Why haven’t the government files on aliens and UFOs been released as Trump promised?

A viral podcast moment last month reignited speculation about extraterrestrials and prompted President Donald Trump’s commitment to kick-starting the release of government files on flying saucers. But neither records nor details about their release have surfaced, underscoring how complicated such disclosures can be.

Trump’s promise came after former President Barack Obama appeared to confirm the existence of aliens on a podcast: “They’re real but I haven’t seen them,” Obama said when asked by host Brian Tyler Cohen about aliens, later clarifying after the episode went viral that he was only referring to the statistical likelihood of life elsewhere in the universe.

The surge of public interest is the latest chapter in a decades-long fascination with unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAPs, the modern term for UFOs. In recent years, believers and skeptics alike have been captivated by striking reports and military footage of unexplained aerial encounters released by the government, and tense congressional hearings featuring self-described UAP whistleblowers — though some experts predict the latest potential release could be full of boring administrative records.

Trump, in a post on social media, cited the “tremendous interest” in “extremely interesting and important” extraterrestrial matters following Obama’s comments as the reason for his fresh directive for the Pentagon and other federal agencies to identify and release such records.

The Pentagon’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), tasked with investigating UAPs, is “working in close coordination with the White House and across federal agencies to consolidate existing UAP records collections and facilitate the expeditious release of never-before-seen UAP information,” a Department of Defense official told CNN.

But even with Trump’s vow of transparency, the path from protected file to public record is often obscured by layers of bureaucracy that may result in a slow-moving release of heavily redacted extraterrestrial files – or none at all.

Publicizing files could take extensive, time-consuming review

A major UAP file release would join the list of high-profile disclosures marking Trump’s second term, including the contentious and drawn-out release of investigative files related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein as well as materials around Amelia Earhart’s disappearance and the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and former President John F. Kennedy.

“Files related to alien and extraterrestrial life, UAPs, and UFOs” will “soon” be declassified, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said on social media late last month. Trump hasn’t offered details on timing since his announcement.

The commander in chief has broad authority to personally classify or declassify documents as delegated by proper processes under Executive Order 13526, issued by Obama, said Liza Goitein, senior director of the Brennan Center’s Liberty and National Security Program. Any government agency with equity in the information set to be declassified would also be consulted.

But experts say UAP files often earn classified status not because of what was spotted, but to protect revelations in reports about military technological capabilities, equipment positioning or personnel identities. Documents concerning UAPs are commonly ensnared with such sensitive intelligence that could impact national security if publicly disclosed, and would implicate a thorough declassification process.

Trump’s online promise has already activated a primary step as a slew of interagency meetings commenced to discuss how AARO, the military and other defense-related departments across the federal government might publicize highly classified photos and information tied to UAP reports, according to Christopher Mellon, former deputy assistant secretary of defense for intelligence.

“Typically, files would have to go to a trained security officer who understands the laws and understands the equities involved, and then they have to review it – there’s a specific process they follow – to review it line by line,” Mellon said. “It would generally be done by the service or agency that produced the information, because they’re the ones who understand why they classified it to begin with, and what issues would be associated with declassifying it.”

These security officers undergo specific training and certification before they’re allowed to undertake the process, making them relatively scarce. As the administration requests a vast disclosure effort, the system risks becoming massively backlogged.

“I would try to temper expectations a bit. I think it’s going to be a fairly long, and probably a bit of a slow process,” Mellon said. “The challenge is finding a balance and getting as much of that information out as you can without compromising war-fighting capabilities.”

Even with presidential intent, bureaucracy and legal safeguards will determine whether the files are ever fully revealed.

“It’s really hard to imagine that the interests of national security aren’t going to put up walls about certain kinds of information,” said Greg Eghigian, historian of science and medicine and professor at Penn State University. “It’s hard for me to think that we’re going to see something new.”

Files will likely be “unbelievably boring” for most people

The US government has been investigating reports of UAPs for almost 80 years. In the absence of details about the timeframe or scope of the new files to be released, their contents, at this point, are purely speculative. But experts say previous federal document disclosures related to UAPs can offer clues to what’s in store for the next release.

In the 1970s, following an “extensive interagency partnership” between the Air Force and National Archives to properly redact documents, the United States released tens of thousands of pages of material from its long-term projects investigating UAPs, including Project Blue Book. The government released thousands more documents in the decades that followed before establishing AARO to investigate sightings and publish reports.

Much like these prior document dumps, the new files may likely include sighting reports from civilians or military personnel, including descriptions of where they were when they saw something inexplicable in the sky, said Eghigian. It’s possible there will also be details around the extent agencies investigated sightings – undoubtedly heavily redacted – which could reveal the level of seriousness the government was taking certain reports.

But perhaps most predictably, Eghigian said, the release will be full of files that most people are going to find “unbelievably boring.”

“It’s going to be a lot of administrative files: Who does what? How much did we spend on paper clips?” he said.

He predicts even witness reports could have readers yawning: “Most sightings are not very exciting,” as few typically go beyond sparse details of a flashing or floating light that was there one minute, and gone the next.

The real gold mine would be if the government were to release the first-ever photo or video of a UAP obtained via satellite, said Harvard professor and astrophysicist Avi Loeb.

“Those images are usually extremely high resolution,” he said, acknowledging that the government hasn’t released such images – if they exist – to keep technological capabilities under wraps from adversaries. “Obviously they’re classified, but you could immediately tell if the object is something familiar or not, and you can measure its speed.”

Loeb said if files are released, he’ll also be looking for any details about materials that may have been recovered from UAP crash sites, for example. But he mainly hopes that the government is upfront about whatever it knows about extraterrestrials.

“My point is that, if you find evidence for a tennis ball that was thrown by a neighbor into your backyard, and you know that you have a neighbor because of that tennis ball, you wouldn’t hide it from your family members at the dinner table,” he said. “Because the same neighbor may show up at the front door.”

While Eghigian says “never say never” to the possibility of the White House revealing evidence of alien life on Earth, perhaps the best that believers could hope for in the files would be novel sightings with details that can’t be quickly explained away, that are “real head scratchers that leave people who do this for a living kind of flummoxed.”

“Whatever happens, it’s not going to be the end of the story,” he said.

Federal government has long denied extraterrestrial neighbors

The Pentagon, through AARO, has maintained it hasn’t seen any evidence for extraterrestrials. Despite whistleblowers suggesting a presence of non-humans during high-profile congressional hearings, no proof has surfaced from official investigations. The Air Force, which once spearheaded a 20-year investigation into UAPs, has said it hasn’t received indication that any of the thousands of reported sightings were “extraterrestrial vehicles.”

As an entity, the federal government has consistently denied an alien presence. But high-ranking officials have offered statements dripping with obscurity.

“Well, I don’t know if they’re real or not,” Trump said on Air Force One last month when asked about Obama’s comments. He added that Obama had given away classified information in his remarks.

Obama isn’t nearly the first president to give his two cents on aliens. Former President Jimmy Carter wasn’t shy about sharing his experience seeing what he described as a UFO when he was the governor of Georgia, going as far as to file a report with the International UFO Bureau. Then-California Gov. Ronald Reagan also claimed to have seen a white light zigzagging around his aircraft in 1974 before it “went straight up into the heavens.”

Three days after Trump directed the Department of Defense to begin preparing UAP files for release, Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters, “We’ll see” if aliens exist.

“I get to do the review and find out along with you.”