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10 - PEOPLE/(N-S)/Albert Stubblebine.md
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@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
---
created: 2026-05-17
updated: 2026-09-21
updated: 2026-10-03
title: Albert Stubblebine
aliases:
- Albert Stubblebine
@ -21,13 +21,13 @@ died: 2017-02-06
location: "New York, New York"
---
Major General Albert Newton Stubblebine III (February 6, 1930 - February 6, 2017) was a U.S. Army general who served as commanding general of the [[United States Army Intelligence and Security Command|INSCOM]] from 1981 to 1984, during which he was the most senior American military officer publicly associated with belief in psychic phenomena and their military applications. His command authority provided the institutional protection that allowed the [[Stargate Project|Grill Flame]] and Center Lane remote viewing programs to survive bureaucratic resistance and continue operating through the early 1980s. He died on his 87th birthday.
Major General Albert Newton Stubblebine III (February 6, 1930 - February 6, 2017) was a [[U.S. Army]] general who served as commanding general of the [[United States Army Intelligence and Security Command|INSCOM]] from 1981 to 1984, during which he was the most senior American military officer publicly associated with belief in psychic phenomena and their military applications. His command authority provided the institutional protection that allowed the [[Stargate Project|Grill Flame]] and Center Lane remote viewing programs to survive bureaucratic resistance and continue operating through the early 1980s. He died on his 87th birthday.
### Military Career
Stubblebine graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1952 and pursued a career in Army intelligence and signals work. He advanced through assignments in Army intelligence analysis, signals intelligence, and special operations-adjacent programs, eventually reaching the senior Army intelligence command positions.
Stubblebine graduated from the [[United States]] Military Academy at West Point in 1952 and pursued a career in Army intelligence and signals work. He advanced through assignments in Army intelligence analysis, signals intelligence, and special operations-adjacent programs, eventually reaching the senior Army intelligence command positions.
He was appointed commanding general of INSCOM in 1981. INSCOM was the Army's primary intelligence collection and counterintelligence organization, responsible for signals intelligence, human intelligence collection, and operational security programs across the Army. The STARGATE remote viewing program, which had been operating at Fort Meade since 1977 under code names Gondola Wish and Grill Flame, fell within INSCOM's organizational umbrella.
He was appointed commanding general of INSCOM in 1981. INSCOM was the Army's primary intelligence collection and counterintelligence organization, responsible for signals intelligence, human intelligence collection, and operational security programs across the Army. The STARGATE remote viewing program, which had been operating at [[Fort Meade]] since 1977 under code names Gondola Wish and Grill Flame, fell within INSCOM's organizational umbrella.
### Psychic Research Advocacy
@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ Stubblebine was a genuine believer in the potential of unconventional human capa
Reports from officers who served under him described Stubblebine attempting to walk through the wall of his Pentagon office, based on his conviction that this was theoretically achievable through the right mental training. These reports, which circulated within the Army intelligence community and later became part of the broader cultural record of the STARGATE era documented in Jon Ronson's *The Men Who Stare at Goats* (2004), illustrated both the sincerity of his beliefs and the distance between those beliefs and mainstream military culture.
He pushed for expanded use of psychics throughout Army intelligence and organized training programs intended to develop soldiers' latent psychic capabilities. These included consciousness training exercises at [[Fort Bragg]] for special operations personnel. The cultural environment these programs created - sometimes called the "[[First Earth Battalion]]" culture after Lieutenant Colonel Jim Channon's influential 1979 concept paper proposing a psychic warrior force - was an institutional artifact of Stubblebine's INSCOM command.
He pushed for expanded use of psychics throughout Army intelligence and organized training programs intended to develop soldiers' latent psychic capabilities. These included consciousness training exercises at [[Fort Bragg]] for special operations personnel. The cultural environment these programs created - sometimes called the "[[First Earth Battalion]]" culture after Lieutenant Colonel [[Jim Channon]]'s influential 1979 concept paper proposing a psychic warrior force - was an institutional artifact of Stubblebine's INSCOM command.
### Support for STARGATE
@ -43,18 +43,20 @@ Stubblebine's most consequential contribution to the government remote viewing p
His advocacy also had limits: the program's credibility within mainstream Army intelligence was not enhanced by its association with a commander known for attempting to walk through walls. Officers who might otherwise have engaged with the remote viewing program's results distanced themselves from it to avoid association with what they considered an embarrassingly unconventional command climate.
Stubblebine was relieved of the INSCOM command in 1984 and retired from the Army. After his departure, the program continued but lost some of its most senior Army champion. The DIA subsequently took over primary program management.
The sources differ on how and when his INSCOM command ended. [[Jim Schnabel]] wrote in [[The Independent]] of August 27, 1995 that Stubblebine "retired from the Army in 1984," and that "the fatal blow to his career came in 1983," when an INSCOM staff officer visited the [[Monroe Institute]]; Schnabel attributed that account to unnamed former colleagues and to [[Ed Dames]].[^1] A [[Defense Intelligence Agency]] addendum to a memorandum for the record dated December 10, 1985 lists "Stubblebine, Albert MG (Ret.)" as commanding general of INSCOM from May 1981 to June 1984.[^2] The [[Gasconade County Republican]] of [[Owensville, Missouri]] reported on May 16, 1984, in a local item on a retirement ceremony whose honoree appears to be a person named Huff, that "Major Gen. Albert N. Stubblebine III, Commanding General, U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command, Arlington Hall Station, Va." presided and spoke; the ceremony date is not given in the portion read.[^3] The project manager's records place the decision of his successor, [[Harry Soyster]], to discontinue Center Lane on July 13, 1984 (see below).[^4] The departure has also been described as a relief from command in 1984 followed by retirement from the Army; no source for that wording is identified. After his departure, the program continued but lost some of its most senior Army champion. The DIA subsequently took over primary program management.
### The Record
Stubblebine received his first Grill Flame briefing as incoming commander of INSCOM on June 30, 1981, from the outgoing project manager, Lieutenant Colonel [[Murray Watt]], and his successor, Lieutenant Colonel Robert Jachim. After the Senate intelligence committee's budget subcommittee cut the Army's psychoenergetic operations from the National Foreign Intelligence Program at the end of fiscal 1982, he "decided to continue INSCOM's project and provide funding with Security and Investigative Activities (S&IA) monies" under the provisional special access program [[Center Lane]]. The project manager's records of his meetings show him on November 30, 1983, confirming "his decision to hold a 'bonding' ceremony" for the RAPT training, to be led by Lieutenant Colonel [[John B. Alexander|John Alexander]], and on January 6, 1984, saying of Alexander's unauthorized debriefing of [[Russell Targ]] that "he had not instructed LTC Alexander to debrief Targ because Alexander was not a trained intelligence officer."[^1]
Stubblebine received his first Grill Flame briefing as incoming commander of INSCOM on June 30, 1981, from the outgoing project manager, Lieutenant Colonel [[Murray Watt]], and his successor, Lieutenant Colonel [[Robert Jachim]]. After the Senate intelligence committee's budget subcommittee cut the Army's psychoenergetic operations from the National Foreign Intelligence Program at the end of fiscal 1982, he "decided to continue INSCOM's project and provide funding with Security and Investigative Activities (S&IA) monies" under the provisional special access program [[Center Lane]]. The project manager's records of his meetings show him on November 30, 1983, confirming "his decision to hold a 'bonding' ceremony" for the RAPT training, to be led by Lieutenant Colonel [[John B. Alexander|John Alexander]], and on January 6, 1984, saying of Alexander's unauthorized debriefing of [[Russell Targ]] that "he had not instructed LTC Alexander to debrief Targ because Alexander was not a trained intelligence officer."[^5]
At the briefing of June 30, 1981, attended by Brigadier General Flynn, Colonel Weinstein, Colonel White, and the two project managers, "MG Stubblebine instructed us to ensure that there were no legal problems concerning our joint contractual effort with DIA, especially to be watchful of mixing OM&A and R&D monies," and, reviewing the customer evaluations, "expressed the thought that the evaluations were a clear indication that we were on to something and that work in this area had to continue."[^2]
At the briefing of June 30, 1981, attended by Brigadier General Flynn, Colonel Weinstein, Colonel White, and the two project managers, "MG Stubblebine instructed us to ensure that there were no legal problems concerning our joint contractual effort with DIA, especially to be watchful of mixing OM&A and R&D monies," and, reviewing the customer evaluations, "expressed the thought that the evaluations were a clear indication that we were on to something and that work in this area had to continue."[^6]
On September 27, 1982, four days before the cut, he heard the full Grill Flame briefing at building 2561, "well over an hour" of it on the project book and two unevaluated cases; "he was unaware of the problems we had had in getting information from Europe, concerning [[James Dozier|Dozier]]." Coming from a visit to Lieutenant General [[Lincoln D. Faurer|Faurer]] of the [[National Security Agency|NSA]], he dismissed one option for housing the unit as soon as it was clear it had no spaces or money of its own, and "before I could finish, MG Stubblebine selected SSD, 902D as the organization to which the project would go. As I tried to continue with other options, MG Stubblebine then indicated I must not have heard him for he had already made his decision." His guidance included "Get out of the briefing mode!" The assistant chief of staff for intelligence wrote to him in April 1983 that "I applaud your efforts to establish a Special Access Program," and that INSCOM should present itself as engaged in "a similar, cooperative effort of its own initiative" rather than the former joint program. In 1983 he briefed the Army Science Board, the under secretary [[James Ambrose]], and the Secretary of the Army, [[John Marsh]], himself. On August 26, 1983, after Buzby, Atwater, and McMoneagle briefed him on the project and the [[Monroe Institute]], "the CG started to relate some of his experiences and personal thoughts in the field of parapsychology," and "directed me to expand the program with quality people, develop a screening program to identify qualified people for the project; and employ advance techniques for intelligence collection." His chief of staff asked whether the project was receiving information from Lieutenant Colonel John B. Alexander and was told that Alexander's involvement "was entirely overt and that we neither had nor wanted any contact with him." On January 6, 1984, he asked to be kept informed of the "Los Alamos Project," "as it was his initiative," and agreed not to fund a new Monroe Institute proposal. On March 13, 1984, the director of the Army staff cancelled RAPT, the Hemi-Sync screening course, and on July 13 his successor, [[Harry Soyster]], decided to discontinue Center Lane.[^3]
On September 27, 1982, four days before the cut, he heard the full Grill Flame briefing at building 2561, "well over an hour" of it on the project book and two unevaluated cases; "he was unaware of the problems we had had in getting information from Europe, concerning [[James Dozier|Dozier]]." Coming from a visit to Lieutenant General [[Lincoln D. Faurer|Faurer]] of the [[National Security Agency|NSA]], he dismissed one option for housing the unit as soon as it was clear it had no spaces or money of its own, and "before I could finish, MG Stubblebine selected SSD, 902D as the organization to which the project would go. As I tried to continue with other options, MG Stubblebine then indicated I must not have heard him for he had already made his decision." His guidance included "Get out of the briefing mode!" The assistant chief of staff for intelligence wrote to him in April 1983 that "I applaud your efforts to establish a Special Access Program," and that INSCOM should present itself as engaged in "a similar, cooperative effort of its own initiative" rather than the former joint program. In 1983 he briefed the Army Science Board, the under secretary [[James Ambrose]], and the Secretary of the Army, [[John Marsh]], himself. On August 26, 1983, after Buzby, Atwater, and McMoneagle briefed him on the project and the Monroe Institute, "the CG started to relate some of his experiences and personal thoughts in the field of parapsychology," and "directed me to expand the program with quality people, develop a screening program to identify qualified people for the project; and employ advance techniques for intelligence collection." His chief of staff asked whether the project was receiving information from Lieutenant Colonel John B. Alexander and was told that Alexander's involvement "was entirely overt and that we neither had nor wanted any contact with him." On January 6, 1984, he asked to be kept informed of the "[[Los Alamos]] Project," "as it was his initiative," and agreed not to fund a new Monroe Institute proposal. On March 13, 1984, the director of the Army staff cancelled RAPT, the Hemi-Sync screening course, and on July 13 his successor, Harry Soyster, decided to discontinue Center Lane.[^4]
### Post-Military Career
Jim Schnabel wrote in The Independent of August 27, 1995 that Stubblebine "retired from the Army in 1984 to become an executive at BDM Corporation, a Washington-area defence and intelligence contractor," and that he "left BDM a few years ago."[^1] A Defense Intelligence Agency addendum to a memorandum for the record dated December 10, 1985 lists "Stubblebine, Albert MG (Ret.)" as commanding general of [[United States Army Intelligence and Security Command|INSCOM]] from May 1981 to June 1984 and "presently employed by BDM Corp. in the Wash., D.C. area."[^2] His biography on the website of [[Canadian Subsidiary Technology Inc.]], on whose board he sat, states that "upon retirement, he served as the Vice President for Intelligence at BDM and ran his own consulting firm."[^7] [[John B. Alexander]] wrote in 2011 that Stubblebine went to work for BDM "as the Vice President for Intelligence Operations" and that Alexander's 1985 meetings, later called the [[Advanced Theoretical Physics Working Group]], were to be held in the company's secure facilities. A [[Department of Energy]] visit request of May 8, 1985 names the BDM McLean facility for an "Advance Theoretical Physics Conference" of May 20 to 25, 1985, and [[Oke Shannon|James Shannon]]'s attendee list gives "Bert Stubblebine" under BDM. [[George P. Hansen]] wrote in *The Trickster and the Paranormal* that [[Karl Pflock]] worked for BDM International between 1989 and 1992 and that Stubblebine, chairman of [[Psi Tech]], "also worked for the company" during that time.[^8] The company's chairman from 1990 was [[Frank Carlucci]], and its owner from 1990 to 1997 was the [[Carlyle Group]]; see [[BDM Corporation]].
After retirement, Stubblebine became involved in alternative health movements and supplement businesses. He married psychiatrist Rima Laibow, and the two became prominent voices in alternative medicine and health freedom advocacy, including campaigns against mandatory vaccination and opposition to pharmaceutical industry regulation. This later career was distant in character from his military intelligence background but reflected a consistent pattern of skepticism toward mainstream institutional authority.
He was prominently featured in Jon Ronson's *The Men Who Stare at Goats* (2004) and the 2009 film adaptation, which used him and the Grill Flame culture as the central subjects of its examination of psychic warfare research within the U.S. military.
@ -63,6 +65,11 @@ Stubblebine died February 6, 2017 - his 87th birthday - at his home in [[New Mex
### Footnotes
[^1]: Buzby, Brian, memoranda for the record, "Initial Grill Flame Briefing to MG Stubblebine as CG, INSCOM, 30 June 1981" (CIA-RDP96-00788R001700220001-0), "Meeting With MG Stubblebine on 30 November 1983" (CIA-RDP96-00788R001700220010-0), and "Meeting with MG Stubblebine on 6 January 1984" (CIA-RDP96-00788R001700220009-2). Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. US Army Intelligence and Security Command, "Briefing - Project Center Lane," c. 1984, CIA-RDP96-00789R002100180002-8. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection.
[^2]: Memorandum for the record, "Initial Grill Flame Briefing to MG Stubblebine as CG, INSCOM, 30 June 1981," July 1, 1981, CIA-RDP96-00788R001700220001-0. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection.
[^3]: Jachim, Robert J., memorandum "Briefing for MG A.N. Stubblebine III," October 8, 1982, CIA-RDP96-00788R001700220022-7; Buzby, Brian, memoranda "CENTER LANE Briefing for CG, USAINSCOM," August 29, 1983 (CIA-RDP96-00788R001700220011-9), "Meeting With MG Stubblebine on 30 November 1983," December 6, 1983 (CIA-RDP96-00788R001700220010-0), and "Meeting with MG Stubblebine on 6 January 1984," January 17, 1984 (CIA-RDP96-00788R001700220009-2); letter of the ACSI to Stubblebine, "CENTER LANE," April 1983 (CIA-RDP96-00788R001700220002-9). Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. US Army Intelligence and Security Command, "List of Events from September 1977 to January 1986," CIA-RDP96-00788R001100020001-8; the scan's table columns are reflowed by OCR and some dates are uncertain. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection.
[^1]: Schnabel, Jim. "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Psi," The Independent (London), Sunday Review, August 27, 1995, pp. 10-13, FBIS transcription CIA-RDP96-00791R000200090001-7, https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-cia-rdp96-00791r000200090001-7.
[^2]: "Addendum to MFR, dtd 10 Dec 85," CIA-RDP96-00788R001700030001-1, https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-cia-rdp96-00788r001700030001-1.
[^3]: "[Headline not captured]," Gasconade County Republican (Owensville, Mo.), May 16, 1984, p. 3, https://www.newspapers.com/image/1124021519/ (local item on a retirement ceremony; ceremony date not captured).
[^4]: Jachim, Robert J., memorandum "Briefing for MG A.N. Stubblebine III," October 8, 1982, CIA-RDP96-00788R001700220022-7; Buzby, Brian, memoranda "CENTER LANE Briefing for CG, USAINSCOM," August 29, 1983 (CIA-RDP96-00788R001700220011-9), "Meeting With MG Stubblebine on 30 November 1983," December 6, 1983 (CIA-RDP96-00788R001700220010-0), and "Meeting with MG Stubblebine on 6 January 1984," January 17, 1984 (CIA-RDP96-00788R001700220009-2); letter of the ACSI to Stubblebine, "CENTER LANE," April 1983 (CIA-RDP96-00788R001700220002-9). Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. US Army Intelligence and Security Command, "List of Events from September 1977 to January 1986," CIA-RDP96-00788R001100020001-8; the scan's table columns are reflowed by OCR and some dates are uncertain. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection.
[^5]: Buzby, Brian, memoranda for the record, "Initial Grill Flame Briefing to MG Stubblebine as CG, INSCOM, 30 June 1981" (CIA-RDP96-00788R001700220001-0), "Meeting With MG Stubblebine on 30 November 1983" (CIA-RDP96-00788R001700220010-0), and "Meeting with MG Stubblebine on 6 January 1984" (CIA-RDP96-00788R001700220009-2). Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. US Army Intelligence and Security Command, "Briefing - Project Center Lane," c. 1984, CIA-RDP96-00789R002100180002-8. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection.
[^6]: Memorandum for the record, "Initial Grill Flame Briefing to MG Stubblebine as CG, INSCOM, 30 June 1981," July 1, 1981, CIA-RDP96-00788R001700220001-0. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection.
[^7]: Canadian Subsidiary Technology Inc., board of directors page, Wayback capture of February 6, 2005, https://web.archive.org/web/20050206131007id_/http://canadiansub.com/Board.html. Promotional biography; sole source for the quoted title.
[^8]: Elizondo and the Hermetic Penetrator, "The Loose Threads Report," Anomaly Archives, 2022, pp. 61-62, https://anomalyarchives.org/wp-content/uploads/PDF-Loose-Threads.pdf, quoting Hansen; the book was not opened. Sole source for the passage so cited.

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10 - PEOPLE/(N-S)/Andrija Puharich.md
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---
---
created: 2026-05-15
updated: 2026-09-21
updated: 2026-10-02
title: Andrija Puharich
aliases:
- Andrija Puharich
@ -24,23 +24,23 @@ born: 1918-02-19
died: 1995-01-03
location: "Chicago, Illinois"
---
Henry Karel "Andrija" Puharich (1918-1995) was a prominent American physician, research scientist, and parapsychologist who became a central figure in the U.S. government's investigations into [[Extrasensory Perception|ESP]] and [[Psychokinesis|PK]] during the [[Cold War]]. His lifelong quest to understand the nature of consciousness and anomalous mental phenomena led him to explore the intersection of science, mysticism, and the supernatural[^1].
Henry Karel "Andrija" Puharich (1918-1995) was a prominent American physician, research scientist, and parapsychologist who became a central figure in the [[U.S. government]]'s investigations into [[Extrasensory Perception|ESP]] and [[Psychokinesis|PK]] during the [[Cold War]]. His lifelong quest to understand the nature of consciousness and anomalous mental phenomena led him to explore the intersection of science, mysticism, and the supernatural[^1].
Born in Chicago on February 19, 1918, to poor Yugoslavian immigrants, Puharich had an early experience that shaped his future. As a milk delivery boy, he claimed to have calmed a vicious dog by sending "feelings of calmness and peace," leading him to believe in [[Telepathy|mind-to-mind telepathy]] and inspiring him to pursue medicine to understand the biological basis of such phenomena[^1]. He excelled academically, attending [[Northwestern University]] for philosophy and premedical studies before entering medical school. During his studies, he deeply contemplated the nature of the mind and consciousness, stating, "Understanding the nature of man’s consciousness... is my lifelong quest"[^1].
Born in [[Chicago]] on February 19, 1918, to poor [[Yugoslavia|Yugoslavian]] immigrants, Puharich had an early experience that shaped his future. As a milk delivery boy, he claimed to have calmed a vicious dog by sending "feelings of calmness and peace," leading him to believe in [[Telepathy|mind-to-mind telepathy]] and inspiring him to pursue medicine to understand the biological basis of such phenomena[^1]. He excelled academically, attending [[Northwestern University]] for philosophy and premedical studies before entering medical school. During his studies, he deeply contemplated the nature of the mind and consciousness, stating, "Understanding the nature of man’s consciousness... is my lifelong quest"[^1].
