Podesta to Biden: Release the X-Files! Presented by Welcome to POLITICO’s West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration. Did someone forward this to you? Subscribe here! Have a tip? Email us at And he believes that President JOE BIDEN can help. The former White House chief of staff and Democratic party luminary has been pushing the federal government to be more transparent on all things UFO — or “unidentified aerial phenomena” for people who want to sound more serious — for over two decades. Now that the Pentagon and the media are taking the subject more seriously, Podesta thinks Biden should move the ball forward by creating a dedicated UFO office inside the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP).