'Draw your own conclusions': Pentagon begins releasing new UFO files

The Pentagon on Friday unveiled a new website devoted to newly-released UFO-themed files on UFOs, saying that members of the public could draw their own conclusions on “unidentified anomalous phenomena.” 

President Donald Trump “is focused on providing maximum transparency to the public, who can ultimately make up their own minds about the information contained in these files,” the Pentagon said in a message accompanying the release on Friday, adding that additional documents will be released on a rolling basis.

One document features an FBI interview with a drone pilot who reported seeing a “linear object” with a light bright enough to “see bands within the light” in the sky. 

In April Trump said that his administration’s review of UFO-related material uncovered a number of “interesting” documents, adding that an initial tranche of records is expected to be released soon. Earlier in the year he directed U.S. agencies to start releasing government files on UFOs, unidentified aerial phenomena, and possible extraterrestrial life, citing strong public interest in the issue.

Besides the Pentagon, the effort is led by the White House, the director of national intelligence, the Energy Department, NASA and the FBI.

The first release includes 162 files, such as old State Department cables, FBI documents and transcripts from NASA of crewed flights into space.