After completing his medical degree in 1947, Puharich worked with leading physicians, including his mentor, Dr. Andrew C. Ivy. During his residency at the Permanente Research Foundation, he formulated the Puharich Theory, which posited an unknown energy force linking the brain and nervous system to cells, with instructions flowing between them as "dynamics." He believed this energy radiated on the [[Electromagnetic Spectrum|electromagnetic spectrum]] but was beyond current measurement technology. His theory gained traction when [[Lloyd H. Beck]] and [[Walter S. Miles]] of [[Yale University]] reported that the olfactory nerve of a bee radiated energy in the infrared spectrum[^1].
After completing his medical degree in 1947, Puharich worked with leading physicians, including his mentor, Dr. [[Andrew C. Ivy]]. During his residency at the [[Permanente Research Foundation]], he formulated the Puharich Theory, which posited an unknown energy force linking the brain and nervous system to cells, with instructions flowing between them as "dynamics." He believed this energy radiated on the [[Electromagnetic Spectrum|electromagnetic spectrum]] but was beyond current measurement technology. His theory gained traction when [[Lloyd H. Beck]] and [[Walter S. Miles]] of [[Yale University]] reported that the olfactory nerve of a bee radiated energy in the infrared spectrum[^1].
Inspired by microbiologist [[Paul De Kruif]], who warned him to "Beware the Establishment!"[^1], Puharich began lecturing on his ideas, merging philosophy, mysticism, and science. This attracted wealthy benefactors, notably [[Joyce Borden Balokovic]] and [[Zlatko Balokovic]], and later [[Alice Astor Bouverie]] and [[Marcella Miller du Pont]]. With their financial backing, Puharich established the [[Round Table Foundation]] in Glen Cove, Maine, in 1949. The foundation, named in homage to King Arthur, aimed to conduct experiments on ESP and related phenomena[^1].
Inspired by microbiologist [[Paul De Kruif]], who warned him to "Beware the Establishment!"[^1], Puharich began lecturing on his ideas, merging philosophy, mysticism, and science. This attracted wealthy benefactors, notably [[Joyce Borden Balokovic]] and [[Zlatko Balokovic]], and later [[Alice Astor Bouverie]] and [[Marcella Miller du Pont]]. With their financial backing, Puharich established the [[Round Table Foundation]] in [[Glen Cove, Maine]], in 1949. The foundation, named in homage to King Arthur, aimed to conduct experiments on ESP and related phenomena[^1].
The Warrenton Estate, Puharich's home and laboratory, became the center of his research. Here, he conducted experiments on audio waves and human hearing, collaborating with ear surgeon [[Samuel Rosen]], whose accidental discovery of the "Rosen stapes" operation brought prestige and grants to the foundation[^1]. Puharich's mystical beliefs deepened through his mentorship with [[John Hays Hammond Jr.]], a wealthy inventor and ESP advocate. Hammond, influenced by [[Nikola Tesla]], believed scientific inspiration could come from an unknown energy force in dreams. Together, they built a [[Faraday Cage]] to test ESP on [[Extremely Low Frequency (ELF) Waves|ELF waves]]. Their "Project I" involved psychics like [[Eileen Garrett]], whose ESP abilities reportedly increased inside the cage[^1].
The [[Warrenton Estate]], Puharich's home and laboratory, became the center of his research. Here, he conducted experiments on audio waves and human hearing, collaborating with ear surgeon [[Samuel Rosen]], whose accidental discovery of the "Rosen stapes" operation brought prestige and grants to the foundation[^1]. Puharich's mystical beliefs deepened through his mentorship with [[John Hays Hammond Jr.]], a wealthy inventor and ESP advocate. Hammond, influenced by [[Nikola Tesla]], believed scientific inspiration could come from an unknown energy force in dreams. Together, they built a [[Faraday Cage]] to test ESP on [[Extremely Low Frequency (ELF) Waves|ELF waves]]. Their "Project I" involved psychics like [[Eileen Garrett]], whose ESP abilities reportedly increased inside the cage[^1].
Puharich also investigated audio aberrations, collaborating with [[Warren S. McCulloch]], a cybernetics founder and [[Central Intelligence Agency]] asset. They discovered that a machinist hearing voices was actually picking up radio signals due to carborundum dust on his dental fillings, a finding that garnered attention from *[[The New York Times]]* and the [[U.S. Navy]][^1].
Puharich's work caught the attention of the [[Pentagon]]. In 1952, Lieutenant Colonel [[John B. Stanley]] of the [[U.S. Army]]'s Office of the Chief of Psychological Warfare, who also served as an Army liaison to the CIA, met with Puharich. This led to Puharich delivering classified briefings and being recalled to military service in March 1953, where he worked at the [[U.S. Army Chemical Center]] in Edgewood, Maryland[^1]. His task was to find a drug that could enhance ESP, mirroring the Central Intelligence Agency's quest for a truth serum[^1].
Puharich's work caught the attention of the [[Pentagon]]. In 1952, Lieutenant Colonel [[John B. Stanley]] of the [[U.S. Army]]'s [[Office of the Chief of Psychological Warfare]], who also served as an Army liaison to the CIA, met with Puharich. This led to Puharich delivering classified briefings and being recalled to military service in March 1953, where he worked at the [[U.S. Army Chemical Center]] in [[Edgewood Arsenal|Edgewood, Maryland]][^1]. His task was to find a drug that could enhance ESP, mirroring the Central Intelligence Agency's quest for a truth serum[^1].
During this period, Puharich became obsessed with the hallucinogenic mushroom *teonanáctl* (God's flesh), after Alice Astor Bouverie informed him of [[Harry Stump]]'s channeling of an "Egyptian persona" that spoke of such a drug. Puharich learned of [[R. Gordon Wasson]]'s expeditions to Mexico in search of the mushroom and briefed his Army superiors on it[^1]. However, the CIA, through [[James Moore]], bypassed Puharich and approached Wasson directly, leading to Puharich being sidelined from the [[Project MKUltra|MKULTRA Subproject 58]][^1].
During this period, Puharich became obsessed with the hallucinogenic mushroom *teonanáctl* (God's flesh), after Alice Astor Bouverie informed him of [[Harry Stump]]'s channeling of an "Egyptian persona" that spoke of such a drug. Puharich learned of [[R. Gordon Wasson]]'s expeditions to [[Mexico]] in search of the mushroom and briefed his Army superiors on it[^1]. However, the CIA, through [[James Moore]], bypassed Puharich and approached Wasson directly, leading to Puharich being sidelined from the [[Project MKUltra|MKULTRA Subproject 58]][^1].
Puharich's personal life suffered during his Army service. His wife, Jinny, battled severe depression and underwent insulin shock therapy. After their divorce, Jinny died by suicide in 1959[^1]. Puharich later married Bep Hermans.
Puharich's personal life suffered during his Army service. His wife, Jinny, battled severe depression and underwent insulin shock therapy. After their divorce, Jinny died by suicide in 1959[^1]. Puharich later married [[Bep Hermans]].
Upon his return to civilian life in 1955, Puharich continued his research at the Round Table Foundation. He experimented with *teonanáctl* on himself and others, including Harry Stump, with [[Aldous Huxley]] as a witness. While the experiments did not yield the divinatory powers Puharich hoped for in Stump, they highlighted the ethical complexities of his research[^1].
@ -48,17 +48,27 @@ After the death of Alice Astor Bouverie, a key financial supporter, and growing
Puharich continued to work on secret government contracts, including for [[NASA]] and the [[Air Force Systems Command]], exploring concepts like "skin reading" - the idea that the skin could function as an organ of sensory communication beyond touch. He demonstrated this with deaf individuals, convincing [[Paul S. Henshaw]] of the [[Atomic Energy Commission]] of its legitimacy[^1].
His interests also extended to psychic healing, leading him to Brazil to study [[Arigo]], a healer who reportedly performed surgeries with a pocketknife. Puharich documented Arigo's work, hoping to secure military interest in "psychic healing on the battlefield," though without success[^1].
His interests also extended to psychic healing, leading him to [[Brazil]] to study [[Arigo]], a healer who reportedly performed surgeries with a pocketknife. Puharich documented Arigo's work, hoping to secure military interest in "psychic healing on the battlefield," though without success[^1].
In 1970, Puharich met [[Itzhak Bentov]], who introduced him to [[Uri Geller]], an Israeli with extraordinary psychokinetic and telepathic abilities. Puharich became obsessed with Geller, believing he could secure a government research contract if he could test him under laboratory conditions. His efforts led to Geller being tested by the Central Intelligence Agency at [[Stanford Research Institute]] (SRI), though the CIA viewed Puharich as a "potential liability"[^1]. Puharich acted as Geller's official manager, often involving the press, which complicated the CIA's desire for secrecy[^1].
In 1970, Puharich met [[Itzhak Bentov]], who introduced him to [[Uri Geller]], an [[Israel|Israeli]] with extraordinary psychokinetic and telepathic abilities. Puharich became obsessed with Geller, believing he could secure a government research contract if he could test him under laboratory conditions. His efforts led to Geller being tested by the Central Intelligence Agency at [[Stanford Research Institute]] (SRI), though the CIA viewed Puharich as a "potential liability"[^1]. Puharich acted as Geller's official manager, often involving the press, which complicated the CIA's desire for secrecy[^1].
Throughout his life, Puharich maintained a theory that extraterrestrials were trying to send messages to humans through psychic people, and that ELF waves were responsible for the sicknesses of the age[^1].
Andrija Puharich died tragically in 1995, alone and impoverished, under threat of eviction from the estate of his last benefactor, [[R. J. Reynolds]]. He was 76 and suffering from dementia, kidney failure, and gangrene[^1].
The CIA's own history of its interest in parapsychology, written in 1977, began with Puharich: "in 1952 the Department of Defense was lectured on the possible usefulness of extrasensory perception in psychological warfare," citing his paper "On the Possible Usefulness of Extrasensory Perception in Psychological Warfare" to a Pentagon conference of that year, which "induced one of the earliest U.S. Government parapsychology investigations" when the chief of the [[Technical Services Division]] commissioned a review from Stephen Abrams of the parapsychology laboratory at [[Oxford University|Oxford]]. In January 1973 an officer of the Office of Research and Development, reviewing the SRI film of Uri Geller, wrote that "Geller's connections with Dr. A. Puharich, with whom many unsavory reports have been linked, also is disturbing."[^2]
The CIA's own history of its interest in parapsychology, written in 1977, began with Puharich: "in 1952 the [[Department of Defense]] was lectured on the possible usefulness of extrasensory perception in psychological warfare," citing his paper "On the Possible Usefulness of Extrasensory Perception in Psychological Warfare" to a Pentagon conference of that year, which "induced one of the earliest U.S. Government parapsychology investigations" when the chief of the [[Technical Services Division]] commissioned a review from [[Stephen Abrams]] of the parapsychology laboratory at [[Oxford University|Oxford]]. In January 1973 an officer of the [[Office of Research and Development (CIA)|Office of Research and Development]], reviewing the SRI film of Uri Geller, wrote that "Geller's connections with Dr. A. Puharich, with whom many unsavory reports have been linked, also is disturbing."[^2]
### Round Table Foundation in CIA Records
A questionnaire submitted in 1952 by the Select Committee of the [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]] created by House Resolution 561, Eighty-second Congress, Second Session, to investigate tax-exempt foundations and comparable organizations (the [[Cox Committee]]) is held in CIA records as a 78-page copy approved for release on December 5, 2001. The foundation address list in the questionnaire includes "Round Table Foundation," Glen Cove, Maine, between the [[Religious Education Foundation]] and the [[Rubicon Foundation]].[^3]
### Round Table Foundation in the Maine Press, 1949
The [[Portland Press Herald]] (Sunday Telegram section) of January 9, 1949 carried a staff-written story by [[Jim Moore]], datelined [[Camden, Maine|Camden]], headed "Secrets Of Life." It reported that Dr. Henry K. Puharich, a Chicago physician then about thirty, with his wife Virginia (born Jackson) and their daughter Svetlana, aged eighteen months, had settled at Camden, near Zlatko Balokovic and his wife, and had set up the "Round Table Foundation Laboratory of experimental electrobiology" in a converted barn on the [[Bald Mountain]] retreat. The story gave his schooling as a bachelor's degree in philosophy and a medical degree from Northwestern University, followed by a rotating internship at [[Permanente Hospital]] in [[Oakland, California]], and described Mrs. Puharich as a former [[Office of War Information]] editor and Northwestern laboratory assistant. It stated his theory, which it said he had presented in 1946 to a zoology seminar at the [[University of California]] and to the [[Society of Junior Fellows]] at [[Harvard University|Harvard]], that nerve units radiate and receive energy waves, with the "plasma membrane" acting as a piezo-electric crystal that behaves as a radio receiver and transmitter. The story added that the theory might explain the microphonics of the ear and might account for mental telepathy by electronic equipment "which may not yet be developed," and that his crystal work was done with Dr. [[Raymond C. Tibbetts]] of Camden.[^4]
### Footnotes
[^1]: Jacobsen, Annie. *Phenomena: The Secret History of the U.S. Government's Investigations into Extrasensory Perception and Psychokinesis*. Little, Brown and Company, 2017.
[^2]: Kress, Kenneth A. "Parapsychology in Intelligence: A Personal Review and Conclusions," *Studies in Intelligence,* vol. 21, no. 4, winter 1977, declassified. Central Intelligence Agency, Office of Research and Development, memorandum ORD-413-73, "Briefing by Stanford Research Institute," January 24, 1973, CIA-RDP96-00787R000400070029-2. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection.
[^3]: "Questionnaire submitted by the Select Committee of the House of Representatives of the Congress of the United States, created by House Resolution 561, Eighty-second Congress, Second Session, to investigate tax-exempt foundations and comparable organizations," CIA-RDP91-00682R000300080029-3, CIA Reading Room, https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp91-00682r000300080029-3. The document page carries OCR text only; the PDF has no text layer, and the foundation name is read from that OCR.
[^4]: Jim Moore, "Secrets Of Life," *Portland Press Herald* (Portland, Me.), January 9, 1949, p. 61, https://www.newspapers.com/image/848421406/.

74
10 - PEOPLE/(N-S)/Ben Rich.md Normal file
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@ -0,0 +1,74 @@
---
category: "UFO & Anomalous Phenomena"
tags:
- Person
- Engineer
- Lockheed
- SkunkWorks
- Stealth
- Area51
- UFO
- Aerospace
alias:
- Ben Rich
- Ben R. Rich
- Benjamin Robert Rich
- Benjamin R. Rich
- Ben Reich
summary: "Lockheed engineer who headed the Skunk Works from 1975 to 1990, developed the F-117, and closed lectures with a line about taking E.T. home that listeners later reported as an admission."
location: "Burbank, California"
relations:
- type: employed_by
with: "[[Lockheed Aircraft Company]]"
start: 1950
end: 1990-12-31
role: "thermodynamicist and designer from 1950; vice president and general manager of Advanced Development Projects"
fn: 1
- type: head_of
with: "[[Lockheed Skunk Works]]"
start: 1975-01-17
end: 1990-12-31
role: "second head of the unit, after Kelly Johnson"
fn: 2
- type: member_of
with: "[[National Academy of Engineering]]"
role: "member; winner of the 1989 Collier Trophy and of the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service"
fn: 4
created: 2026-10-03
updated: 2026-10-03
---
Benjamin Robert Rich was born Ben Reich in [[Manila]] on June 18, 1925, came to the [[United States]] in May 1941 with his family and changed his surname to Rich when he was naturalized in 1947.[^1] He took a B.S. in mechanical engineering at the [[University of California, Berkeley]] in 1949 and an M.S. at the [[University of California, Los Angeles]] in 1950, and joined [[Lockheed Aircraft Company]] in 1950 as a design specialist in thermodynamics, aerodynamics and propulsion, working on the [[F-94]], [[F-90]], [[C-130]] and [[F-104]]. He moved to Lockheed's Advanced Development Projects, the [[Lockheed Skunk Works]], in 1955; the aeronautical historian [[Peter W. Merlin|Peter Merlin]] wrote in 2013 that he joined "in 1954 as a thermodynamicist on the XF-104 project."[^1][^4] In his memoir Rich wrote that [[Kelly Johnson]] had phoned Lockheed's heat transfer specialist [[Bernie Messinger]] "asking him to borrow a competent thermodynamicist for an undisclosed Skunk Works project," and that "Bernie tapped me."[^2]
### Career at the Skunk Works
As a senior design specialist Rich worked on the [[U-2 Spy Plane]], helped design from 1956 to 1958 the [[CL-400]], a liquid hydrogen reconnaissance aircraft for the Air Force's [[Project Suntan]], and worked on the engine inlets of the [[SR-71]].[^1] He wrote that on January 17, 1975 he parked "for the first time in the boss's slot" in front of the unmarked Skunk Works building at the [[Burbank]] airport, that the formal name was "Lockheed's Advanced Development Projects," and that he was fifty years old.[^2] A [[The Wall Street Journal|Wall Street Journal]] article of October 13, 1980, preserved in the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]]'s reading room, describes the unit as then "headed by longtime Johnson associate Ben R. Rich" and quotes former employees on its habit of building aircraft in Burbank and moving them "by night" to "some testing strip in the [[Nevada]] desert."[^5] Rich's own account of the first [[Have Blue]] flight at the Nevada range on December 1, 1977 describes it as taking place "at this very same highly secret sand pile" where the U-2 first flew, a site "we built for the CIA" which Johnson had named "[[Area 51|Paradise Ranch]]"; he wrote that the Air Force chief of staff then classified Have Blue "Top Secret, Special Access Required," a category the memoir compares to the [[Manhattan Project]].[^2] He wrote that the stealth story began in July 1975 with a [[Pentagon]] briefing on [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] air defenses, after which his mathematician [[Denys Overholser]] found, in a [[Moscow]] paper of nine years earlier by the radar scientist [[Pyotr Ufimtsev]], chief scientist at the [[Moscow Institute of Radio Engineering]], titled "Method of Edge Waves in the Physical Theory of Diffraction," a method of calculating radar cross sections; he wrote that the paper "had only recently been translated by the Air Force [[Foreign Technology Division]] from the original Russian language," and that Ufimtsev "had provided us with an 'industrial-strength' theory." He recounts that aerodynamicists including [[Dick Cantrell]] "seriously thought that maybe we would do better trying to build an actual flying saucer," whose shape "was the ultimate in low observability," and adds: "The problem was finding ways to make a saucer fly ... But how? The Martians wouldn't tell us."[^2] He wrote that the Air Force's [[F-117 Nighthawk]] squadron, which "finally moved into [[Tonopah Test Range|Tonopah]] in 1984" (an airstrip on the [[Nellis Air Force Range]] about 140 miles from [[Las Vegas]], "originally used by the [[Sandia National Laboratories]] for nuclear warhead testing"), flew [[A-7]] attack fighters as its cover and that "The word was purposely leaked that our A-7 fighters were carrying supersecret atomic antiradar devices that would render the airplane invisible to enemy defenses"; he described the devices as old napalm canisters painted black with a radiation tag reading "Reactor Cooling Fill Port," and wrote that [[Air Police]] closed a base in [[South Korea]] and had runway crews face away when the aircraft taxied.[^2]
Rich retired on December 31, 1990; Kelly Johnson died on December 22, 1990. He published Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years at Lockheed with [[Leo Janos]] in 1994, thanking among others the retired colonel [[Barry Hennessey]] and "[[Donald Welzenbach|Don Welzenbach]] of the CIA," and died of cancer on January 5, 1995.[^1][^2] The [[National Academy of Engineering]]'s memorial tributes carry a chapter on him.[^3]
### Anecdotes in the memoir
The memoir records other encounters with the subject. Rich wrote that for the Blackbird flights "We had to clear [[Federal Aviation Administration|FAA]] controllers along the flight paths, otherwise they'd think they were seeing flying saucers at Mach 3 plus on their radar screens," and told of a U-2 pilot from [[Taiwan]], among pilots he said he briefed on the aircraft's propulsion system at Burbank in the summer of 1959, who flamed out on a training flight from the Nevada base and glided into a [[Cortez, Colorado]] airport at dusk, where the airport manager "almost fainted" at the sight of an aircraft "long and sleek with enormous wings" and "an alien in a space suit" shouting "Quick. Get gun. Guard plane. Very, very secret."[^2]
### The E.T. line
Merlin documented that Rich used a closing line, which Merlin calls a joke, in his lectures from the spring of 1983, after the release of the film [[E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial]]. At a [[Defense Week]] symposium in [[Washington, D.C.|Washington]] on September 20, 1983 Rich said: "The Skunk Works has been assigned the task of getting E.T. back home." Merlin dates earlier uses to a presentation at [[Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute]] in April 1983, and later ones to the [[United States Naval Academy]] on September 6, 1984, the [[Beverly Hills, California|Beverly Hills]] chapter of the [[Daughters of the American Revolution]] on May 23, 1990 ("last week we received a contract to take E.T. back home"), and a 1993 speech at [[Wright-Patterson Air Force Base]] ("The Air Force has just given us a contract to take E.T. back home"), each time with a slide of a flying saucer. Merlin cites the personal papers of Rich at the [[Huntington Library]] for the speeches.[^4]
[[Jan Harzan]], later executive director of the [[Mutual UFO Network]], told a radio network in January 2012 and [[Alejandro Rojas]] of [[Open Minds]] in July 2013 that he attended a March 1993 alumni lecture by Rich at [[UCLA]] with [[Tom Keller]], whose account of the lecture appeared in the May 2010 issue of the [[MUFON UFO Journal]]. Harzan said Rich showed about two dozen slides, ended with one of a disk-shaped craft, and concluded: "We now have the technology to take E.T. home." Harzan said that after the lecture Rich told one engineer, "We now know how to travel to the stars. We found an error in the equations and it won't take a lifetime to do it," and, when Harzan pressed him on interstellar propulsion, asked "how does ESP work?" and answered Harzan's reply with "That's how it works." Merlin wrote in 2013 that the sentence Keller and Harzan heard was the standard tag line "carefully honed over the span of a decade," that two circulating quotations ("We already have the means to travel among the stars ..." and "we have to find out where Einstein went wrong") have no source, and that Rich told [[Popular Science]] in 1994: "There are some new programs, and there are certain things, some of them 20 or 30 years old, that are still breakthroughs and appropriate to keep quiet about [because] other people don't have them yet." Merlin also quotes a letter of July 1986 from Rich to the [[Testor Corporation]] model designer [[John Andrews]], who had asked what he thought of manmade or extraterrestrial UFOs: "I'm a believer in both categories. I feel everything is possible. ... In both categories, there are a lot of kooks and charlatans, be cautious."[^4]
The Kelly Johnson file among Rich's papers at the Huntington Library includes the document "Sighting of a flying saucer by certain Lockheed Aircraft Corporation personnel on 16 December 1953," the report forwarded to the [[Air Technical Intelligence Center]] in 1954 (see Lockheed Skunk Works).[^1]
### Accounts placing the F-117 and the Skunk Works in crash-retrieval stories
Notes attributed to the physicist [[Eric Davis]] include a letter dated April 25, 2002 from a "[[Will Miller]]" of [[Belleair Bluffs, Florida]], offering Davis and [[Hal Puthoff]] help with "UFO crash retrievals," and listing as the first item "Particulars on a 'special team' involved (as a secondary mission) with recovering crashed 'craft' including, but not limited to, the previously classified F-117 Stealth Fighter."[^6] The [[Department of Defense]]'s [[All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office]] wrote in 2024 that one interviewee claimed that circa 1999 a former senior military officer told him that he had touched the surface of an extraterrestrial spacecraft, that about 150 individuals worked on the program, and that it was kept "outside of government" so the technology could remain proprietary; in a separate passage the report states that an interviewee's claim that a named former officer described physically touching an extraterrestrial spacecraft was "denied on the record by the named former officer who recounted a story of when he touched an F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter."[^7] The Wall Street Journal reported on June 21, 2025 that Davis "was part of a small group of defense experts who had claimed to know about a top-secret program at Lockheed's Skunk Works to hoard extraterrestrial technology."[^8]
### Footnotes
[^1]: Huntington Library, "Ben R. Rich papers, 1940-1995," Online Archive of California, biographical note, series descriptions and acquisition note (gift of Michael and Karen Rich, July 15, 2008), https://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c86d5rqx/admin/
[^2]: Ben R. Rich and Leo Janos, Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years at Lockheed (Boston: Little, Brown, 1994), acknowledgments and chapters on Have Blue, the Skunk Works name, Paradise Ranch, the U-2 and Blackbird, from the Internet Archive text of a scanned copy, https://archive.org/details/skunk-works-apersonal-memoir-of-my-years-at-lockheed-ben-rrich (line references 44 to 52, 129, 180 to 200, 800 to 810, 1040 to 1056, 1440 to 1456, 2428 to 2456, 2912 to 2950, 4725 to 4745, 5825 and 7757).
