office of the Director of National Intelligence if his current boss, Tulsi Gabbard, who has publicly advocated for greater UFO transparency, leaves her position.
The director of the Pentagon’s UFO office, the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, must report to Lukas and Steve Feinberg, who is the deputy secretary of war.
Publicly, Lukas welcomed the first batch of files released by the Department of War, commenting on X:
‘A historic UAP declassification effort is underway thanks to @POTUS.
‘We appreciate the Intelligence Community professionals, Department of War personnel, and others across the USG who are devoting their time and resources to this enormous, complex task. This administration is delivering unprecedented transparency for the American people.’
But sources have told Liberation Times that they suspect Lukas is working within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence in a way that protects CIA interests, including elements they believe may be opposed to President Trump’s UFO transparency directive.
These sources specifically pointed to the Weapons and Counterproliferation Mission Center and the Directorate of Science and Technology, which they allege have historically been among the CIA components most closely involved in the analysis and retrieval of UFOs.
Matthew Ford, host of the Good Trouble Show, who is familiar with the allegations surrounding Lukas, alleged to Liberation Times that Lukas is assisting both the CIA and the Defense Intelligence Agency:
“Based on more than a year of reporting and multiple source threads with visibility into ODNI, Lukas is doing favors for senior CIA and Defense Intelligence Agency officers to block Trump officials, including his own boss DNI Tulsi Gabbard, from getting the UFO legacy program under control.
“He is literally undermining Tulsi. This is not slow-walking the file releases. This is the deep state in its purest form. Career intelligence officers locking down a classified program that should be under the lawful authority of the political appointees confirmed to run it. The pattern is consistent across multiple independent threads. The file releases are surface. The control of the legacy program is the real question.”
Another source told Liberation Times that the public, Congress and the President must take a stand by demanding greater transparency, while calling out those who resist such efforts.
The source also posed the following question:
“If the U.S.government is seeing all these strange things around the globe and cannot explain them, why are other nations, like the United Kingdom and Australia, not being up front with their own citizens? It’s clear now that there is a global cover-up.”
