The Pentagon released a new batch of UFO files on Friday, just hours after a separate bombshell report raised fresh questions over the Justice Department’s handling of documents connected to Jeffrey Epstein and allegations involving Donald Trump.
The latest release includes 40 new files, including 19 videos, as part of the Defense Department’s ongoing effort to publish records related to unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP), the government’s official term for UFOs.
But the timing of the release drew attention because it came shortly after a report revealed that handwritten investigative materials connected to a minor’s allegations against Trump were allegedly withheld from the public and replaced with a watered-down version of what prosecutors received.
According to a court filing submitted earlier this month, the Justice Department admitted that it had not released an unknown number of handwritten documents contained in the government’s Epstein case files.
The admission came in response to a lawsuit from journalist Katie Phang, who accused the DOJ of violating the Epstein Files Transparency Act by failing to release records required under the law.
The lawsuit specifically sought the release of handwritten investigative notes referenced throughout the files, arguing that the public had received incomplete versions of key documents.
And according to reporting from the Post and Courier, multiple handwritten records contained more detailed information than the typed summaries later released by the government.
The missing records reportedly include handwritten notes from investigators who interviewed witnesses during the original Epstein investigation.
Those notes were part of the evidence collected during the 2006 Palm Beach investigation into Epstein’s sex trafficking operation.
According to the Post and Courier, investigators’ handwritten materials included allegations from a woman who claimed Donald Trump trafficked her across state lines to him multiple times when she was a minor.
A prosecution memorandum reportedly confirmed that investigators recovered handwritten records documenting Epstein’s trafficking expenses, but those records have not been released.
Pentagon releases UFO files.
While the Epstein Files controversy unfolded, the Pentagon released its fourth batch of UAP documents, adding dozens of new reports to the government’s growing archive of unexplained sightings.
The Defense Department began releasing UFO-related files on May 8, followed by additional releases on May 22 and June 12.
Previous batches included reports of objects near foreign submarines, strange aerial movements, silent hovering objects, and encounters involving military pilots.
The newest release continues that pattern with several unusual cases.
UFO spotted near Texas nuclear facility
One newly released document details a 2015 sighting near the Pantex nuclear plant in Texas.
Witnesses reported seeing a diamond-shaped object moving at approximately 10 to 15 miles per hour.
The object was described as about four feet tall, with a rounded top and a wider bottom measuring roughly two feet.
Witnesses disagreed about its appearance, with some describing it as black while others reported silver, red, or blue coloring.
The Pentagon’s analysis concluded the object did not appear threatening and did not approach sensitive assets.
Another report from 2019 described a “range-fouler” incident involving a small rectangular object captured by a military surveillance aircraft.
Military personnel reported that the object displayed flight characteristics they had never seen before and moved quickly enough to outrun the aircraft’s tracking system.
New UFO videos show sensor interference
The latest release also includes videos showing objects that appeared to interfere with military surveillance equipment.
One 2023 incident over the Yellow Sea involved a U.S. military platform where a UAP appeared to degrade electro-optical and infrared sensor footage.
The nearly five-minute video reportedly became increasingly distorted as the encounter continued.
Another 2020 Atlantic Ocean encounter appears to match a previously rumored “floating brain” UAP video.
The footage shows a strange blob-like object with smaller structures hanging beneath it as military sensors tracked its movement.
## Historical UFO documents included in release
The Pentagon’s latest release also includes decades-old records, including documents from some of the earliest government investigations into unexplained sightings.
A 1949 document details a conference focused on reports of green fireballs near Los Alamos National Laboratory, involving several prominent scientists, including researchers connected to the Manhattan Project.
A 1948 Project Sign document includes roughly 100 UFO reports collected between 1947 and 1948.
The period saw a surge in sightings following World War II, when military pilots began reporting mysterious objects they called “foo fighters.” It also included the famous 1947 Roswell incident.
## Two separate controversies collide around government transparency
The Pentagon’s latest UFO release and the Epstein Files controversy involve completely different investigations, but both have fueled a broader debate over government transparency.
One involves unexplained objects captured by military systems.
The other involves accusations that important investigative records connected to one of the most controversial criminal cases in recent history were withheld from public view.