[^3]: "Ben Rich," in National Academy of Engineering, Memorial Tributes, Volume 8 (Washington: National Academies Press, 1996), https://nap.nationalacademies.org/read/5427/chapter/39 (chapter listed; page text not rendered in the copy opened). The 1989 Collier Trophy and Department of Defense Medal are as stated by Merlin (note 4).
[^4]: Peter W. Merlin, "Taking E.T. Home: Birth of a Modern Myth," SUNlite 5, no. 6 (November-December 2013), pp. 16 to 19, https://web.archive.org/web/20150321193509/home.comcast.net/~tprinty/UFO/SUNlite5_6.pdf (Merlin thanks the Huntington Library for access to the Rich papers). The Harzan and Keller statements are as reported by Merlin from the interviews of 2012 and 2013, which were not opened.
[^5]: Roy J. Harris Jr., "The Skunk Works: Hush-Hush Projects Often Emerge There," The Wall Street Journal, October 13, 1980, CIA-RDP90-00806R000100660006-2, https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-cia-rdp90-00806r000100660006-2
[^6]: "EWD NOTES 10/16/02," paper-clipped letter of Will Miller to Eric Davis, April 25, 2002, pp. 3 to 4, https://documents2.theblackvault.com/casefiles/wilsonleak.pdf (provenance and authorship of the notes unverified).
[^7]: Department of Defense, All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, Report on the Historical Record of U.S. Government Involvement with Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena, Volume I, February 2024, pp. 8, 29 and 32, https://media.defense.gov/2024/Mar/08/2003409233/-1/-1/0/DOPSR-CLEARED-508-COMPLIANT-HRRV1-08-MAR-2024-FINAL.PDF (the report does not name either officer, does not say whether the two passages concern the same person, and does not connect either passage to Rich or to any company).
[^8]: Joel Schectman and Aruna Viswanatha, "Was It Scrap Metal or an Alien Spacecraft? The Army Asked an Elite Defense Lab to Investigate," The Wall Street Journal, June 21, 2025, copy at https://gwern.net/doc/www/www.wsj.com/9c50364a40ee3cbeb3463a6068c4884ff0f637cc.html

55
10 - PEOPLE/(N-S)/Claiborne Pell.md
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@ -13,25 +13,64 @@ summary: "Claiborne Pell (1918-2009) was a powerful Democratic Senator from Rhod
born: 1918-11-22
died: 2009-01-01
location: "New York City, USA"
updated: 2026-09-22
relations:
- type: director_of
with: "[[Institute of Noetic Sciences]]"
role: "board member as of August 1994, per Jones"
fn: 13
- type: director_of
with: "[[International Association for Near-Death Studies]]"
role: "advisory board, 1988"
fn: 7
- type: head_of
with: "[[Senate Foreign Relations Committee]]"
role: "chairman as of July 1988 per UPI; term dates not verified"
fn: 7
updated: 2026-10-02
---
Claiborne Pell (1918-2009) was a powerful Democratic Senator from Rhode Island and a ranking member of the [[Senate Foreign Relations Committee]]. A former [[Foreign Service]] officer who had worked behind enemy lines in Nazi-occupied Hungary, Pell was a firm supporter and proponent of [[Extrasensory Perception|extrasensory perception]] and the [[Remote Viewing]] program[^1].
Claiborne Pell (1918-2009) was a powerful [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] Senator from [[Rhode Island]] and a ranking member of the [[Senate Foreign Relations Committee]]. A former [[Foreign Service]] officer who had worked behind enemy lines in Nazi-occupied [[Hungary]], Pell was a firm supporter and proponent of [[Extrasensory Perception|extrasensory perception]] and the [[Remote Viewing]] program[^1].
Pell actively lobbied for the program's survival, reaching out personally to [[Dale Graff]] to offer his support. His interest stemmed from a belief in the potential operational value of psychic abilities for military intelligence[^1].
In 1987, Pell asked [[Uri Geller]] to come to Washington for a classified meeting on Capitol Hill. The meeting, which took place in the Capitol building's Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility, involved Geller demonstrating his abilities, including [[Telepathy|telepathy]] and spoon bending, to senators and other officials[^1].
In 1987, Pell asked [[Uri Geller]] to come to [[Washington, D.C.|Washington]] for a classified meeting on [[Capitol Hill]]. The meeting, which took place in the [[U.S. Capitol|Capitol]] building's Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility, involved Geller demonstrating his abilities, including [[Telepathy|telepathy]] and spoon bending, to senators and other officials[^1].
Pell also played a role in the 1987 Geneva disarmament talks. He was present at a reception where Geller was instructed to try and influence [[Yuli M. Vorontsov]], Russia's first deputy foreign minister and lead Soviet arms negotiator, to sign the [[Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty|INF treaty]]. Seven days later, [[Ronald Reagan]] announced that the Soviet Union had offered to move ahead with an agreement to cut longer-range INF missiles[^1].
Pell also played a role in the 1987 [[Geneva]] disarmament talks. He was present at a reception where Geller was instructed to try and influence [[Yuli M. Vorontsov]], [[Russia]]'s first deputy foreign minister and lead Soviet arms negotiator, to sign the [[Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty|INF treaty]]. Seven days later, [[Ronald Reagan]] announced that the [[Soviet Union]] had offered to move ahead with an agreement to cut longer-range INF missiles[^1].
### Education and Public Service
Pell was born in [[New York City]] on November 22, 1918, graduated from [[Princeton University]] in 1940 and took a master's degree at [[Columbia University]] in 1946. He served in the [[United States Coast Guard|Coast Guard]] from 1941, spent seven years as a Foreign Service officer, was elected to the Senate from Rhode Island in 1960, served from 1961 to 1996, and died on January 1, 2009.[^2]
### The Briefing of September 29, 1982
From five to six that afternoon, in his office at the Capitol, Pell received "a GRILL FLAME information briefing" arranged by [[Jack Vorona]] of the [[Defense Intelligence Agency|DIA]] and given with Major Gerald Fox of the Army staff and representatives of [[United States Army Intelligence and Security Command|INSCOM]], whose project manager, Lieutenant Colonel [[Robert Jachim]], wrote the record, with two of his aides present; "although Senator Pell had invited 8 members of the [[Senate Select Committee on Intelligence]] to attend the briefing none were present." The Army's part covered the history of its involvement, "how remote viewing is used for intelligence collection," and four projects whose names are redacted. "The briefing was well received. Senator Pell had had previous briefings concerning parapsychology from Dr. Vorona. He was also acquainted with the work of Dr. [[Robert Jahn]], Dean, College of Engineering, [[Princeton University]]. Senator Pell stated that while he could not assist in FY83, he offered to try to help in the future." Two days later the Army's operations lost their funding in the National Foreign Intelligence Program. In November 1983 INSCOM's chief of staff "asked for a status report on the Senator Pell project," and the [[Center Lane]] manager answered "that we were developing an operational plan to support the project, but as yet we had not collected any information."[^2]
From five to six that afternoon, in his office at the Capitol, Pell received "a GRILL FLAME information briefing" arranged by [[Jack Vorona]] of the [[Defense Intelligence Agency|DIA]] and given with Major [[Gerald Fox]] of the Army staff and representatives of [[United States Army Intelligence and Security Command|INSCOM]], whose project manager, Lieutenant Colonel [[Robert Jachim]], wrote the record, with two of his aides present; "although Senator Pell had invited 8 members of the [[Senate Select Committee on Intelligence]] to attend the briefing none were present." The Army's part covered the history of its involvement, "how remote viewing is used for intelligence collection," and four projects whose names are redacted. "The briefing was well received. Senator Pell had had previous briefings concerning parapsychology from Dr. Vorona. He was also acquainted with the work of Dr. [[Robert Jahn]], Dean, College of Engineering, Princeton University. Senator Pell stated that while he could not assist in FY83, he offered to try to help in the future." Two days later the Army's operations lost their funding in the [[National Foreign Intelligence Program]]. In November 1983 INSCOM's chief of staff "asked for a status report on the Senator Pell project," and the [[Center Lane]] manager answered "that we were developing an operational plan to support the project, but as yet we had not collected any information."[^3]
The chief of staff who asked Buzby for the status report on November 30, 1983, was Colonel Partridge; no later record in Buzby's memoranda names the project again. An undated DIA letter to Pell, S-22,600/DTI-S, refers to "your recent visit to DIA," at which "you raised the issue of the accuracy and reliability of certain journalistic claims regarding the possible existence of Russian psychoenergetic devices," and encloses "Psychoenergetics Devices: A Review and Assessment," with "a list of possible options and recommendations for your consideration" should "the journalist decide to go public with his allegations."[^901]
The chief of staff who asked Buzby for the status report on November 30, 1983, was Colonel Partridge; no later record in Buzby's memoranda names the project again. An undated DIA letter to Pell, S-22,600/DTI-S, refers to "your recent visit to DIA," at which "you raised the issue of the accuracy and reliability of certain journalistic claims regarding the possible existence of Russian psychoenergetic devices," and encloses "Psychoenergetics Devices: A Review and Assessment," with "a list of possible options and recommendations for your consideration" should "the journalist decide to go public with his allegations."[^4]
### Scott Jones and the Human Potential Foundation
From January 1985 to March 1991 Pell employed [[C. B. Scott Jones]], a retired [[United States Navy|Navy]] intelligence officer, as special assistant, "with the purpose of investigating consciousness research being conducted in other countries, primarily the USSR," according to the finding aid to Jones's papers.[^5] The [[Washington Times]] reported in 1989 that Pell, "perhaps Capitol Hill's most unabashed believer, has urged the [[National Science Foundation]], the [[Department of Defense|Defense Department]] and other government agencies to increase psychic research funding" and had a full-time staff member whose exclusive job was monitoring reports of psychic activities.[^6] [[United Press International]], summarizing the [[Providence Journal|Providence Sunday Journal]] of July 17, 1988, reported that Pell attended a national symposium on abduction in 1987, that Jones kept a top secret clearance and earned nearly 50,000 dollars a year, that Pell sat on the advisory board of the [[International Association for Near-Death Studies]] and had helped organize a Washington symposium on near-death experiences two years earlier, and that the psychologist [[Ray Hyman]] of the [[University of Oregon]], who had evaluated military applications of psychic research for the Army, said Pell had "been arguing very forcefully" for a "Manhattan Project-style effort" to catch up with the Russians, which Pell called "vastly exaggerated," saying he favored "a modest increase in financial support" for "intelligent, skeptical" research; the report adds that in 1987 Pell invited Geller to Washington for a demonstration before about 30 congressional and [[Pentagon]] aides.[^7] The version of Emery's Providence Journal story printed in *The [[San Francisco Examiner]]* of August 13, 1988 called Pell "Capitol Hill's best-known student of psychic phenomena, near-death experiences and other areas on the fringes of science," stated that he had had a full-time assistant for three years who promotes "developing human potential," and gave Jones's pay as $48,853 a year with a top-secret clearance (the UPI summary above says "nearly 50,000 dollars" and "top secret"). In that article Pell is reported to have invited Geller in April 1987 with at least one other member of Congress in the audience, and Pell described Hyman's account as "correct but vastly exaggerated."[^8] The *[[Winston-Salem Journal]]* of July 18, 1988, summarizing the same story, reported that Pell, then 69, told the Providence Journal he would "probably spend more time with this" if he were not in the Senate.[^9] The Pell papers at the [[University of Rhode Island]] list three files, "Human Potential Foundation: Scott Jones File" (1987; 1987 to 1994; 1988 to 1991), in the subject file series, box 42, folders 464 to 466.[^10]
Pell created the [[Human Potential Foundation]] in 1989, according to the Jones papers finding aid, and a white paper of February 20, 1992 by [[Robert J. Durant]] states that Pell and the lawyer [[Mark Sandground]] sat on its board and that it was "reportedly funded by [[Laurance Rockefeller]]."[^5][^11] The same paper states that Pell's office was visited by Major General [[Michael Kerby]] of the [[United States Air Force|Air Force]] legislative liaison office, who told Jones of a 1987 visit to [[Lee Graham]]; Jones is quoted as saying "Kerby knew of my interest in these matters."[^11] (Sole source for the passages so cited; the paper is hostile to Jones.)
### Rockefeller, Gibbons and the Clinton White House
Rockefeller's letter of May 7, 1993 to [[Billy Graham]] listed [[Maurice Strong]], possibly [[Javier Perez de Cuellar]], former President [[Jimmy Carter]] and several senators, among them Pell and [[Ted Stevens]], as possible co-signers of a letter to President [[Bill Clinton]] on UFO information; Graham declined on May 20, 1993.[^12] Jones's letter to [[John Gibbons|John H. Gibbons]] of August 11, 1994 notes that Pell sat on the board of the [[Institute of Noetic Sciences]], whose founder [[Edgar Mitchell]] would meet Gibbons.[^13] Gibbons wrote in a handwritten note to Rockefeller in August 1994, "Incidentally, I told C. Pell about this situation yesterday," referring to the Air Force Roswell report; a second note, to "Clay," indexed September 19, 1994 and dated 8/19/94, thanks him for lunch and encloses the report's summary text and Gibbons's Zuckerman lecture.[^14] In the memorandum for the President of August 4, 1995 Gibbons wrote that Rockefeller's interests "are related to those of Senator Pell" and that "Senator Pell and others have supported the funding of research in social science to focus more on these phenomena."[^15]
### Footnotes
[^1]: Jacobsen, Annie. *Phenomena: The Secret History of the U.S. Government's Investigations into Extrasensory Perception and Psychokinesis*. Little, Brown and Company, 2017.
[^2]: Jachim, Robert J., memorandum "Information Briefing for Senator Clairborne Pell," October 6, 1982, CIA-RDP96-00788R001100320001-5; Buzby, Brian, information paper "GRILL FLAME Briefing Presented to Senator Pell," February 6, 1985, CIA-RDP96-00788R001100320004-2. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. Jachim, Robert J., memorandum "Briefing for MG A.N. Stubblebine III," October 8, 1982, CIA-RDP96-00788R001700220022-7; Buzby, Brian, memoranda "CENTER LANE Briefing for CG, USAINSCOM," August 29, 1983 (CIA-RDP96-00788R001700220011-9), "Meeting With MG Stubblebine on 30 November 1983," December 6, 1983 (CIA-RDP96-00788R001700220010-0), and "Meeting with MG Stubblebine on 6 January 1984," January 17, 1984 (CIA-RDP96-00788R001700220009-2); letter of the ACSI to Stubblebine, "CENTER LANE," April 1983 (CIA-RDP96-00788R001700220002-9). Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection.
[^901]: Buzby, Brian, "Meeting With MG Stubblebine on 30 November 1983," memorandum for record, December 6, 1983, CIA-RDP96-00788R001700220010-0; Defense Intelligence Agency, S-22,600/DTI-S, letter to Senator Claiborne Pell, undated, with enclosure "Psychoenergetics Devices: A Review and Assessment," CIA-RDP96-00789R002600010004-9. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection.
[^2]: University of Rhode Island Library, "Register to the Senatorial Papers of Claiborne Pell: Subject File," Mss. Gr. 71.4, biographical note, https://webarchives.apps.uri.edu/Pell%20XML%20Files/pell/Mss.%20Gr.%2071.4b.html.
[^3]: Jachim, Robert J., memorandum "Information Briefing for Senator Clairborne Pell," October 6, 1982, CIA-RDP96-00788R001100320001-5; Buzby, Brian, information paper "GRILL FLAME Briefing Presented to Senator Pell," February 6, 1985, CIA-RDP96-00788R001100320004-2. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. Jachim, Robert J., memorandum "Briefing for MG A.N. Stubblebine III," October 8, 1982, CIA-RDP96-00788R001700220022-7; Buzby, Brian, memoranda "CENTER LANE Briefing for CG, USAINSCOM," August 29, 1983 (CIA-RDP96-00788R001700220011-9), "Meeting With MG Stubblebine on 30 November 1983," December 6, 1983 (CIA-RDP96-00788R001700220010-0), and "Meeting with MG Stubblebine on 6 January 1984," January 17, 1984 (CIA-RDP96-00788R001700220009-2); letter of the ACSI to Stubblebine, "CENTER LANE," April 1983 (CIA-RDP96-00788R001700220002-9). Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection.
[^4]: Buzby, Brian, "Meeting With MG Stubblebine on 30 November 1983," memorandum for record, December 6, 1983, CIA-RDP96-00788R001700220010-0; Defense Intelligence Agency, S-22,600/DTI-S, letter to Senator Claiborne Pell, undated, with enclosure "Psychoenergetics Devices: A Review and Assessment," CIA-RDP96-00789R002600010004-9. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection.
[^5]: University of Colorado Boulder Libraries, "C. B. 'Scott' Jones papers," COU:4004, https://archives.colorado.edu/repositories/2/resources/346.
[^6]: Tom Kelly, "In search of modern Merlins: Psychics gain wider credibility," Washington Times, June 26, 1989 (date per archive metadata), CIA-RDP96-00787R000200080027-5, https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-cia-rdp96-00787r000200080027-5.
[^7]: United Press International, "Pell keen on psychic research," July 17, 1988, https://www.upi.com/Archives/1988/07/17/Pell-keen-on-psychic-research/3613585115200/.
[^8]: C. Eugene Emery Jr., "Sen. Pell flirts with phenomena on the fringe, UFOs, psychics," *The San Francisco Examiner* (from the Providence Journal), August 13, 1988, p. B-12 (newspapers.com p. 22), https://www.newspapers.com/image/461248717/.
