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By Joe Edwards
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Representative Anna Paulina Luna has criticized the Pentagon after a Tuesday deadline for handing over dozens of videos documenting apparent encounters with unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs) passed.
The March letter signed by Luna had requested over 45 videos that reportedly include spherical, cigar-shaped and 'Tic Tac'-like objects recorded by U.S. military platforms over war zones, oceans and restricted airspace, with incidents said to include activity near Iran, Syria, U.S. bases and airports, as well as a 2023 incident over Lake Huron.
The delivery was requested “as soon as possible but no later than April 14.”
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Luna, a Florida Republican who chairs the Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets, said in the letter—addressed to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth—that unexplained objects operating near U.S. military assets represent a potential threat to national security.
Why It Matters
Luna’s request came after President Donald Trump announced in February he would be directing his administration to begin identifying and release government files related to unidentified flying objects (UFOs) and extraterrestrial life.
A 2021 Pew Research survey found that around two-thirds of Americans said they believed intelligent life likely exists on other planets.
What To Know
“No one from the Pentagon had responded until we reached out, and it appears that someone did not pass the letter to the appropriate authorities. How convenient,” Luna said in a Tuesday post on X.
“Nonetheless, we will be getting the requested list. We are not waiting for a briefing at some unspecified future date.
“[Hegseth] is someone I consider a friend and someone who backs the President. The President has authorized the release, so whoever is trying to be cute at the Pentagon can take a hike,” Luna added.
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Newsweek reached out to Luna’s office and the Defense Department for comment via email, outside of standard working hours on Wednesday.
Trump announced in February he would be directing Hegseth to begin identifying and releasing UFO-related government files.
The announcement followed viral comments made by former President Barack Obama to political commentator Brian Tyler Cohen in which he answered “they’re real, but I haven't seen them,” when asked about whether alien life exists.
Soon after, Obama clarified his remarks, writing on social media: “Statistically, the universe is so vast that the odds are good there’s life out there. But the distances between solar systems are so great that the chances we’ve been visited by aliens is low, and I saw no evidence during my presidency that extraterrestrials have made contact with us.”
What Happens Next
Hegseth told reporters in February he did not have a timeline for the release of the files requested by Trump.
“I don't want to oversell how much time it will take, right? We're digging in. We're going to be in full compliance with that executive order, eager to provide that for the president. So, there'll be more coming on that as far as the process of what we'll do,” he said.
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