Rep. Thomas Massie has accused President Donald Trump of rolling out the “ultimate weapon of mass distraction.” He is talking about the order to release government files on UFOs and extraterrestrial life as pressure mounts over the still-unfinished release of the Jeffrey Epstein documents.
“But the Epstein files aren’t going away, even for aliens,” Massie posted on X.
On Thursday, February 19, Trump announced on Truth Social that he directed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to declassify files related to “alien and extraterrestrial life, unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) and unidentified flying objects (UFOs).”
Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, Trump suggested he might: “Get [Obama] out of trouble by declassifying.”
President Trump was allegedly briefed on the four alien species identified by the CIA—the Grays, Mantids, Reptilians, and Nordics—in his first term.
“He said when Trump was briefed on this topic … he was in the middle of being impeached.”
“Then he had this existential briefing… pic.twitter.com/piJoCviRiz
— Holden Culotta (@Holden_Culotta) July 1, 2025
The swipe at former President Barack Obama was because he recently said on a podcast that aliens are “real” in a statistical sense, as the universe is vast enough for life to exist somewhere. He also added that he saw no evidence of extraterrestrial contact during his presidency. Obama later clarified on Instagram that there is no hidden facility stashing aliens.
However, after Trump accused Obama of disclosing classified information, the former said that he’ll release the files himself.
Massie believes this is a cover as he has been working with Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna for full transparency under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which required the release of all documents tied to the convicted sex offender by December 19, 2025.
As of now, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has released around 3 million pages. It has also acknowledged that millions more were withheld due to privacy concerns and sensitive material. In January, Khanna said that more than 6 million pages were identified, and only about 3.5 million were released with redactions.
Moreover, Democrats, including House Oversight Committee Ranking Member Robert Garcia and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer accused Attorney General Pam Bondi of not fully complying with the law.
Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna, who forced a vote to release the Epstein files, says it seems, in some cases, that the Justice Department “spent more time protecting the people who committed these crimes than they did these survivors.” pic.twitter.com/XlwmTtagJv
— Anderson Cooper 360° (@AC360) February 3, 2026
Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche argued that the release of more than 2,000 videos and 180,000 images marked the end of compliance efforts. Massie, however, said that public pressure is working.
In a recent interview, he said that unnecessary redactions were reversed within 40 minutes of his flagging them during a heated hearing with Bondi. He’s not yet pursuing contempt proceedings as he believes he is “winning it.”
Massie has been a thorn in Trump’s side for a while now. He was the only Republican to speak directly with Bondi in a recent Judiciary Committee hearing. He also went against Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson on tariff-related legislation.
Massie predicted: “With the margin razor-thin (…) you’re going to see more defections.”
He argues there’s “rubber stamp fatigue” among the Republican Party as lawmakers are tired of being told to fall in line. Massie said many of his colleagues tell him they agree that Trump’s intimidation tactics are losing their point.
Thomas Massie on “rubber stamp fatigue” taking hold among House GOP:
“[Q]uietly and privately, people are telling me they agree with me. And so there are people who plan on running again who will be past their primaries ..👇
— Mona Burns (@Monaheart1229) February 17, 2026
Meanwhile, many Trump allies celebrated the UFO announcement.
Hegseth reposted it with alien emojis. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called it “OUT OF THIS WORLD NEWS.” Critics, however, argue that the move was made as Trump is mentioned in the documents thousands of times, though the latter has repeatedly denied any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes.