[^9]: "Pell Probing Psychic Phenomena," *Winston-Salem Journal*, July 18, 1988, p. 2, https://www.newspapers.com/image/939997164/.
[^10]: University of Rhode Island Library, "Register to the Senatorial Papers of Claiborne Pell: Subject File," Mss. Gr. 71.4, box 42, folders 464 to 466, https://webarchives.apps.uri.edu/Pell%20XML%20Files/pell/Mss.%20Gr.%2071.4b.html.
[^11]: Robert J. Durant, "Will the Real Scott Jones Please Stand Up?" (February 20, 1992), CIA-RDP96-00792R000400300004-7, https://cia.gov/readingroom/node/1697635.
[^12]: Rockefeller to Billy Graham, May 7, 1993, http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-8-23-95.htm.
[^13]: C. B. Scott Jones to John H. Gibbons, August 11, 1994, http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-8-11-94.htm.
[^14]: Gibbons, handwritten notes, http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-8-17-94.htm and RID-9-19-94.htm.
[^15]: Gibbons, memorandum for the President, August 4, 1995, http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-8-4-95.htm.

59
10 - PEOPLE/(N-S)/Hal Puthoff.md
View file

@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
---
created: 2026-05-17
updated: 2026-09-22
updated: 2026-10-02
title: Hal Puthoff
aliases:
- Hal Puthoff
@ -23,15 +23,25 @@ category: "Key Figures"
summary: "Physicist who founded the CIA-funded remote-viewing program at Stanford Research Institute in 1972 with Russell Targ, ran it until 1985, and later worked on the Pentagon's AATIP."
born: 1936-06-20
location: "Chicago, Illinois"
relations:
- type: member_of
with: "[[Advanced Theoretical Physics Working Group]]"
start: 1985-05
role: "named on Oke Shannon's attendee list; presented on remote viewing at the first meeting, according to the Loose Threads authors"
fn: 6
- type: member_of
with: "[[The Aviary]]"
role: "membership as alleged: listed as Owl in a roster published by Richard J. Boylan"
fn: 10
---
Harold E. "Hal" Puthoff (born June 20, 1936) is a physicist and engineer who co-founded the [[Stanford Research Institute]] remote viewing research program with [[Russell Targ]] in 1972 under [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] contract and served as its principal investigator through 1985. The program, which operated under the code names SCANATE, Gondola Wish, and [[Stargate Project|Grill Flame]] before consolidating as STAR GATE under [[Defense Intelligence Agency|DIA]] oversight, represented the primary U.S. government institutional effort to investigate anomalous cognition for intelligence applications over two decades. Puthoff subsequently contributed technical research to the [[Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program|AATIP]] Pentagon program and became a founding member of To the Stars Academy of Arts and Science.
Harold E. "Hal" Puthoff (born June 20, 1936) is a physicist and engineer who co-founded the [[Stanford Research Institute]] remote viewing research program with [[Russell Targ]] in 1972 under [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] contract and served as its principal investigator through 1985. The program, which operated under the code names SCANATE, Gondola Wish, and [[Stargate Project|Grill Flame]] before consolidating as STAR GATE under [[Defense Intelligence Agency|DIA]] oversight, represented the primary [[U.S. government]] institutional effort to investigate anomalous cognition for intelligence applications over two decades. Puthoff subsequently contributed technical research to the [[Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program|AATIP]] [[Pentagon]] program and became a founding member of [[To The Stars Academy of Arts & Science|To the Stars Academy of Arts and Science]].
### Early Career
Puthoff was born in Chicago, Illinois, and raised in Dade County, Florida. He attended the University of Florida and completed a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Stanford University in the 1960s. Before joining Stanford Research Institute, he worked briefly for the [[National Security Agency]] in a signals intelligence-related research capacity in the late 1960s, an experience that gave him direct familiarity with government intelligence requirements and classification systems.
Puthoff was born in [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]], and raised in [[Dade County, Florida]]. He attended the [[University of Florida]] and completed a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from [[Stanford University]] in the 1960s. Before joining Stanford Research Institute, he worked briefly for the [[National Security Agency]] in a signals intelligence-related research capacity in the late 1960s, an experience that gave him direct familiarity with government intelligence requirements and classification systems.
He published a standard textbook in his field, *Fundamentals of Quantum Electronics* (1969, co-authored with R. L. Pantell), and held patents in tunable infrared laser technology. He joined SRI in 1969 as a researcher in laser physics and related applied science areas.
He published a standard textbook in his field, *Fundamentals of Quantum Electronics* (1969, co-authored with [[R. L. Pantell]]), and held patents in tunable infrared laser technology. He joined SRI in 1969 as a researcher in laser physics and related applied science areas.
### Scientology Background
@ -39,21 +49,21 @@ Puthoff was a practicing member of the [[Church of Scientology]] for several yea
### Initial Contact with CIA and SRI Experiments (1972)
Puthoff's shift from laser physics toward parapsychology research grew from his interest in quantum mechanics and questions about the physical basis of consciousness and observation. In 1972, he was contacted by Ingo Swann, an artist and self-described psychic who proposed a formal laboratory test at SRI. Puthoff arranged for Swann to attempt to disturb the output of a heavily shielded proton precession magnetometer at Stanford University's Varian Hall, designed to detect quarks. The magnetometer output showed anomalous fluctuations that Puthoff could not account for through conventional means.
Puthoff's shift from laser physics toward parapsychology research grew from his interest in quantum mechanics and questions about the physical basis of consciousness and observation. In 1972, he was contacted by Ingo Swann, an artist and self-described psychic who proposed a formal laboratory test at SRI. Puthoff arranged for Swann to attempt to disturb the output of a heavily shielded proton precession magnetometer at Stanford University's [[Varian Hall]], designed to detect quarks. The magnetometer output showed anomalous fluctuations that Puthoff could not account for through conventional means.
On June 27, 1972, Puthoff wrote formally to [[Kit Green]] at the CIA's Life Sciences Division, proposing government-funded research at SRI to investigate whether anomalous cognition could be reproduced under controlled conditions. This letter, subsequently declassified and available in the CIA FOIA Reading Room (document CIA-RDP96-00791R000200030006-8), established the institutional relationship between SRI and the CIA that funded the program for more than a decade. The CIA designated the initial program SCANATE (Scan by Coordinate) and provided initial funding; formal experiments began under CIA contract by October 1972.
On June 27, 1972, Puthoff wrote formally to [[Kit Green]] at the CIA's Life Sciences Division, proposing government-funded research at SRI to investigate whether anomalous cognition could be reproduced under controlled conditions. This letter, subsequently declassified and available in the CIA [[Freedom of Information Act|FOIA]] Reading Room (document CIA-RDP96-00791R000200030006-8), established the institutional relationship between SRI and the CIA that funded the program for more than a decade. The CIA designated the initial program SCANATE ([[SCANATE|Scan by Coordinate]]) and provided initial funding; formal experiments began under CIA contract by October 1972.
Puthoff hired Targ as a research colleague, and together they developed the remote viewing experimental protocol: a subject remained at SRI while a second experimenter traveled to a randomly selected target site; the subject attempted to describe the target through verbal description and drawings; independent judges blindly matched transcripts to target sites.
### The 1996 Account
After the CIA declassified 270 pages of SRI reports in July 1995, Puthoff published his own account. In early 1972, doing laser research at SRI, he had written a proposal that Ingo Swann saw at [[Cleve Backster]]'s laboratory and wrote to him, and Puthoff invited him for a week in June 1972. He arranged access to "a well-shielded magnetometer used in a quark-detection experiment in the Physics Department at Stanford University," in a vault beneath the floor "shielded by mu-metal shielding, an aluminum container, copper shielding and a superconducting shield"; Swann "appeared to perturb the operation of the magnetometer" and then "went on to 'remote view' the interior of the apparatus, rendering by drawing a reasonable facsimile of its rather complex (and heretofore unpublished) construction." Within weeks "a pair of visitors showed up at SRI with the above report in hand. Their credentials showed them to be from the CIA. They knew of my previous background as a Naval Intelligence Officer and then civilian employee at the National Security Agency," and spoke of "increasing concern in the intelligence community about the level of effort in Soviet parapsychology being funded by the Soviet security services." An eight-month "Biofield Measurements Program" of 49,909 dollars followed, and Russell Targ joined; the second year, January 1974 to February 1975, was funded at 149,555 dollars. The first coordinate target, "the West Virginia Site," produced from one subject "a detailed map of the building and grounds layout" and from the other "information about the interior including codewords, data subsequently verified by sponsor sources"; Pat Price then "went on to scan the other side of the globe for a Communist Bloc equivalent and found one located in the Urals," also "verified by personnel in the sponsor organization as being substantially correct." The [[Semipalatinsk]] experiment of July 1974, "carried out in three phases," was "under direct control of the COTR," and "several details concerning the salient technology of the Semipalatinsk site appeared to dovetail with data from other sources, and a number of specific large structural elements were correctly described." The CIA "dropped out as a major player in the mid-seventies due to pressure on the Agency (unrelated to the RV Program) from the Church-Pike Congressional Committee," and Major General [[Edmund Thompson]], the Army's assistant chief of staff for intelligence from 1977 to 1981, said: "I had one or more briefings by SRI and was impressed. The decision I made was to set up a small, in-house, low-cost effort in remote viewing." One application, Puthoff noted, "yielded not only a published, statistically significant result, but also a return of $26,000 in 30 days in the silver futures market." The article does not mention [[Scientology]].[^1]
After the CIA declassified 270 pages of SRI reports in July 1995, Puthoff published his own account. In early 1972, doing laser research at SRI, he had written a proposal that Ingo Swann saw at [[Cleve Backster]]'s laboratory and wrote to him, and Puthoff invited him for a week in June 1972. He arranged access to "a well-shielded magnetometer used in a quark-detection experiment in the Physics Department at Stanford University," in a vault beneath the floor "shielded by mu-metal shielding, an aluminum container, copper shielding and a superconducting shield"; Swann "appeared to perturb the operation of the magnetometer" and then "went on to 'remote view' the interior of the apparatus, rendering by drawing a reasonable facsimile of its rather complex (and heretofore unpublished) construction." Within weeks "a pair of visitors showed up at SRI with the above report in hand. Their credentials showed them to be from the CIA. They knew of my previous background as a [[Office of Naval Intelligence|Naval Intelligence]] Officer and then civilian employee at the National Security Agency," and spoke of "increasing concern in the intelligence community about the level of effort in Soviet parapsychology being funded by the Soviet security services." An eight-month "Biofield Measurements Program" of 49,909 dollars followed, and Russell Targ joined; the second year, January 1974 to February 1975, was funded at 149,555 dollars. The first coordinate target, "the West Virginia Site," produced from one subject "a detailed map of the building and grounds layout" and from the other "information about the interior including codewords, data subsequently verified by sponsor sources"; Pat Price then "went on to scan the other side of the globe for a Communist Bloc equivalent and found one located in the Urals," also "verified by personnel in the sponsor organization as being substantially correct." The [[Semipalatinsk]] experiment of July 1974, "carried out in three phases," was "under direct control of the COTR," and "several details concerning the salient technology of the Semipalatinsk site appeared to dovetail with data from other sources, and a number of specific large structural elements were correctly described." The CIA "dropped out as a major player in the mid-seventies due to pressure on the Agency (unrelated to the RV Program) from the [[Church Committee|Church-Pike Congressional Committee]]," and Major General [[Edmund Thompson]], the Army's assistant chief of staff for intelligence from 1977 to 1981, said: "I had one or more briefings by SRI and was impressed. The decision I made was to set up a small, in-house, low-cost effort in remote viewing." One application, Puthoff noted, "yielded not only a published, statistically significant result, but also a return of $26,000 in 30 days in the silver futures market." The article does not mention [[Scientology]].[^1]
### Protocol Development and Pat Price
Swann's suggestion to use geographic coordinates rather than outbound experimenters as the targeting mechanism - initially resisted by Puthoff and Targ as theoretically implausible - proved to generate consistent results and became the basis of Coordinate Remote Viewing (CRV), the structured methodology used throughout the government program.
Swann's suggestion to use geographic coordinates rather than outbound experimenters as the targeting mechanism - initially resisted by Puthoff and Targ as theoretically implausible - proved to generate consistent results and became the basis of [[Coordinate Remote Viewing]] (CRV), the structured methodology used throughout the government program.
Pat Price, a retired Burbank police commissioner introduced to the program in 1973, produced what Puthoff considered the most operationally significant results of the SRI period. Price's remote viewing of the Soviet URDF-3 facility near Semipalatinsk - describing a large gantry crane, spherical metal objects estimated at 60 feet in diameter under construction, and a novel welding technique - was subsequently evaluated against classified satellite photography and assessed as substantially accurate. Price and Swann's subsequent remote viewing of the NSA signals intelligence facility at Sugar Grove, [[West Virginia]], triggered an NSA security investigation into whether remote viewing, if genuine, represented a vulnerability for classified installations.
Pat Price, a retired [[Burbank, California|Burbank]] police commissioner introduced to the program in 1973, produced what Puthoff considered the most operationally significant results of the SRI period. Price's remote viewing of the Soviet URDF-3 facility near Semipalatinsk - describing a large gantry crane, spherical metal objects estimated at 60 feet in diameter under construction, and a novel welding technique - was subsequently evaluated against classified satellite photography and assessed as substantially accurate. Price and Swann's subsequent remote viewing of the NSA signals intelligence facility at Sugar Grove, [[West Virginia]], triggered an NSA security investigation into whether remote viewing, if genuine, represented a vulnerability for classified installations.
Price died of a reported heart attack in [[Las Vegas]] in July 1975, under circumstances Puthoff considered potentially suspicious. His suitcase of remote viewing notes and CIA materials disappeared before Puthoff arrived in Las Vegas. No evidence of foul play was established.
@ -61,32 +71,45 @@ On September 26, 1977, Puthoff sent Dave Johnson, whose office the memorandum do
### Published Research
Puthoff and Targ published the SRI program's experimental results in two major peer-reviewed venues: "Information Transmission Under Conditions of Sensory Shielding" in *Nature* (October 1974, volume 251, pages 602-607), and "A Perceptual Channel for Information Transfer over Kilometer Distances: Historical Perspective and Recent Research" in *Proceedings of the IEEE* (March 1976, volume 64, number 3, pages 329-354). Both papers presented statistical significance claims for anomalous information transfer under controlled conditions and triggered extensive methodological debate in both journals' correspondence sections.
Puthoff and Targ published the SRI program's experimental results in two major peer-reviewed venues: "Information Transmission Under Conditions of Sensory Shielding" in *[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]* (October 1974, volume 251, pages 602-607), and "A Perceptual Channel for Information Transfer over Kilometer Distances: Historical Perspective and Recent Research" in *[[Proceedings of the IEEE]]* (March 1976, volume 64, number 3, pages 329-354). Both papers presented statistical significance claims for anomalous information transfer under controlled conditions and triggered extensive methodological debate in both journals' correspondence sections.
The *Nature* paper represented an unusual case of a mainstream scientific journal publishing parapsychology research; the editorial board attached a statement acknowledging the reviewers' uncertainty about publication. The IEEE paper presented data across multiple subjects and sessions, including [[Hella Hammid]], a German-American photographer included specifically to test whether anomalous results were limited to self-identified psychics.
The Army's [[Grill Flame Scientific Evaluation Committee]] of 1979 reviewed a paper of Puthoff's, "Potential Criticisms and Responses," setting out nine criticisms of the SRI work with his answers (experiment selection, data selection, cueing, "educated guess," target limitations, target generality, "read-in" matches, handling of judging materials, and post hoc photography), and found most "at least partially valid": SRI "ran 7000+ experiments with Swann" of which "only a fraction appear in the literature"; of the term "double-blind," "the word clearly does not apply in either the traditional, or in a meaningful, sense to the SRI protocol"; and "was the San Andres airfield photograph taken after the judging? Why do aspect angles of photographs always coincide with the direction from which the Subject 'views' the target?" Against the authors' claim to have "in five years of self- and other criticism... not found a way to fault either the experimental protocols or the conclusions derived therefrom," the annex answered: "I do not agree, and I believe that careful evaluation amply documents numerous such faults."[^900]
The Army's [[Grill Flame Scientific Evaluation Committee]] of 1979 reviewed a paper of Puthoff's, "Potential Criticisms and Responses," setting out nine criticisms of the SRI work with his answers (experiment selection, data selection, cueing, "educated guess," target limitations, target generality, "read-in" matches, handling of judging materials, and post hoc photography), and found most "at least partially valid": SRI "ran 7000+ experiments with Swann" of which "only a fraction appear in the literature"; of the term "double-blind," "the word clearly does not apply in either the traditional, or in a meaningful, sense to the SRI protocol"; and "was the San Andres airfield photograph taken after the judging? Why do aspect angles of photographs always coincide with the direction from which the Subject 'views' the target?" Against the authors' claim to have "in five years of self- and other criticism... not found a way to fault either the experimental protocols or the conclusions derived therefrom," the annex answered: "I do not agree, and I believe that careful evaluation amply documents numerous such faults."[^3]
The 1979 evaluation by Harry and Arlene Snyder of Systemetrics, held by the CIA, reproduced his protocol "as described in a written communication from H. Puthoff to a sponsor in late 1977," noted that in the alphabet-letter experiments "Puthoff did the judging," quoted his letter of March 28, 1978, to Karnes and Susman of Denver ("We have found remote viewing to be extremely sensitive to the feedback parameters"), and of his and Targ's claim to have found no fault in five years, "we do not agree." To [[David Marks]] he wrote on July 10, 1978, that "neither the single judge (Hastings) nor the panel of five judges were given the order; they were kept blind," in May 1979 that the transcripts could not be released "since premature disclosure would prevent further blind analysis work," and on August 25, 1980, that "the published list of the targets was in the order of target usage, and that, furthermore, when the target list was provided to the judge, it was inadvertently (through an error) given in the same order."[^901]
The 1979 evaluation by [[Harry Snyder|Harry]] and [[Arlene Snyder|Arlene]] Snyder of [[Systemetrics]], held by the CIA, reproduced his protocol "as described in a written communication from H. Puthoff to a sponsor in late 1977," noted that in the alphabet-letter experiments "Puthoff did the judging," quoted his letter of March 28, 1978, to Karnes and Susman of [[Denver]] ("We have found remote viewing to be extremely sensitive to the feedback parameters"), and of his and Targ's claim to have found no fault in five years, "we do not agree." To [[David Marks]] he wrote on July 10, 1978, that "neither the single judge ([[Arthur Hastings|Hastings]]) nor the panel of five judges were given the order; they were kept blind," in May 1979 that the transcripts could not be released "since premature disclosure would prevent further blind analysis work," and on August 25, 1980, that "the published list of the targets was in the order of target usage, and that, furthermore, when the target list was provided to the judge, it was inadvertently (through an error) given in the same order."[^4]
His "Standard Remote-Viewing Protocol (Local Targets)" with Targ, of November 1978, held by the CIA, prescribed a target list prepared "by an experimenter who will not interact with the subject after that," selection by "a Texas Instruments SR-51 hand calculator, which has a random-number function," fifteen-minute viewings, "no hypnosis, strobe lights, or sensory-deprivation procedures," feedback at the site "for each experiment to ensure success," and judging by direct matching or rank ordering. On August 3, 1979, he wrote to [[Manfred Gale]] that the Grill Flame Scientific Evaluation Committee had "all but skipped Part 2 on scientific questions" at its SRI visit and that "it is incumbent on the committee members to obtain a more thorough grounding in the technical details," enclosing a revised procedure with Targ and May; on March 19, 1980, he, Targ and May wrote to [[Walter LaBerge]] that "based on a recommendation of the Gale Committee, ODDR&E will not provide support for R&D efforts in the Grill Flame area," that "we were not mandated to undertake formal proof-of-principle research," and that their results had been described by clients "as being of vital importance to the national interests."[^902]
His "Standard Remote-Viewing Protocol (Local Targets)" with Targ, of November 1978, held by the CIA, prescribed a target list prepared "by an experimenter who will not interact with the subject after that," selection by "a [[Texas Instruments]] SR-51 hand calculator, which has a random-number function," fifteen-minute viewings, "no hypnosis, strobe lights, or sensory-deprivation procedures," feedback at the site "for each experiment to ensure success," and judging by direct matching or rank ordering. On August 3, 1979, he wrote to [[Manfred Gale]] that the Grill Flame Scientific Evaluation Committee had "all but skipped Part 2 on scientific questions" at its SRI visit and that "it is incumbent on the committee members to obtain a more thorough grounding in the technical details," enclosing a revised procedure with Targ and May; on March 19, 1980, he, Targ and May wrote to [[Walter LaBerge]] that "based on a recommendation of the Gale Committee, [[Office of the Director of Defense Research and Engineering|ODDR&E]] will not provide support for R&D efforts in the Grill Flame area," that "we were not mandated to undertake formal proof-of-principle research," and that their results had been described by clients "as being of vital importance to the national interests."[^5]
### Transition and Departure from SRI
When the Army established its own remote viewing unit at [[Fort Meade]] in 1977 under the code names Gondola Wish and later Grill Flame, it contracted SRI for protocol guidance and training under Puthoff's supervision. Puthoff continued as SRI's principal investigator through this period, overseeing both the research program at SRI and consulting on the operational program at Fort Meade. In 1985, Puthoff departed SRI; the research contract subsequently moved to [[Science Applications International Corporation|SAIC]] under [[Edwin May]].
After leaving SRI, Puthoff founded EarthTech International in Austin, Texas, a private research company focused on advanced physics including zero-point energy and vacuum fluctuation effects. His theoretical work at EarthTech centered on the physical frameworks he believed might explain anomalous cognition and other unconventional phenomena within accepted physical theory, particularly through quantum vacuum interactions.
After leaving SRI, Puthoff founded [[EarthTech International|EarthTech]] International in [[Austin, Texas]], a private research company focused on advanced physics including zero-point energy and vacuum fluctuation effects. His theoretical work at EarthTech centered on the physical frameworks he believed might explain anomalous cognition and other unconventional phenomena within accepted physical theory, particularly through quantum vacuum interactions.
### UFO-Related Contacts, 1985 to 1996
A page of handwritten notes by [[Oke Shannon]] of [[Los Alamos]], headed "Attendees" and placed by the authors of the [[Loose Threads Report]] at a meeting of August 7, 1985 labeled "ATP Ten," lists "Hal Puthoff" among participants in the [[Advanced Theoretical Physics Working Group]] convened by [[John B. Alexander]] in the BDM facility at [[McLean, Virginia]]; those authors write that Shannon's notes of the first meeting show Puthoff giving a presentation on remote viewing.[^6] [[Jacques Vallee]] recorded a 1989 telephone conversation in which Puthoff said that Alexander had briefed "the head of [[NORAD|Norad]], the head of the [[United States Space Command|Space Command]], the top guy at [[Strategic Defense Initiative|SDI]]" and that "a lot of people had been briefed and had agreed to cooperate"; Vallee's account has Puthoff conceding that the plan "may have been killed by someone deciding that the timing was wrong, or they were the wrong people, or the approach was bad."[^7] At the 2018 conference of the [[Scientific Coalition for UAP Studies]], asked about Alexander's conclusion that no program could be found, he answered that "somebody else [was] doing it" and that "if materials are being held in [[Special Access Programs]], a casual conversation even with high-level people, who know your interest, and they're interested too, won't necessarily reveal facts."[^6]
[[Mark Pilkington]] wrote in *[[Mirage Men]]* that at a Denny's restaurant "back in 1986" Kit Green, Puthoff and Vallee "distilled what they knew about the subject into what has become known as the 'core story.'"[^8] Shannon said in a 2022 interview that in 1999 Vice Admiral [[Thomas R. Wilson]] telephoned him to ask whether [[Eric Davis]] could be trusted and "may have even mentioned Hal Puthoff and one or two other people."[^6]
On October 17, 1996 [[Laurance Rockefeller]] wrote to [[John Gibbons|John H. Gibbons]] that an international conference on extraterrestrial intelligence and UFOs would be useful, and enclosed with a [[Carl Sagan]] letter a draft invitation to a small meeting on its feasibility. The attached list of suggested invitees, headed "Supplemental Suggestions" after a list from [[Julia Marton-Lefevre]] of the [[International Council of Scientific Unions]], includes Harold Puthoff, "Director, Institute for Advanced Studies," Austin, Texas, with [[Rodney Nichols]] ([[New York Academy of Sciences]]), [[Peter Sturrock]] (Stanford), [[William Golden]], [[Charles M. Vest]] ([[Massachusetts Institute of Technology|MIT]]), [[Daniel S. Goldin]] ([[NASA]]), [[Frank D. Drake]], [[Gordon Cooper]] and [[Harold Aspden]]. The letter describes the proposed meeting as "informal and off the record," of "6-10 people," in [[New York City|New York]] in the first quarter of 1997.[^9] [[Richard J. Boylan]] listed Puthoff as Owl in a roster of the [[The Aviary|Aviary]].[^10]
### AATIP and Later Work
Puthoff contributed as a scientific consultant to the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP), the Pentagon program that investigated Unidentified Aerial Phenomena from approximately 2007 to 2012 under [[Luis D. Elizondo III|Luis Elizondo]]. His contribution included commissioning and reviewing Defense Intelligence Reference Documents (DIRDs) - theoretical analyses of advanced aerospace concepts including warp drives, traversable wormholes, negative energy, and exotic propulsion systems. His EarthTech research in zero-point energy physics made him the natural contractor for the theoretical physics studies that formed part of AATIP's research portfolio.
Puthoff became a founding member and scientific advisor to To the Stars Academy of Arts and Science (TTSA), the public benefit corporation established by Tom DeLonge in 2017, which published three declassified Navy videos of UAP encounters and became a public vehicle for intelligence community-adjacent UAP disclosure.
Puthoff became a founding member and scientific advisor to To the Stars Academy of Arts and Science (TTSA), the public benefit corporation established by [[Tom DeLonge]] in 2017, which published three declassified [[United States Navy|Navy]] videos of UAP encounters and became a public vehicle for intelligence community-adjacent UAP disclosure.
### Footnotes
[^1]: Puthoff, H. E. "CIA-Initiated Remote Viewing Program at Stanford Research Institute," *Journal of Scientific Exploration,* vol. 10, no. 1, 1996, pp. 63-76. Read in a mirror copy; the journal's own site refused the fetch.
[^2]: Puthoff, H. E., memorandum to Dave Johnson, "Proxmire Response Re Psychoenergetics," September 26, 1977, CIA-RDP96-00787R000200020042-4. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection.
[^900]: *Report by the Grill Flame Scientific Evaluation Committee,* December 1979, Manfred Gale, chairman, CIA-RDP96-00788R001300120001-5. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection.
[^901]: Snyder, Harry L., and Arlene G. Snyder. *Summary and Critical Evaluation of Research in Remote Viewing,* Report RV-79-1, final technical report, contract 77F104420, Systemetrics, Inc., Blacksburg, Virginia, June 1, 1979, parts 1 and 2, CIA-RDP96-00791R000100440001-9 and CIA-RDP96-00787R000100260003-2. The sponsor of the contract is not named in the report. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. Marks, David F. "Remote Viewing Revisited." *Skeptical Inquirer,* vol. 6, no. 4, Summer 1982, pp. 18-29. https://cdn.centerforinquiry.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/1982/07/22165420/p20.pdf
[^902]: Puthoff, Harold E., and Russell Targ. "Standard Remote-Viewing Protocol (Local Targets)." SRI International, November 1978, CIA-RDP96-00787R000500400001-4 (copy at CIA-RDP96-00788R001300050001-3). Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. Puthoff, H. E., to Manfred Gale, "SRI/Gale Committee Meeting of 24-25 July," August 3, 1979, with the enclosure "Standard Remote Viewing (RV) Procedures: Local Sites," by H. E. Puthoff, R. Targ and E. C. May, August 1979, CIA-RDP96-00787R000100060001-6 (memorandum alone at CIA-RDP96-00788R002000240028-5). Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. Puthoff, H. E., R. Targ and E. C. May, Radio Physics Laboratory, SRI International, to Walter B. LaBerge, Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, March 19, 1980, SRI 0-4132, CIA-RDP96-00788R001200230031-1. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection.
[^3]: *Report by the Grill Flame Scientific Evaluation Committee,* December 1979, Manfred Gale, chairman, CIA-RDP96-00788R001300120001-5. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection.
[^4]: Snyder, Harry L., and Arlene G. Snyder. *Summary and Critical Evaluation of Research in Remote Viewing,* Report RV-79-1, final technical report, contract 77F104420, Systemetrics, Inc., Blacksburg, Virginia, June 1, 1979, parts 1 and 2, CIA-RDP96-00791R000100440001-9 and CIA-RDP96-00787R000100260003-2. The sponsor of the contract is not named in the report. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. Marks, David F. "Remote Viewing Revisited." *Skeptical Inquirer,* vol. 6, no. 4, Summer 1982, pp. 18-29. https://cdn.centerforinquiry.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/1982/07/22165420/p20.pdf
[^5]: Puthoff, Harold E., and Russell Targ. "Standard Remote-Viewing Protocol (Local Targets)." SRI International, November 1978, CIA-RDP96-00787R000500400001-4 (copy at CIA-RDP96-00788R001300050001-3). Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. Puthoff, H. E., to Manfred Gale, "SRI/Gale Committee Meeting of 24-25 July," August 3, 1979, with the enclosure "Standard Remote Viewing (RV) Procedures: Local Sites," by H. E. Puthoff, R. Targ and E. C. May, August 1979, CIA-RDP96-00787R000100060001-6 (memorandum alone at CIA-RDP96-00788R002000240028-5). Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. Puthoff, H. E., R. Targ and E. C. May, Radio Physics Laboratory, SRI International, to Walter B. LaBerge, Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, March 19, 1980, SRI 0-4132, CIA-RDP96-00788R001200230031-1. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection.
[^6]: Elizondo, Daniel, and The Hermetic Penetrator, "The Loose Threads Report," Anomaly Archives, 2022, pp. 15, 25, 28-29, 57-58, https://anomalyarchives.org/wp-content/uploads/PDF-Loose-Threads.pdf. The Shannon page image was read directly; podcast and conference statements are quoted there at second hand. Sole source for the passages so cited.
[^7]: Vallee, Jacques. Journal, 1989 telephone conversation with Puthoff, as quoted in the Loose Threads Report, pp. 26-27 (volume not named there; the year falls in *Forbidden Science: Volume Three*). The book was not opened.
[^8]: Pilkington, Mark. *Mirage Men.* 2010, chapter "The Man in the White Coat" (the Denny's statement is Pilkington's narration), https://avalonlibrary.net/ebooks/Mark%20Pilkington%20-%20Mirage%20Men%20-%20A%20Journey%20into%20Disinformation,%20Paranoia%20and%20UFOs.pdf. Sole source for the passage.
[^9]: Rockefeller, Laurance S., letter of October 17, 1996 with "Suggested Invitees for the Meeting of Scientists," Clinton Presidential Library, Office of Science and Technology Policy FOIA 01-22, item 72, https://avalonlibrary.net/Grant_Cameron/Clinton_Presidential_Library_collection/OSTP%20-%20FOIA%2001%2022/ (file "1996 10 17_Laurance Rockefeller to John Gibbons"). The OSTP routing slip addresses the letter to Gibbons; the invitation text and invitee list are enclosures.
[^10]: Boylan, Richard J. "UFO/ET-Disclosure Policy Splits Covert Network," *Perceptions,* http://web.archive.org/web/20130831033026/http://www.think-aboutit.com/ufo/aviary.htm. Sole source.

42
10 - PEOPLE/(N-S)/Harry Reid.md
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@ -9,20 +9,54 @@ summary: "Senator Reid's interest in the UAP topic was sparked by his position a
born: 1939-12-02
died: 2021-12-28
location: "Searchlight, Nevada, USA"
aliases:
- Harry Mason Reid
- Senator Reid
relations:
- type: represented
with: "[[Robert Bigelow]]"
role: "Nevada constituent; Bigelow and Bigelow companies contributed 10,800 dollars to Friends for Harry Reid and 10,000 dollars to the Searchlight Leadership Fund, 1998 to 2010"
start: 1998
fn: 6
updated: 2026-10-02
---
[[Harry Reid]] was a United States Senator from Nevada who served as the Senate Majority Leader. He was a pivotal figure in the establishment and funding of the [[Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program]] (AATIP) and a staunch supporter of the [[Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena]] (UAP) disclosure movement until his death in 2021.[^1]
[[Harry Reid]] was a [[United States]] Senator from [[Nevada]] who served as the Senate Majority Leader. He was a pivotal figure in the establishment and funding of the [[Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program]] (AATIP) and a staunch supporter of the [[Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena]] (UAP) disclosure movement until his death in 2021.[^1]
### Interest in UAP
Senator Reid's interest in the UAP topic was sparked by his position as the senator for Nevada, the home of the highly classified [[Area 51]] military installation. This, combined with his friendship with aerospace magnate and paranormal researcher [[Robert Bigelow]], led him to take the issue seriously. He was known on Capitol Hill as a "bulldog in a pit of vipers," and his determination was crucial in overcoming the stigma and bureaucratic inertia surrounding the UAP issue.[^1]
Senator Reid's interest in the UAP topic was sparked by his position as the senator for Nevada, the home of the highly classified [[Area 51]] military installation. This, combined with his friendship with aerospace magnate and paranormal researcher [[Robert Bigelow]], led him to take the issue seriously. He was known on [[Capitol Hill]] as a "bulldog in a pit of vipers," and his determination was crucial in overcoming the stigma and bureaucratic inertia surrounding the UAP issue.[^1]
### Funding for AATIP
In 2007, Senator Reid, along with Senators [[Ted Stevens]] of Alaska and [[Daniel Inouye]] of Hawaii, secured $22 million in funding for the [[Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program]] (AAWSAP), the precursor to [[AATIP]]. These three men controlled congressional spending for "black budget" Pentagon programs, and their bipartisan support was essential for the program's creation. Reid continued to be a champion for the program, later securing an additional $10 million in funding for AATIP, though the funds were ultimately diverted to another program.[^1]
Elizondo wrote that in 2007 Senator Reid, along with Senators [[Ted Stevens]] of [[Alaska]] and [[Daniel Inouye]] of [[Hawaii]], secured $22 million in funding for the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AAWSAP), the precursor to AATIP. These three men controlled congressional spending for "black budget" [[Pentagon]] programs, and their bipartisan support was essential for the program's creation. Reid continued to be a champion for the program, later securing an additional $10 million in funding for AATIP, though the funds were ultimately diverted to another program.[^1]
### Support for Disclosure
Even after leaving the Senate, Reid remained a powerful advocate for UAP disclosure. He publicly confirmed his role in funding AATIP and vouched for the credibility of [[Luis Elizondo]] after his resignation from the Pentagon. He provided crucial support for the 2017 New York Times article that broke the story of AATIP, and he continued to brief members of Congress and the media on the importance of the UAP issue. His steadfast support was a key factor in the passage of the historic UAP legislation in the 2021 and 2022 National Defense Authorization Acts (NDAAs).[^1]
Even after leaving the Senate, Reid remained a powerful advocate for UAP disclosure. He publicly confirmed his role in funding AATIP and vouched for the credibility of [[Luis Elizondo]] after his resignation from the Pentagon. He provided crucial support for the 2017 [[New York Times]] article that broke the story of AATIP, and he continued to brief members of [[U.S. Congress|Congress]] and the media on the importance of the UAP issue. His steadfast support was a key factor in the passage of the historic UAP legislation in the 2021 and 2022 [[National Defense Authorization Act|National Defense Authorization Acts]] (NDAAs).[^1]
### Letter to the Deputy Secretary of Defense, June 24, 2009
On Senate Majority Leader letterhead dated June 24, 2009, Reid wrote to Deputy Secretary of Defense [[William Lynn]]: "Beginning this past September, the [[United States Senate|U.S. Senate]] has mandated that the [[Defense Intelligence Agency]] assess far-term foreign advanced aerospace threats to the United States," with a scope "from the present out to forty years and beyond." The letter calls the effort the "Advanced Aerospace Threat and Identification Program (AAITP)," states that "much progress has been made with the identification of several highly sensitive, unconventional aerospace-related findings," and asks for assistance "establishing a Restricted Special-Access-Program (SAP) with a Bigoted Access List for specific portions of the AATIP." It lists as protectable "the methodology used to identify, acquire, study, and engineer the advanced technologies," "protection of industry partnerships and participation," and "application and engineering," describing "associated exotic technologies" in "quantum mechanics, nuclear science, electromagnetic theory, gravitics, and thermodynamics." The contact named for questions is [[Robert T. Herbert|Bob Herbert]] of Reid's staff.[^2]
Attachment 1 to the letter gives the proposed nickname "Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP)," program length "FY09 to FY13 (Preliminary)," program funding "FY09 O&M, FY10-FY13 TBD," and SAP category "Intelligence, DoD Acquisition." The "FY 10 Preliminary Bigoted List of Government Personnel" names Lynn, Reid, Daniel Inouye and Robert T. Herbert of the U.S. Senate, followed by redacted entries including Navy, [[United States Marine Corps|Marine Corps]] and [[Under Secretary of Defense]] for Intelligence personnel; a separate "FY 10 Preliminary Bigoted List of Contractor Personnel funded under the AATIP" has three entries, the first reading "Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies LLC (BAASS)" and the other two "BAASS (CTR)."[^2]
### Appropriation language in DIA papers
Talking points in the packet prepared for the Deputy Secretary of Defense's November 17, 2009 meeting with Reid state that "Senators Reid and Inouye co-sponsored a $10M earmark in the July 2008 supplemental" and that "a $12M earmark has been allocated to support the program in FY2010." Neither entry names Stevens.[^3]
### Responses
DIA's talking points for a Reid visit to the DIA Director (May 4, 2009) state that Reid "has a deep interest in the potential threat posed by unconventional aerospace technologies" and that "the continued support and guidance of Senator Reid and Senator Inouye is crucial."[^4] DIA records that a review it completed in November 2009 found "insufficient grounds existed to classify the program, invoke an ACCM, or establish a restricted SAP"; that in November 2009 Lynn and the memorandum's author (name redacted) met Reid, and "we determined the reports were of limited value to DIA" while suggesting the project "could be transitioned to another agency or component better suited to oversee the project."[^5] The talking points in the packet prepared for the Deputy Secretary's November 17, 2009 meeting with Reid record that DIA "learned of counter-intelligence concerns with [[Bigelow Aerospace]]" in August 2008; see the page for [[Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies]].[^3]
### Contributions from Robert Bigelow and Bigelow companies
[[OpenFEC]] itemized receipts show contributions of 2,000 dollars (two entries of 1,000 dollars, August 7, 1998), 4,000 dollars (two entries of 2,000 dollars, June 12, 2003) and 4,800 dollars (two entries of 2,400 dollars, June 8, 2010) from Robert Bigelow of [[Las Vegas]] to [[Friends for Harry Reid]], the Senate campaign committee. The [[Searchlight Leadership Fund]], registered to Reid as sponsor, received 5,000 dollars from Bigelow on June 13, 2003 and 5,000 dollars from [[Bigelow Development Aerospace]] LLC on June 30, 2004. The [[Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee]] received 28,500 dollars from Bigelow on September 28, 2007 and 28,500 dollars on June 30, 2008.[^6]
### Footnotes
[^1]: Elizondo, Luis. *Imminent*. William Morrow, 2024.
[^2]: Senator Harry Reid to Deputy Secretary of Defense William J. Lynn III, June 24, 2009, with Attachment 1, released by DIA to The Black Vault. https://documents2.theblackvault.com/documents/dia/AAWSAP/20090624_Reid_to_DEPSECDEF_ref_AAITP_in_SAP.pdf
[^3]: Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence, final packet for the Deputy Secretary of Defense's November 17, 2009 meeting with Senator Reid. https://documents2.theblackvault.com/documents/dia/AAWSAP/09117-Final_Packet_Presented_to_DepSecDef.pdf
[^4]: Defense Intelligence Agency, Talking Paper, "Senator Reid Visit to Director, DIA," May 4, 2009. https://documents2.theblackvault.com/documents/dia/AAWSAP/DR_Reid_Mtg_May09.pdf
[^5]: Defense Intelligence Agency, Info Memo U-10-2552CE to the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, 2010. https://documents2.theblackvault.com/documents/dia/AAWSAP/U-10-2552CE-IM-ATL.pdf
[^6]: Federal Election Commission, OpenFEC API, schedule A; Searchlight Leadership Fund is committee C00327395 (sponsor candidate S6NV00028, Harry Reid) and Friends for Harry Reid committee C00204370. https://api.open.fec.gov/v1/schedules/schedule_a/

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10 - PEOPLE/(N-S)/Jaime Shandera.md Normal file
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@ -0,0 +1,67 @@
---
category: "UFO & Anomalous Phenomena"
tags:
- Person
- UFO
- MJ12
- Television
- NationalArchives
- Disinformation
alias:
- Jaime Shandera
- Jaime H. Shandera
- Jamie Shandera
- Shandera
summary: "Los Angeles television producer who received the roll of 35mm film bearing the Eisenhower briefing document on December 11, 1984 and found the Cutler-Twining memorandum at the National Archives on July 18, 1985."
location: "North Hollywood, California"
relations:
- type: partner_of
with: "[[William L. Moore]]"
start: 1982-06
role: "co-investigator of the MJ-12 documents; Moore said in 1989 that he brought Shandera into the project in June 1982; co-author of The MJ-12 Documents: An Analytical Report (1990)"
fn: 12
- type: participant_in
with: "[[UFO Cover-Up Live]]"
start: 1988-10-14
role: "consultant and interviewer of the sources Falcon and Condor"
fn: 8
created: 2026-10-03
updated: 2026-10-03
---
Jaime H. Shandera is a television producer and director of [[Los Angeles]] who, with [[William L. Moore]], received and published the [[Majestic-12]] documents. A biography prepared for the 1988 program [[UFO Cover-Up Live]] describes him as a producer, director and researcher of twenty years with a background in news and documentaries, producer and director at [[Time-Life|Time-Life Broadcast]] in [[San Diego]] and [[RKO General]] in Los Angeles, and head of [[Sonex International Corp.]] with corporate clients worldwide, whose research into government secrecy "began five years ago with William Moore."[^1] A [[UFO BBS]] text states that Moore and Shandera became partners in 1982.[^2] Moore said on July 1, 1989 that in June 1982 he "approached my friend Jaime Shandera and brought him into the project," that Shandera knew Moore was in contact with people in the intelligence community and that some of what came through was disinformation, and that Shandera saw the work as burrowing into a beehive "at the express invitation of the queen bee herself, who clandestinely oversaw and encouraged the process from a distance."[^12] Moore added that the name Falcon was invented by himself and Shandera in 1984 as a private way of referring to a source on the telephone, and that after the broadcast of UFO Cover-Up Live the FBI interviewed several ufologists "including Jaime Shandera," while avoiding Moore.[^12] Moore and Shandera wrote in 1990 that Shandera is "a television producer-director with strong background in television news."[^3]
### The film, December 1984
Moore and Shandera wrote that on December 11, 1984 a taped brown envelope with no return address and an [[Albuquerque]] postmark of December 8 arrived at Shandera's [[North Hollywood]] residence, containing nested envelopes, the innermost bearing a [[Marriott]] logo, and a black plastic canister holding undeveloped 35mm Tri-X film. The film yielded eight good negatives of what appeared to be a 1952 briefing document for President-elect [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]], then two blank frames and the same eight frames again. Moore and Shandera arranged for professional prints at a photographic laboratory owned by an associate and wrote that both were present in the darkroom. They wrote that with the assistance of the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] and the [[Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office|Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department]] they identified questioned-document examiners, that four were approached, and that none would allow his name to be used.[^4]
### The Cutler-Twining memorandum, July 1985
Moore and Shandera wrote that a postcard postmarked in [[New Zealand]], bearing the printed address "[[Ethiopian Tourism Commission]], Box 189, [[Addis Ababa]]," reached Moore's Dewey, [[Arizona]] box 189 in or before March 1985 with the typewritten message "When doors won't open, search for windows. Add some zest to your trip to [[Washington, D.C.|Washington]]; Try Reece's pieces. For a stylish look, shop Suit Land," and that a second similar card, postmarked [[Christchurch]], followed months later. [[Stanton Friedman]], who was in Washington, understood "Reece's pieces" to mean [[Ed Reese]] of the Modern Military Branch of the [[National Archives and Records Administration]] and "Suit Land" to mean the archives annex at [[Suitland, Maryland]]. According to Moore and Shandera, Reese told Friedman that the [[U.S. Air Force]] had arranged to declassify a large block of Intelligence Directorate files from 1946 to 1955, sending declassification officers from the [[Pentagon]], and that old [[Air Technical Intelligence Center]] records on Projects Sign and Grudge were included. Moore and Shandera left on Monday, July 15, 1985; on Thursday, July 18, after searching nearly 100 boxes, Shandera found the memorandum in box 189 of Record Group 341, immediately adjacent to file folder 4-1846.[^5]
The National Archives gives the location as Record Group 341, entry 267, folder T4-1846, and records that the memorandum lacks the top secret register number its series requires, that no other document in the folder mentions "NSC/MJ-12," that the "Top Secret Restricted Information" marking did not come into use until the [[Richard Nixon|Nixon]] administration, that a conservation specialist found the paper to be a ribbon copy on "diction onionskin" without letterhead or watermark, while documents Cutler created on the [[National Security Council]] staff have an eagle watermark on the bond paper and his onionskin carbon copies have either an eagle watermark or none, that no record exists of a National Security Council meeting on July 16, 1954, and that Cutler's travel report shows him on a trip to [[Europe]] and [[North Africa]] from July 3 to 15, 1954.[^6] The Archives stated that certification of a copy establishes only that it is a faithful copy of archival material.[^6]
### The program and the Fund for UFO Research
At the program of October 14, 1988, Howe wrote that a flow chart of authority shown after the Falcon statement was "created by William Moore and Jaime Shandera."[^7] [[Robert M. Collins]] wrote that in September 1988 Moore and Shandera shot interviews in Albuquerque with "the surrogate Falcon ([[Richard Doty|Rick Doty]])," with Collins as Condor, and with Doty unmasked as "Special OSI Agent Rick Doty," the last of which was cut for time; the writer [[Barry Taff]] wrote that just before the broadcast Moore, Shandera and [[Robert Emenegger]] began playing practical jokes on the producer on the set.[^8][^11] Moore and Shandera wrote that on March 12, 1983 they attended a board meeting of the [[Fund for UFO Research]] as guests, where the [[Project Aquarius|Aquarius teletype]] was discussed; the 1990 *MJ-12 Documents* report was offered through the Fund for $12.50, with Friedman's separate 59-page report prepared under a $16,000 Fund grant.[^3][^9]
### Bird Code and the 1995 trip
Collins wrote that from 1987 to 1988 Moore, Shandera, [[Ernie Kellerstrass]], Doty and Collins received a "Bird Code" of seventeen or more pages, purporting to give directions to an apartment in Washington near the [[National Mall|Mall]] where a female extraterrestrial ambassador was kept; that Shandera and Moore "actually made the trips to DC"; that Shandera worked on the code again in the early 1990s with postcards from New Zealand and other places; and that in the summer of 1995 Shandera met in front of a building near the Mall a man Collins called "Mr. X" ("[[Walter Ferguson]], [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]]?", with Collins adding that "Jaime wasn't too clear on that"), who escorted him inside past a checkered floor to a door that Shandera described as a vault of "volumes" on extraterrestrials. Collins distinguished the "Raven" that he wrote Doty applied to [[Richard Helms]] from "Jaime Shandera's 'Raven,'" which he called "still an unknown," and wrote that "to this day many of us still stay in contact (except for Bill & Jaime)." A passage in the book over Shandera's name states that "Jaime Shandera has now had the existence of ETs proven to him beyond question."[^8] Moore had said in 1989 that [[Jerome Clark]] reported in *[[Fate]]* that Moore and Shandera made a trip to Washington in anticipation of meeting a live alien and were stood up, and answered that "considering what you now know of our project and its goals, we had a story. No matter what happened, we made the trip because we simply couldn't lose," adding "there's more to that experience than you know about."[^12]
Pilkington wrote that [[Greg Bishop]] recalled Shandera, "Moore's colleague in the MJ-12 and Aviary investigations, transformed suddenly from cynical disbeliever to terrified convert," and that when pressed Shandera would only say "they showed me something."[^10] Collins wrote that Shandera's last known residence was San Diego with his wife and that he had recently moved back to Los Angeles.[^8]
### Footnotes
[^1]: "Background on Moore/Shandera/Friedman," UFO BBS file UFO1876, http://textfiles.com/ufo/UFOBBS/1000/1876.ufo (promotional text for *UFO Cover-Up? Live!*).
[^2]: "E B E's," part 5, UFO BBS file UFO1024, http://textfiles.com/ufo/UFOBBS/1000/1024.ufo (author not identified in the copy consulted).
[^3]: William L. Moore and Jaime H. Shandera, *The MJ-12 Documents: An Analytical Report* (Fund for UFO Research, 1990), "Introduction," p. 3; "The Aquarius Teletype," p. 9, http://www.openminds.tv/wp-content/uploads/The-MJ-12-Documents-An-Analytical-Report-Excerpts.pdf (scanned excerpt, read as page images).
[^4]: Moore and Shandera, *MJ-12 Documents*, "The MJ-12 Documents (Dec. 1984)," p. 29, same excerpt.
[^5]: Moore and Shandera, *MJ-12 Documents*, "The Cutler-Twining Memo (Jul. 1985)," pp. 61 to 62, same excerpt.
[^6]: National Archives and Records Administration, "Majestic 12 or 'MJ-12' Reference Report," in "Project BLUE BOOK - Unidentified Flying Objects," https://www.archives.gov/research/military/air-force/ufos
[^7]: Linda Moulton Howe, *An Alien Harvest*, 2nd ed. (2014), p. 194 (statement of "Falcon" in the broadcast of October 14, 1988), https://archive.org/details/howe-l.-m.-an-alien-harvest-2nd-ed-2014
[^8]: Robert Collins and Richard Doty, *Exempt from Disclosure: The Black World of UFOs*, introduction and Section 2, Chapter 4 with references 4 to 6 (the archive.org copy is dated 2010 in its metadata but cites material of July 2012), https://archive.org/details/exempt-from-disclosure
[^9]: Moore and Shandera, *MJ-12 Documents*, "Introduction," p. 3 (price and Fund address) and "The Aquarius Teletype," p. 9 (meeting of March 12, 1983).
[^10]: Mark Pilkington, *Mirage Men* (Constable, 2010), chapter "How to Believe Weird Things," https://avalonlibrary.net/ebooks/Mark%20Pilkington%20-%20Mirage%20Men%20-%20A%20Journey%20into%20Disinformation,%20Paranoia%20and%20UFOs.pdf. Bishop's recollection reaches the page through Pilkington only.
[^11]: Barry E. Taff, "UFO Cover-Up? Live!: The Untold Story," part 3, UFO BBS file UFO137, http://textfiles.com/ufo/UFOBBS/0000/137.ufo (reprinted in UFO Magazine and ParaNet).
[^12]: William L. Moore, address to the MUFON International UFO Symposium, Las Vegas, July 1, 1989, from the caption transcript of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUfimKiS-po (video of the Ron Regehr recording, Internet Archive item bill-moore-1989-mufon); names corrected from mis-rendered captions.

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10 - PEOPLE/(N-S)/Laurance Rockefeller.md
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@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ relations:
reverse: true
start: 1993-03-29
role: "Washington attorney and long-time associate"
fn: 19
fn: 23
- type: head_of
with: "[[Outdoor Recreation Resources Review Commission]]"
start: 1958
@ -134,94 +134,114 @@ relations:
start: 1993
role: "funder, according to the John E. Mack Institute"
fn: 15
- type: funded
with: "[[Center for Psychology and Social Change]]"
start: 1995-05
role: "reported annual grant of $250,000, per the London Times and the Valley News (May 1995); no source named"
fn: 16
- type: funded
with: "[[Human Potential Foundation]]"
role: "partial funder, in the belief of John H. Gibbons"
fn: 16
fn: 18
- type: funded
with: "[[Society for Scientific Exploration]]"
start: 1997
role: "funds for the Pocantico UFO workshop, through the LSR Fund"
fn: 44
fn: 55
- type: funded
with: "[[UFO Research Coalition]]"
start: 1995
role: "financed the December 1995 Briefing Document"
fn: 48
created: 2026-10-01
updated: 2026-10-01
updated: 2026-10-02
---
Laurance S. Rockefeller (May 26, 1910, in [[New York City]], to July 11, 2004, at his home on [[Fifth Avenue]]) was the fourth of the six children of [[John D. Rockefeller Jr.]] and [[Abby Aldrich Rockefeller]]. He attended the Lincoln School of [[Teachers College, Columbia University|Teachers College]], [[Columbia University]], entered [[Princeton University]] in 1928, took a degree in philosophy in 1932 and studied for two years at [[Harvard Law School]]. He married [[Mary French Rockefeller|Mary French]] on August 15, 1934, at [[Woodstock, Vermont]], began work in the family office at [[Rockefeller Center]] in 1935, and served from 1942 to 1945 in the [[United States Navy]]'s [[Bureau of Aeronautics]], rising to lieutenant commander.[^1] His brothers were [[John D. Rockefeller III]], [[Nelson Rockefeller]], [[Winthrop Rockefeller]] and [[David Rockefeller]].[^2]
Laurance S. Rockefeller (May 26, 1910, in [[New York City]], to July 11, 2004, at his home on [[Fifth Avenue]]) was the fourth of the six children of [[John D. Rockefeller Jr.]] and [[Abby Aldrich Rockefeller]]. He attended the [[Lincoln School]] of [[Teachers College, Columbia University|Teachers College]], [[Columbia University]], entered [[Princeton University]] in 1928, took a degree in philosophy in 1932 and studied for two years at [[Harvard Law School]]. He married [[Mary French Rockefeller|Mary French]] on August 15, 1934, at [[Woodstock, Vermont]], began work in the family office at [[Rockefeller Center]] in 1935, and served from 1942 to 1945 in the [[United States Navy]]'s [[Bureau of Aeronautics]], rising to lieutenant commander.[^1] His brothers were [[John D. Rockefeller III]], [[Nelson Rockefeller]], [[Winthrop Rockefeller]] and [[David Rockefeller]].[^2]
### Eastern Air Lines
The historian W. David Lewis wrote that in 1938 [[Eddie Rickenbacker]], seeking financing to take over [[Eastern Air Lines]], "secured enough backing ... from a syndicate including Laurance S. Rockefeller, who became the chief stockholder in a new corporate entity known as Eastern Air Lines," and that Rickenbacker became chief executive in April 1938.[^3] In Lewis's account Eastern's directors moved Rickenbacker up to chairman in 1953 and named [[Malcolm A. MacIntyre]] president and chief executive, and Rickenbacker interfered with MacIntyre's management. Lewis wrote that Rockefeller "decided that the only way out of its problems was a merger with one of the country's two largest carriers, American Airlines." The industry, led by [[Delta Air Lines]], opposed the merger, and it became clear that [[Robert F. Kennedy]], as attorney general, would veto it on antitrust grounds even if the [[Civil Aeronautics Board]] did not; the plan was scuttled.[^3] Rockefeller had hoped the merger would let him replace Rickenbacker and MacIntyre with the chief executive of American, [[C. R. Smith]]. When it failed he appointed a search committee, which chose [[Floyd D. Hall]] of [[Trans World Airlines]]; MacIntyre was fired, and Rickenbacker was summoned to a meeting and asked to retire. Rickenbacker took the news badly and agreed only after a second meeting, which Rockefeller attended, and he left his office at Rockefeller Center and did not return.[^3]
The historian [[W. David Lewis]] wrote that in 1938 [[Eddie Rickenbacker]], seeking financing to take over [[Eastern Air Lines]], "secured enough backing ... from a syndicate including Laurance S. Rockefeller, who became the chief stockholder in a new corporate entity known as Eastern Air Lines," and that Rickenbacker became chief executive in April 1938.[^3] In Lewis's account Eastern's directors moved Rickenbacker up to chairman in 1953 and named [[Malcolm A. MacIntyre]] president and chief executive, and Rickenbacker interfered with MacIntyre's management. Lewis wrote that Rockefeller "decided that the only way out of its problems was a merger with one of the country's two largest carriers, [[American Airlines]]." The industry, led by [[Delta Air Lines]], opposed the merger, and it became clear that [[Robert F. Kennedy]], as attorney general, would veto it on antitrust grounds even if the [[Civil Aeronautics Board]] did not; the plan was scuttled.[^3] Rockefeller had hoped the merger would let him replace Rickenbacker and MacIntyre with the chief executive of American, [[C. R. Smith]]. When it failed he appointed a search committee, which chose [[Floyd D. Hall]] of [[Trans World Airlines]]; MacIntyre was fired, and Rickenbacker was summoned to a meeting and asked to retire. Rickenbacker took the news badly and agreed only after a second meeting, which Rockefeller attended, and he left his office at Rockefeller Center and did not return.[^3]
The Civil Aeronautics Board regulated routes and mail pay throughout this period. In a transcontinental route case decided in 1961 the Board gave Delta and [[National Airlines]] access to [[San Diego]], [[Los Angeles]] and [[San Francisco]] and denied Eastern's application; Rickenbacker had attacked President [[John F. Kennedy]] in a speech while the case was pending.[^3]
### Venture Investments
[[Peter O. Crisp]] joined Rockefeller's staff in 1960 and sat on the board of [[Apple Computer]] for sixteen years; in an oral history recorded on October 21, 2008 he described the origin of the family's venture investing. After the war, Crisp said, Rockefeller hired "these three guys" to look for small technology companies: [[Randy Marston]], "who had worked for the Chase Bank for many years"; [[Harper Woodward]], "General Arnold's assistant in [[World War II]] in the Pentagon for procurement matters"; and [[Teddy Walkowicz]], "a lieutenant colonel in the Air Force" and "an MIT guy"; he named a fourth man, [[Jay Richardson Dilworth]], as "kind of the senior advisor to the [[Rockefeller family]]." Crisp said he screened proposals "for Marston, Woodward and Walkowicz," the "big shots" who then joined the boards.[^4] Among the investments Crisp listed since 1946 were [[New York Airways]], Eastern Air Lines, the [[Glenn L. Martin Company]], [[Reaction Motors]] (later bought by [[Thiokol]]), the [[Marquardt Aircraft Company]] (ramjet engines for missiles), Island Packers ("a tuna factory in the Pacific"), [[Flight Refueling]], the [[Piasecki Helicopter Company]] (merged with [[Vertol]] and later acquired by [[Boeing]]) and [[Aircraft Radio Corporation|Aircraft Radio]] (bought by [[Cessna]]); he also named [[Itek]] and [[Scantlin Electronics]], maker of the Quotron.[^4] Crisp said the staff passed on [[Haloid Company|Haloid]], which became [[Xerox]], after a former staff member's memorandum found no future in its copier technology, on which Marston wrote "I concur."[^4] From August 1969 Rockefeller's investments were channeled through [[Venrock]], which Crisp said was formed in 1969 and given its name because "we didn't want to be confused with philanthropy."[^1][^4]
[[Peter O. Crisp]] joined Rockefeller's staff in 1960 and sat on the board of [[Apple Computer]] for sixteen years; in an oral history recorded on October 21, 2008 he described the origin of the family's venture investing. After the war, Crisp said, Rockefeller hired "these three guys" to look for small technology companies: [[Randy Marston]], "who had worked for the [[Chase Manhattan Bank|Chase Bank]] for many years"; [[Harper Woodward]], "General Arnold's assistant in [[World War II]] in the [[Pentagon]] for procurement matters"; and [[Teddy Walkowicz]], "a lieutenant colonel in the [[United States Air Force|Air Force]]" and "an [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology|MIT]] guy"; he named a fourth man, [[Jay Richardson Dilworth]], as "kind of the senior advisor to the [[Rockefeller family]]." Crisp said he screened proposals "for Marston, Woodward and Walkowicz," the "big shots" who then joined the boards.[^4] Among the investments Crisp listed since 1946 were [[New York Airways]], Eastern Air Lines, the [[Glenn L. Martin Company]], [[Reaction Motors]] (later bought by [[Thiokol]]), the [[Marquardt Aircraft Company]] (ramjet engines for missiles), [[Island Packers]] ("a tuna factory in the Pacific"), [[Flight Refueling]], the [[Piasecki Helicopter Company]] (merged with [[Vertol]] and later acquired by [[Boeing]]) and [[Aircraft Radio Corporation|Aircraft Radio]] (bought by [[Cessna]]); he also named [[Itek]] and [[Scantlin Electronics]], maker of the Quotron.[^4] Crisp said the staff passed on [[Haloid Company|Haloid]], which became [[Xerox]], after a former staff member's memorandum found no future in its copier technology, on which Marston wrote "I concur."[^4] From August 1969 Rockefeller's investments were channeled through [[Venrock]], which Crisp said was formed in 1969 and given its name because "we didn't want to be confused with philanthropy."[^1][^4]
The record on Itek carries three dates. The [[Boston Globe]] obituary of [[Richard Leghorn|Dick Leghorn]] states that he cofounded Itek in 1957, and quotes him that the company was known as "the mystery company. It was very hush-hush."[^5] The [[Central Intelligence Agency]]'s history of the [[CORONA]] satellite program, by [[Kenneth E. Greer]], published in a classified supplement to [[Studies in Intelligence]] in spring 1973, states that in late March and April 1958 "interest shifted to a competitive design submitted by Itek Corporation, a spin-off of Boston University," that the project proposal completed on April 9, 1958 was rewritten twice, "retaining the Itek configuration," and that the final proposal was forwarded on April 16, 1958 to the President's staff secretary and approved, "although not in writing"; Itek "was made responsible for the design and development of the camera subsystem, Fairchild producing the camera under subcontract to Itek."[^6] Crisp, who joined the staff in 1960, dated Leghorn's approach to Rockefeller to "around 1960": Leghorn said Eastman Kodak's cameras were heavy and inefficient, and Rockefeller told him to show he could leave [[Eastman Kodak]] without being sued, and put up 60,000 dollars in 1960 together with [[William A. Burden and Company]] and "the Walker Brothers, Elisha and Bayard Walker, who had an investment company called the Long Island Company." Crisp said Itek was later bought by [[Litton Industries]] and that the product "which made them famous" was "the camera which was in the U-2 plane that was flown by Francis Gary Powers."[^4]
The record on Itek carries three dates. The [[Boston Globe]] obituary of [[Richard Leghorn|Dick Leghorn]] states that he cofounded Itek in 1957, and quotes him that the company was known as "the mystery company. It was very hush-hush."[^5] The [[Central Intelligence Agency]]'s history of the [[CORONA]] satellite program, by [[Kenneth E. Greer]], published in a classified supplement to [[Studies in Intelligence]] in spring 1973, states that in late March and April 1958 "interest shifted to a competitive design submitted by Itek Corporation, a spin-off of Boston University," that the project proposal completed on April 9, 1958 was rewritten twice, "retaining the Itek configuration," and that the final proposal was forwarded on April 16, 1958 to the President's staff secretary and approved, "although not in writing"; Itek "was made responsible for the design and development of the camera subsystem, Fairchild producing the camera under subcontract to Itek."[^6] Crisp, who joined the staff in 1960, dated Leghorn's approach to Rockefeller to "around 1960": Leghorn said Eastman Kodak's cameras were heavy and inefficient, and Rockefeller told him to show he could leave [[Eastman Kodak]] without being sued, and put up 60,000 dollars in 1960 together with [[William A. Burden and Company]] and "the [[Walker Brothers]], Elisha and Bayard Walker, who had an investment company called the [[Long Island Company]]." Crisp said Itek was later bought by [[Litton Industries]] and that the product "which made them famous" was "the camera which was in the U-2 plane that was flown by [[Francis Gary Powers]]."[^4]
On Apple, Crisp said that [[Mike Markkula]], who had advised the founders, called Venrock when Markkula's 110,000-dollar loan guarantee ran out, and [[Steve Jobs]] and [[Steve Wozniak]] came to New York. Venrock bought 10 percent of the company for 300,000 dollars, valuing it at 3 million dollars, and put in 200,000 dollars more about eight months later; at the initial public offering the 500,000 dollars was worth 110 million dollars. When Apple prepared to go public the company wanted the managing partner on the board, and Crisp took the seat of his partner [[Hank Smith]], who "made a lot of money in Intel and in Apple."[^4]
On Apple, Crisp said that [[Mike Markkula]], who had advised the founders, called Venrock when Markkula's 110,000-dollar loan guarantee ran out, and [[Steve Jobs]] and [[Steve Wozniak]] came to New York. Venrock bought 10 percent of the company for 300,000 dollars, valuing it at 3 million dollars, and put in 200,000 dollars more about eight months later; at the initial public offering the 500,000 dollars was worth 110 million dollars. When Apple prepared to go public the company wanted the managing partner on the board, and Crisp took the seat of his partner [[Hank Smith]], who "made a lot of money in [[Intel]] and in Apple."[^4]
### Special Studies Project
The [[Rockefeller Brothers Fund]]'s [[Special Studies Project]] began in 1956 under its president, Nelson Rockefeller, who chaired it for two years; when Nelson became governor of New York in 1958 Laurance became chairman.[^7] The published planning committee lists "Laurance S. Rockefeller, (Chairman since May 26, 1958)" and "Nelson A. Rockefeller, (Chairman, resigned May 26, 1958)," with [[Dana S. Creel]], [[Nancy Hanks]], [[Emmet John Hughes]], [[Francis A. Jamieson]], [[Henry A. Kissinger]], [[John E. Lockwood]] and [[Oscar M. Ruebhausen]].[^8]
Panel II, "International Security: The Military Aspect," first published on January 6, 1958, had been meeting since November 1956 and was the first panel to report.[^8] Its members, as listed in the 1961 volume, were [[Frank Altschul]], General [[Frederick L. Anderson]], [[Karl R. Bendetsen]], [[Detlev W. Bronk]], [[Gordon E. Dean]], [[James B. Fisk]], [[Bradley Gaylord]], [[Roswell L. Gilpatric]], [[Townsend W. Hoopes]] of J. H. Whitney and Company, [[Ellis A. Johnson]] of the Operations Research Office, Colonel [[George A. Lincoln]], [[Henry R. Luce]], General [[James McCormack Jr.]] (chairman until October 1957), [[Frank C. Nash]], "Laurance S. Rockefeller, president, Rockefeller Brothers, Inc.," [[Arthur Smithies]], [[Edward Teller]], "T. F. Walkowicz, aeronautical engineer," [[Carroll L. Wilson]], and [[John F. Floberg]] until his appointment to the [[Atomic Energy Commission]] in June 1957.[^8] The panel reports were published as *Prospect for America* by [[Doubleday]] in 1961 and sold over 400,000 copies, and participants later served in the Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon and Ford administrations.[^7]
Panel II, "International Security: The Military Aspect," first published on January 6, 1958, had been meeting since November 1956 and was the first panel to report.[^8] Its members, as listed in the 1961 volume, were [[Frank Altschul]], General [[Frederick L. Anderson]], [[Karl R. Bendetsen]], [[Detlev W. Bronk]], [[Gordon E. Dean]], [[James B. Fisk]], [[Bradley Gaylord]], [[Roswell L. Gilpatric]], [[Townsend W. Hoopes]] of [[J. H. Whitney and Company]], [[Ellis A. Johnson]] of the [[Operations Research Office]], Colonel [[George A. Lincoln]], [[Henry R. Luce]], General [[James McCormack Jr.]] (chairman until October 1957), [[Frank C. Nash]], "Laurance S. Rockefeller, president, [[Rockefeller Brothers, Inc.]]," [[Arthur Smithies]], [[Edward Teller]], "T. F. Walkowicz, aeronautical engineer," [[Carroll L. Wilson]], and [[John F. Floberg]] until his appointment to the [[Atomic Energy Commission]] in June 1957.[^8] The panel reports were published as *[[Prospect for America]]* by [[Doubleday]] in 1961 and sold over 400,000 copies, and participants later served in the Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon and Ford administrations.[^7]
The Central Intelligence Agency's files hold correspondence on two of the releases. [[Allen Dulles]], [[Director of Central Intelligence]], wrote to Rockefeller on September 16, 1960: "I have found this study, like the other reports in your special studies project, most interesting." The study was *The Power of the Democratic Idea*, and a copy of it in the agency's files carries a notice that it was sent "in advance of the RELEASE DATE, Wednesday, September 7, 1960" and was to be treated as confidential until then.[^9] On February 20, 1961 Rockefeller wrote to Dulles on Rockefeller Brothers Fund stationery that lists him as president, enclosing an advance copy of *Prospect for America*, which was to be published on March 17; his letter states that the Trustees of the Fund organized the project "in the belief that there was real merit in a group of citizens making an effort to look at America as it is." Dulles replied on March 1, 1961 that the book would be "a welcome and valuable addition to my private library."[^10]
The Central Intelligence Agency's files hold correspondence on two of the releases. [[Allen Dulles]], [[Director of Central Intelligence]], wrote to Rockefeller on September 16, 1960: "I have found this study, like the other reports in your special studies project, most interesting." The study was *[[The Power of the Democratic Idea]]*, and a copy of it in the agency's files carries a notice that it was sent "in advance of the RELEASE DATE, Wednesday, September 7, 1960" and was to be treated as confidential until then.[^9] On February 20, 1961 Rockefeller wrote to Dulles on Rockefeller Brothers Fund stationery that lists him as president, enclosing an advance copy of *Prospect for America*, which was to be published on March 17; his letter states that the Trustees of the Fund organized the project "in the belief that there was real merit in a group of citizens making an effort to look at America as it is." Dulles replied on March 1, 1961 that the book would be "a welcome and valuable addition to my private library."[^10]
### Conservation Commissions, Jackson Hole and the Virgin Islands
In 1958 President [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] appointed Rockefeller chairman of the [[Outdoor Recreation Resources Review Commission]].[^1] He later served as a special emissary for President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] on the creation of [[Redwood National Park]] and chaired President [[Richard Nixon]]'s Citizens' Advisory Committee on Environmental Quality. He was president, then chairman, of the Fund from 1958 to 1980, chairman of [[Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center|Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center]] from 1960 to 1982, a trustee of the [[Alfred P. Sloan Foundation]] from 1960 to 1982, and a trustee of the [[New York Zoological Society]] from 1935 to 1986. In 1958 he established the [[American Conservation Association]], Inc., a philanthropy to function as a conservation service agency, assisting other agencies and initiating projects of its own.[^1] The commission's members were Senators [[Clinton P. Anderson]], [[Henry C. Dworshak]], [[Henry M. Jackson]] and [[Jack Miller]]; Representatives [[John P. Saylor]], [[Gracie Pfost]], [[Ralph J. Rivers]] and [[John H. Kyl]]; and presidential commissioners [[Samuel T. Dana]], [[Marian S. Dryfoos]], [[Bernard L. Orell]], [[Joseph W. Penfold]], [[M. Frederick Smith]] and [[Chester S. Wilson]]. The report was presented to President Kennedy and Congress on the Wednesday before the Interior Department's release of February 1, 1962, and Secretary of the Interior [[Stewart Udall]] gave priority to the creation of a Bureau of Outdoor Recreation.[^11]
In 1958 President [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] appointed Rockefeller chairman of the [[Outdoor Recreation Resources Review Commission]].[^1] He later served as a special emissary for President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] on the creation of [[Redwood National Park]] and chaired President [[Richard Nixon]]'s Citizens' Advisory Committee on Environmental Quality. He was president, then chairman, of the Fund from 1958 to 1980, chairman of [[Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center|Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center]] from 1960 to 1982, a trustee of the [[Alfred P. Sloan Foundation]] from 1960 to 1982, and a trustee of the [[New York Zoological Society]] from 1935 to 1986. In 1958 he established the [[American Conservation Association]], Inc., a philanthropy to function as a conservation service agency, assisting other agencies and initiating projects of its own.[^1] The commission's members were Senators [[Clinton P. Anderson]], [[Henry C. Dworshak]], [[Henry M. Jackson]] and [[Jack Miller]]; Representatives [[John P. Saylor]], [[Gracie Pfost]], [[Ralph J. Rivers]] and [[John H. Kyl]]; and presidential commissioners [[Samuel T. Dana]], [[Marian S. Dryfoos]], [[Bernard L. Orell]], [[Joseph W. Penfold]], [[M. Frederick Smith]] and [[Chester S. Wilson]]. The report was presented to President Kennedy and Congress on the Wednesday before the [[United States Department of the Interior|Interior Department]]'s release of February 1, 1962, and Secretary of the Interior [[Stewart Udall]] gave priority to the creation of a [[Bureau of Outdoor Recreation]].[^11]
As president of [[Jackson Hole Preserve]], Inc., Rockefeller made the 1949 gift of [[Jackson Hole]] land to the federal government on his father's behalf.[^1] [[Virgin Islands National Park]] "was created through a donation of more than 5,000 acres of land in 1956 ... from Laurance Rockefeller"; in the mid-1950s he established the [[Caneel Bay]] Resort on [[Saint John, U.S. Virgin Islands|St. John]], which operated until [[Hurricane Irma]] and [[Hurricane Maria]] closed it in 2017; and in 1983 Jackson Hole Preserve, Inc., "an organization established by Laurance Rockefeller," donated the roughly 150 acres of the resort to the Park Service, subject to a retained use estate allowing its operator to use the property as a resort until September 30, 2023.[^12] The corporation, with an [[Internal Revenue Service]] ruling date of 1942, still files returns from Woodstock, Vermont, and reported assets of 5,327,031 dollars for 2023.[^13]
### Consciousness Research
The [[Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research Lab|Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research]] laboratory, established in 1979 by [[Robert Jahn]], announced its closure on February 10, 2007, stating that its research "was funded by gifts from Princeton alumni [[James S. McDonnell]], patriarch of the McDonnell Douglas Aerospace empire, Laurance Rockefeller, [[Donald C. Webster]], and by numerous other philanthropic benefactors."[^14] According to the [[John E. Mack Institute]], in 1993 the [[Center for Psychology and Social Change]] formed the [[Program for Extraordinary Experience Research]] "with funding from Laurence Rockefeller" to study reported "alien encounters"; the program's own page states that as of 2002 it was no longer an active research project.[^15]
The [[Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research Lab|Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research]] laboratory, established in 1979 by [[Robert Jahn]], announced its closure on February 10, 2007, stating that its research "was funded by gifts from Princeton alumni [[James S. McDonnell]], patriarch of the [[McDonnell Douglas]] Aerospace empire, Laurance Rockefeller, [[Donald C. Webster]], and by numerous other philanthropic benefactors."[^14] According to the [[John E. Mack Institute]], in 1993 the [[Center for Psychology and Social Change]] formed the [[Program for Extraordinary Experience Research]] "with funding from Laurence Rockefeller" to study reported "alien encounters"; the program's own page states that as of 2002 it was no longer an active research project.[^15] Two newspaper reports of May 1995 state a figure for his support of Mack's Center itself. [[Ben MacIntyre]] of the London *[[The Times|Times]]* wrote, in a story on [[Harvard University|Harvard]]'s review of Mack, that the Center "is supported by an annual grant of $250,000 from Laurance S. Rockefeller." The [[Valley News]] of May 20, 1995 wrote that Mack's work had "received generous subsidies" from Rockefeller, "patriarch of Woodstock, who reportedly donates a quarter million dollars a year" to the Center, and that a spokesman for Rockefeller said his policy was not to comment publicly on Mack's projects. Neither article names a source for the figure.[^16][^17]
[[C. B. Scott Jones]] wrote to the presidential science adviser, [[John H. Gibbons]], on the letterhead of the [[Human Potential Foundation]] of [[Falls Church, Virginia]].[^16] A handwritten note of February 24, 1994 on one of those letters, initialed by Gibbons, concerns Jones's association with Senator [[Claiborne Pell]] and reads: "Scott Jones used to be associated with Senator Pell. He was formerly a Navy pilot. The Human Potential Foundation is funded in part, I believe, by L.R."[^16] In the same office's memorandum for the President of August 4, 1995, Gibbons wrote that Rockefeller's interests "are related to those of Senator Pell."[^17] The writer [[Grant Cameron]], in a paper on the documents below, wrote that Pell founded the foundation and Jones was its president, that [[Common Cause Magazine]] had reported Rockefeller put more than 700,000 dollars through it from 1991 to 1994, and that [[Richard Farley]], who worked for the foundation for about three years, gave the same figure and "claimed" that Rockefeller's interest was in "alternative religious and psychiatric/psychological paradigms, including so-called 'UFOs' and 'abductions,' having 'Global Mind Change' potentials."[^18]
[[C. B. Scott Jones]] wrote to the presidential science adviser, [[John H. Gibbons]], on the letterhead of the [[Human Potential Foundation]] of [[Falls Church, Virginia]].[^18] A handwritten note of February 24, 1994 on one of those letters, initialed by Gibbons, concerns Jones's association with Senator [[Claiborne Pell]] and reads: "Scott Jones used to be associated with Senator Pell. He was formerly a Navy pilot. The Human Potential Foundation is funded in part, I believe, by L.R."[^18] In the same office's memorandum for the President of August 4, 1995, Gibbons wrote that Rockefeller's interests "are related to those of Senator Pell."[^19] The writer [[Grant Cameron]], in a paper on the documents below, wrote that Pell founded the foundation and Jones was its president, that [[Common Cause Magazine]] had reported Rockefeller put more than 700,000 dollars through it from 1991 to 1994, and that [[Richard Farley]], who worked for the foundation for about three years, gave the same figure and "claimed" that Rockefeller's interest was in "alternative religious and psychiatric/psychological paradigms, including so-called 'UFOs' and 'abductions,' having 'Global Mind Change' potentials."[^20]
The finding aid to the C. B. Scott Jones papers at the [[University of Colorado Boulder]] states that the Human Potential Foundation's primary donor in its first two and a half years was Laurance Rockefeller, "whose support was conditional with a program designed to get the [[United States]] government to acknowledge the existence of alien life," and lists correspondence between Jones and Rockefeller in the collection.[^21] The Center's newsletter *CenterPiece* of September 1993 announced the PEER research on UFO abductions as "Funded by a grant from the Human Potential Foundation."[^22]
### Approach to the Science Adviser, 1993
The [[Office of Science and Technology Policy]], where Gibbons was Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, released 991 pages of correspondence on UFOs and extraterrestrial intelligence to Cameron in January 2001, according to Cameron.[^18] The earliest is a memorandum of March 29, 1993 from [[Henry L. Diamond]] to Gibbons (attention [[Mike Kowalok]]), concerning an approach by Rockefeller to President [[Bill Clinton]] and asking for a meeting with Rockefeller on April 12 or 13. It describes Rockefeller as "a leading U.S. conservationist, businessman, and philanthropist" who, "with other leading citizens, is planning to make an approach to President Clinton" on "the potential availability of government information about unidentified flying objects and extraterrestrial life," and gives the basic message as "a belief in many quarters that the government has long held classified information regarding UFOs which has not been released and that the failure to do so has brought about unnecessary suspicion and distrust." It states that Rockefeller would be accompanied by Jones, "President of the Human Potential Foundation," and by Diamond, "a Washington attorney and long-time associate of Mr. Rockefeller, known to Dr. Gibbons." A handwritten note adds "+ Scott Jones."[^19]
The [[Office of Science and Technology Policy]], where Gibbons was Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, released 991 pages of correspondence on UFOs and extraterrestrial intelligence to Cameron in January 2001, according to Cameron.[^20] The earliest is a memorandum of March 29, 1993 from [[Henry L. Diamond]] to Gibbons (attention [[Mike Kowalok]]), concerning an approach by Rockefeller to President [[Bill Clinton]] and asking for a meeting with Rockefeller on April 12 or 13. It describes Rockefeller as "a leading U.S. conservationist, businessman, and philanthropist" who, "with other leading citizens, is planning to make an approach to President Clinton" on "the potential availability of government information about unidentified flying objects and extraterrestrial life," and gives the basic message as "a belief in many quarters that the government has long held classified information regarding UFOs which has not been released and that the failure to do so has brought about unnecessary suspicion and distrust." It states that Rockefeller would be accompanied by Jones, "President of the Human Potential Foundation," and by Diamond, "a [[Washington, D.C.|Washington]] attorney and long-time associate of Mr. Rockefeller, known to Dr. Gibbons." A handwritten note adds "+ Scott Jones."[^23]
On April 21, 1993, on stationery of 30 Rockefeller Plaza, Room 5600, Rockefeller thanked Gibbons for seeing him "so early Wednesday morning." He wrote that Gibbons had said that in three months as science adviser he had "not learned that the United States Government has a body of knowledge on UFOs or ETI that is being withheld from the public," and had made it clear that "initially our most fruitful avenue of approach, most likely, will be within the [[Department of Defense]]." Rockefeller would report on the meeting to [[Melvin Laird]] and hoped to follow up with Secretary of Defense [[Les Aspin]]; he planned a letter to President Clinton urging "a reassessment of government policy regarding UFO and ETI information" and a small group, convened with Jones's help, to discuss UFOs "in an informal, non-public way."[^20] On May 26, 1993 Gibbons, signing as Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, thanked Jones for "the materials," noted that the books "came from the Foundation's library," and sent "best wishes and regards to Lawrence."[^21]
On April 21, 1993, on stationery of 30 Rockefeller Plaza, Room 5600, Rockefeller thanked Gibbons for seeing him "so early Wednesday morning." He wrote that Gibbons had said that in three months as science adviser he had "not learned that the United States Government has a body of knowledge on UFOs or ETI that is being withheld from the public," and had made it clear that "initially our most fruitful avenue of approach, most likely, will be within the [[Department of Defense]]." Rockefeller would report on the meeting to [[Melvin Laird]] and hoped to follow up with Secretary of Defense [[Les Aspin]]; he planned a letter to President Clinton urging "a reassessment of government policy regarding UFO and ETI information" and a small group, convened with Jones's help, to discuss UFOs "in an informal, non-public way."[^24] On May 26, 1993 Gibbons, signing as Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, thanked Jones for "the materials," noted that the books "came from the Foundation's library," and sent "best wishes and regards to Lawrence."[^25]
On May 7, 1993 he wrote to the evangelist [[Billy Graham]], proposing that Graham co-sign a letter to Clinton asking for a review of the classification of UFO information, and stated that "we are working closely with Mel Laird, former Secretary of Defense, and a great good friend of the present Secretary, Les Aspin," and had met Gibbons. The other co-signers under consideration were [[Maurice Strong]], the former [[United Nations]] secretary general [[Javier Pérez de Cuéllar]], possibly former President [[Jimmy Carter]], and Senators Pell and [[Ted Stevens]]. Graham replied on May 20, 1993 that he thought Rockefeller was "exactly right, that since they are reviewing the whole classification process, many documents will probably become available that have not previously," and declined, writing that he had "made it a policy not to co-sign such letters" and kept his contacts with presidents "on a purely personal, one-on-one, private basis."[^22]
On May 7, 1993 he wrote to the evangelist [[Billy Graham]], proposing that Graham co-sign a letter to Clinton asking for a review of the classification of UFO information, and stated that "we are working closely with Mel Laird, former Secretary of Defense, and a great good friend of the present Secretary, Les Aspin," and had met Gibbons. The other co-signers under consideration were [[Maurice Strong]], the former [[United Nations]] secretary general [[Javier Pérez de Cuéllar]], possibly former President [[Jimmy Carter]], and Senators Pell and [[Ted Stevens]]. Graham replied on May 20, 1993 that he thought Rockefeller was "exactly right, that since they are reviewing the whole classification process, many documents will probably become available that have not previously," and declined, writing that he had "made it a policy not to co-sign such letters" and kept his contacts with presidents "on a purely personal, one-on-one, private basis."[^26]
On August 4, 1993 Rockefeller invited Gibbons or a representative to an informal roundtable he was hosting from September 13 to 15 at the [[JY Ranch]], in the Grand Teton National Park near Jackson, Wyoming. The letter gives the purpose as assessing "the extent of information which may or may not be in the hands of the federal government" and developing "productive ways to encourage the Administration to include information of UFO and ETI phenomena in its current review of previously classified information." The six presenters were [[Steven Greer]], [[Linda Moulton Howe]], [[Bruce Maccabee]], [[R. Leo Sprinkle]], [[Jill Tarter]] of the [[NASA]] Ames Research Center and [[Keith Thompson]]; [[John Mack]], [[Peter Sturrock]], "a representative of the Science Advisor to the President" and "several of my associates" were also invited. The four themes included "strategies for influencing government policy in the direction of openness," "assessment of alleged psychological, economic and other barriers to a government policy of openness on the subject," and "spiritual and other dimensional aspects of UFO and ETI phenomena." The roundtable "will not be publicized but, of course will not be secret" and would be off the record.[^23] The [[Paradigm Research Group]] reproduces a photograph that it captions as the September 14 to 15, 1993 meeting at the JY Ranch and labels, left to right, Diamond, Greer, Maccabee, [[George Lamb]], [[Robert Bigelow]], Howe, Sprinkle, Thompson, Mack, Rockefeller, Jones, Johnie Jones and [[Robert Teets]], with [[Marie Galbraith|Marie "Bootsie" Galbraith]] and Farley behind the camera.[^24] On November 12, 1993 Diamond, on the letterhead of [[Beveridge and Diamond]], wrote to a Gibbons staff member that he had seen Gibbons at the [[Environmental Law Institute]] dinner on October 20 and that Rockefeller wished to see him again between December 10 and 23.[^25]
On August 4, 1993 Rockefeller invited Gibbons or a representative to an informal roundtable he was hosting from September 13 to 15 at the [[JY Ranch]], in the [[Grand Teton National Park]] near [[Jackson, Wyoming]]. The letter gives the purpose as assessing "the extent of information which may or may not be in the hands of the federal government" and developing "productive ways to encourage the Administration to include information of UFO and ETI phenomena in its current review of previously classified information." The six presenters were [[Steven Greer]], [[Linda Moulton Howe]], [[Bruce Maccabee]], [[R. Leo Sprinkle]], [[Jill Tarter]] of the [[NASA]] Ames Research Center and [[Keith Thompson]]; [[John Mack]], [[Peter Sturrock]], "a representative of the Science Advisor to the President" and "several of my associates" were also invited. The four themes included "strategies for influencing government policy in the direction of openness," "assessment of alleged psychological, economic and other barriers to a government policy of openness on the subject," and "spiritual and other dimensional aspects of UFO and ETI phenomena." The roundtable "will not be publicized but, of course will not be secret" and would be off the record.[^27] The [[Paradigm Research Group]] reproduces a photograph that it captions as the September 14 to 15, 1993 meeting at the JY Ranch and labels, left to right, Diamond, Greer, Maccabee, [[George Lamb]], [[Robert Bigelow]], Howe, Sprinkle, Thompson, Mack, Rockefeller, Jones, [[Johnie Jones]] and [[Robert Teets]], with [[Marie Galbraith|Marie "Bootsie" Galbraith]] and Farley behind the camera.[^28] On November 12, 1993 Diamond, on the letterhead of [[Beveridge and Diamond]], wrote to a Gibbons staff member that he had seen Gibbons at the [[Environmental Law Institute]] dinner on October 20 and that Rockefeller wished to see him again between December 10 and 23.[^29]
### Roswell, 1994
After a meeting on February 4, 1994, Rockefeller wrote to Gibbons on February 14 that "your approach of starting by addressing a specific incident is an important and reasonable way to begin the process of declassification," that the July 1947 [[Roswell Incident]] "would be a logical and challenging place to start," and that if the effort succeeded it "will become an important prototype for the release of all UFO related information." He proposed amnesty "on an individual basis" for those with knowledge, and, "in the light of your proposed initiative," said "we shall defer writing to the President."[^26] On May 24, 1994 Secretary of the Air Force [[Sheila Widnall]] sent Gibbons a cover memorandum, "As you and I discussed earlier, we are researching Air Force material on UFOs in general, and Roswell in particular," with an interim report to her of May 20 from the office designated SAF/AAZ. The report stated that "in early Feb 94, upon learning of the projected GAO audit," the Air Force had stood up elements of its Declassification Review Team to begin preliminary research, and that the offices tasked had "reported no records were located to indicate anything unusual happened at Roswell in July 1947." Widnall wrote: "My policy is that we are declassifying everything even remotely related, and anything our people think still needs to be classified will have to be justified to me." A handwritten note on the cover, initialed "JG," reads: "Skip - for your scanning. After you and I have a chance to discuss, I'll be ready to communicate w/ L.R. + his niece."[^27]
After a meeting on February 4, 1994, Rockefeller wrote to Gibbons on February 14 that "your approach of starting by addressing a specific incident is an important and reasonable way to begin the process of declassification," that the July 1947 [[Roswell Incident]] "would be a logical and challenging place to start," and that if the effort succeeded it "will become an important prototype for the release of all UFO related information." He proposed amnesty "on an individual basis" for those with knowledge, and, "in the light of your proposed initiative," said "we shall defer writing to the President."[^30] In a letter of the same date to [[Anne Bartley]], who had arranged his Washington meetings, he wrote that Gibbons's suggestion to treat the 1947 event as a test case "was a very good one."[^31] On May 24, 1994 Secretary of the Air Force [[Sheila Widnall]] sent Gibbons a cover memorandum, "As you and I discussed earlier, we are researching Air Force material on UFOs in general, and Roswell in particular," with an interim report to her of May 20 from the office designated SAF/AAZ. The report stated that "in early Feb 94, upon learning of the projected GAO audit," the Air Force had stood up elements of its Declassification Review Team to begin preliminary research, and that the offices tasked had "reported no records were located to indicate anything unusual happened at Roswell in July 1947." Widnall wrote: "My policy is that we are declassifying everything even remotely related, and anything our people think still needs to be classified will have to be justified to me." A handwritten note on the cover, initialed "JG," reads: "Skip - for your scanning. After you and I have a chance to discuss, I'll be ready to communicate w/ L.R. + his niece."[^32]
Jones wrote to Gibbons on February 17 enclosing a chronology compiled by the [[Fund for UFO Research]] and press clippings on the inquiry by Representative [[Steven Schiff]], and reporting that a [[Pentagon]] spokesman had told a [[Government Accountability Office|General Accounting Office]] investigator "Go shit in your hat." He had spent time after the February 4 meeting with [[Edward J. Reese]] of the Modern Military Branch of the [[National Archives and Records Administration]] on where Roswell documentation might be located. The letter's second page reads: "Whatever Roswell turns out to be, it is only the opening round. ... My mention of mind-control technology at the February 4 meeting was quite deliberate. Please be careful about this. There are reasons to believe that some government group has interwoven research about this technology with alleged UFO phenomena. If that [is] correct, you can expect to run into early resistance when inquiring about UFOs, not because of the UFO subject, but because that has been used to cloak research and applications of mind-control activity."[^16]
Jones wrote to Gibbons on February 17 enclosing a chronology compiled by the [[Fund for UFO Research]] and press clippings on the inquiry by Representative [[Steven Schiff]], and reporting that a Pentagon spokesman had told a [[Government Accountability Office|General Accounting Office]] investigator "Go shit in your hat." He had spent time after the February 4 meeting with [[Edward J. Reese]] of the Modern Military Branch of the [[National Archives and Records Administration]] on where Roswell documentation might be located. The letter's second page reads: "Whatever Roswell turns out to be, it is only the opening round. ... My mention of mind-control technology at the February 4 meeting was quite deliberate. Please be careful about this. There are reasons to believe that some government group has interwoven research about this technology with alleged UFO phenomena. If that [is] correct, you can expect to run into early resistance when inquiring about UFOs, not because of the UFO subject, but because that has been used to cloak research and applications of mind-control activity."[^18]
On June 1, 1994 Rockefeller wrote that "it was Mel Laird who suggested that you should be the logical point of contact and coordination with the federal government," asked whether there were developments in the survey of information among federal agencies on Roswell that Gibbons had suggested, attached a letter from Laird, and mentioned "preliminary talks with those who might be interested in bringing about a United Nations Conference on extraterrestrial intelligence."[^28] Laird's letter, dated May 9, 1994 and replying to one from Rockefeller of April 25, stated that "you are proceeding properly by going through the President's Science Advisor," and that "any review will certainly disappoint some individuals who have built up some rather extreme antidotal and uncollaborated accounts."[^28] On July 27, 1994 [[Anne Bartley]] wrote to Gibbons about "follow-up on our meeting with Laurance S. Rockefeller and his associates," recalling that Gibbons had suggested "an informal inquiry into the availability of information within federal agencies about the 1947 Roswell, [[New Mexico]], event," asking about "prospects for a relaxation of the classification system," and stating that Rockefeller "has begun to wonder whether a U.N. Conference would be useful."[^29]
Rockefeller's letter of April 26, 1994 reports that his group had gone to [[Cornell University]] earlier that month to meet [[Carl Sagan]], who "expressed considerable skepticism" but strongly supported release of government information, and that Representative Schiff had asked for a General Accounting Office inquiry and "the publication of John Mack's book has brought renewed attention to the abduction phenomenon."[^33]
On August 11, 1994 Jones wrote to Gibbons that [[Edgar Mitchell]], founder of the [[Institute of Noetic Sciences]], on whose board Pell sat, would be glad to meet Gibbons "in the area that Laurance, you and I have been discussing," and that Gibbons "may want to talk to [[R. James Woolsey|James Woolsey]] about what you are doing." The next lines, partly cut off in the scan, say that Woolsey "has a document search project under way" and "has not discovered anything of significance," and Jones adds: "If I had the responsibility to run a super safe black program on this subject, I would take it completely out of the government's" bureaucracy "and run it from the private sector, probably somewhere within" the aerospace community "or perhaps General Motors."[^30] On September 5, 1994 Rockefeller thanked Gibbons for a note that he had received a report from the Air Force; after the [[United States Air Force|Air Force]] released the results of its Roswell investigation (in July 1994 in the General Accounting Office's account, and publicly available in September in Gibbons's)[^17][^31] he wrote on December 9 thanking Gibbons for "your initiative in stimulating the recent Air Force Review of the Roswell incident," adding that "we are continuing our citizens' reconnaissance of the extraterrestrial intelligence phenomenon."[^32] On February 9, 1995 Jones wrote that "there is some shadowy evidence that the administration is in the process of modifying the government's policy concerning secrecy and denial about UFO phenomena," that "Laurance mentioned that he was also considering a public relations approach" and that "he can afford a rather aggressive and expensive effort implementing that strategy, e.g., full page ads in major newspapers," and that after Rockefeller's last meeting with Gibbons "we are not going to get feedback from our attempts to get the [[White House]] to open the books on this subject."[^33] On April 11, 1995 Rockefeller wrote that he had reviewed the draft executive order revising national classification policy and that "my concern with government information involving extraterrestrial intelligence was stimulated by the widespread public belief that the government was withholding information about UFO incidents."[^34]
On June 1, 1994 Rockefeller wrote that "it was Mel Laird who suggested that you should be the logical point of contact and coordination with the federal government," asked whether there were developments in the survey of information among federal agencies on Roswell that Gibbons had suggested, attached a letter from Laird, and mentioned "preliminary talks with those who might be interested in bringing about a United Nations Conference on extraterrestrial intelligence."[^34] Laird's letter, dated May 9, 1994 and replying to one from Rockefeller of April 25, stated that "you are proceeding properly by going through the President's Science Advisor," and that "any review will certainly disappoint some individuals who have built up some rather extreme antidotal and uncollaborated accounts."[^34] On July 27, 1994 Anne Bartley wrote to Gibbons about "follow-up on our meeting with Laurance S. Rockefeller and his associates," recalling that Gibbons had suggested "an informal inquiry into the availability of information within federal agencies about the 1947 Roswell, [[New Mexico]], event," asking about "prospects for a relaxation of the classification system," and stating that Rockefeller "has begun to wonder whether a U.N. Conference would be useful."[^35]
The General Accounting Office wrote to Gibbons on April 12, 1995, at Schiff's request, that it was determining what records existed on Roswell. Gibbons replied on April 26 to the GAO's director of federal management issues that the Office of Science and Technology Policy had "no direct knowledge of what occurred at Roswell and no records, except for the information I received from the Air Force."[^31] An internal OSTP message of June 9, 1995 reports a call from the GAO about its eight-page report, which would state that the agency had asked OSTP and other agencies whether they held records and that "DOE and OSTP had no records"; a handwritten reply of June 12, signed "Sue B.," reads "Tanya, OK w/ JHG."[^35]
On August 11, 1994 Jones wrote to Gibbons that [[Edgar Mitchell]], founder of the [[Institute of Noetic Sciences]], on whose board Pell sat, would be glad to meet Gibbons "in the area that Laurance, you and I have been discussing," and that Gibbons "may want to talk to [[R. James Woolsey|James Woolsey]] about what you are doing." The next lines, partly cut off in the scan, say that Woolsey "has a document search project under way" and "has not discovered anything of significance," and Jones adds: "If I had the responsibility to run a super safe black program on this subject, I would take it completely out of the government's" bureaucracy "and run it from the private sector, probably somewhere within" the aerospace community "or perhaps [[General Motors]]."[^36] On September 5, 1994 Rockefeller thanked Gibbons for a note that he had received a report from the Air Force; after the Air Force released the results of its Roswell investigation (in July 1994 in the General Accounting Office's account, and publicly available in September in Gibbons's)[^19][^37] he wrote on December 9 thanking Gibbons for "your initiative in stimulating the recent Air Force Review of the Roswell incident," adding that "we are continuing our citizens' reconnaissance of the extraterrestrial intelligence phenomenon."[^38] On February 9, 1995 Jones wrote that "there is some shadowy evidence that the administration is in the process of modifying the government's policy concerning secrecy and denial about UFO phenomena," that "Laurance mentioned that he was also considering a public relations approach" and that "he can afford a rather aggressive and expensive effort implementing that strategy, e.g., full page ads in major newspapers," and that after Rockefeller's last meeting with Gibbons "we are not going to get feedback from our attempts to get the [[White House]] to open the books on this subject."[^39] On April 11, 1995 Rockefeller wrote that he had reviewed the draft executive order revising national classification policy and that "my concern with government information involving extraterrestrial intelligence was stimulated by the widespread public belief that the government was withholding information about UFO incidents."[^40]
On December 2, 1994 Jones sent Gibbons critiques of the Air Force Roswell report and told him that the Foundation's conference would invite President and Mrs. Clinton; on December 13, 1994 he sent Gibbons the manuscript of [[Whitley Strieber]]'s *Breakthrough* with a copy to Rockefeller. The White House declined for Mrs. Clinton on December 15, 1994 ([[Patti Solis]], scheduling director for the First Lady) and for the President on December 21, 1994 ([[William M. Webster IV]], director of scheduling and advance).[^41] The Clinton Library's collection 2008-1575-F holds the invitations and brochures; none are scanned.[^42]
The General Accounting Office wrote to Gibbons on April 12, 1995, at Schiff's request, that it was determining what records existed on Roswell. Gibbons replied on April 26 to the GAO's director of federal management issues that the Office of Science and Technology Policy had "no direct knowledge of what occurred at Roswell and no records, except for the information I received from the Air Force."[^37] An internal OSTP message of June 9, 1995 reports a call from the GAO about its eight-page report, which would state that the agency had asked OSTP and other agencies whether they held records and that "DOE and OSTP had no records"; a handwritten reply of June 12, signed "Sue B.," reads "Tanya, OK w/ JHG."[^43]
### The Draft Letter to the President, 1995 and 1996
On August 4, 1995 Gibbons sent President Clinton a memorandum headed "Inquiry from Laurance Rockefeller." It begins: "You will probably see Mr. Rockefeller on your vacation in the Tetons. He will want to talk with you about his interest in extrasensory perception, paranormal phenomena, and UFO's. His interests are related to those of Senator Pell." Gibbons wrote that "Les Aspin and Mel Laird referred Laurance to me," that Rockefeller had sought "the Administration's help in 'declassifying the information'," that "I persuaded Rockefeller to not bother you with this issue but instead to let me talk with defense officials," that Secretary of the Air Force Widnall had "arranged for a full revisiting by the Air Force of pertinent records, guaranteed 'amnesty' to anyone who felt constrained to talk," and that "the bottom line is that all evidence points to a failed U.S. Air Force balloon experiment, and no evidence of a 'flying saucer' or cover-up conspiracy. (However, the UFO 'community' persists in believing that the Air Force report is flawed.)" A "second rubric" was "human potential" research: "Senator Pell and others have supported the funding of research in social science to focus more on these phenomena." Gibbons closed: "I've made no secret about my conviction that we must not be too diverted from more earthly imperatives."[^17]
On August 4, 1995 Gibbons sent President Clinton a memorandum headed "Inquiry from Laurance Rockefeller." It begins: "You will probably see Mr. Rockefeller on your vacation in the Tetons. He will want to talk with you about his interest in extrasensory perception, paranormal phenomena, and UFO's. His interests are related to those of Senator Pell." Gibbons wrote that "Les Aspin and Mel Laird referred Laurance to me," that Rockefeller had sought "the Administration's help in 'declassifying the information'," that "I persuaded Rockefeller to not bother you with this issue but instead to let me talk with defense officials," that Secretary of the Air Force Widnall had "arranged for a full revisiting by the Air Force of pertinent records, guaranteed 'amnesty' to anyone who felt constrained to talk," and that "the bottom line is that all evidence points to a failed U.S. Air Force balloon experiment, and no evidence of a 'flying saucer' or cover-up conspiracy. (However, the UFO 'community' persists in believing that the Air Force report is flawed.)" A "second rubric" was "human potential" research: "Senator Pell and others have supported the funding of research in social science to focus more on these phenomena." Gibbons closed: "I've made no secret about my conviction that we must not be too diverted from more earthly imperatives."[^19]
The Clintons began a vacation in Jackson Hole on August 15, 1995, with Senator [[Jay Rockefeller]] and his wife, Sharon, as hosts at a Rockefeller family estate.[^36] The [[William J. Clinton Presidential Library]] holds photographs, in a set processed for a [[Freedom of Information Act]] request, of a visit by President Clinton and [[Hillary Clinton|Hillary Rodham Clinton]] to Laurance Rockefeller's JY Ranch on August 21, 1995.[^36] On August 17 Jones, writing on Human Potential Foundation letterhead to Representative Schiff, described a conference, "When Cosmic Cultures Meet," held in Washington over the Memorial Day weekend: "The conference was part of a process to make it politically safe for Congress to get involved in a subject that from all available evidence has been the secret purview of the executive department for nearly fifty years."[^37]
The Clintons began a vacation in Jackson Hole on August 15, 1995, with Senator [[Jay Rockefeller]] and his wife, Sharon, as hosts at a Rockefeller family estate.[^44] The [[William J. Clinton Presidential Library]] holds photographs, in a set processed for a [[Freedom of Information Act]] request, of a visit by President Clinton and [[Hillary Clinton|Hillary Rodham Clinton]] to Laurance Rockefeller's JY Ranch on August 21, 1995.[^44] On August 17 Jones, writing on Human Potential Foundation letterhead to Representative Schiff, described a conference, "When Cosmic Cultures Meet," held in Washington over the Memorial Day weekend: "The conference was part of a process to make it politically safe for Congress to get involved in a subject that from all available evidence has been the secret purview of the executive department for nearly fifty years."[^45]
On August 23, 1995 Rockefeller's office faxed Gibbons five pages plus a cover sheet: a draft letter to President Clinton, headed "Lifting Secrecy on Information About Extraterrestrial Intelligence as Part of the Current Classification Review," and the 1993 exchange with Graham. The draft states that Rockefeller has "been interested in the enhancement of spirituality and holistic healing as well as the development of a new paradigm of consciousness," and asks the President to direct that information on extraterrestrial intelligence and UFOs "be given priority in the current classification review," to appoint a coordinator for government information about those subjects, to bring together information "from all federal agencies involved, such as the Department of Defense, the Air Force, NASA and the CIA" ("Your Science Advisor, Jack Gibbons, might be the right person for this role"), and to make known that anyone with information "will be granted amnesty from relevant oaths or other government constraints."[^22] On November 1, 1995 Diamond, writing from 30 Rockefeller Plaza, Room 5600, sent Gibbons "a draft letter to the President which Laurance has been discussing with Mrs. Clinton and her staff" and a draft report on the "best evidence" about UFOs; a letter of November 8 identified [[Don Berliner]] as its principal author.[^38]
On August 17, 1995 the Human Potential Foundation mailed every member of Congress a packet; letters to the House and Senate leadership stated that "the Human Potential Foundation has been supported by Mr. Laurance S. Rockefeller and others." Jones's letter to Gibbons of August 23, 1995 stated that Rockefeller "was a guest at the President's birthday party a few days ago in Jackson Hole" and enclosed a draft full-page newspaper advertisement.[^46]
On February 5, 1996 Rockefeller told Gibbons that the "Best Evidence Report (the report written by Don Berliner and coordinated by Marie Galbraith which we have referred to as the 'Bootsie report')" was an "unusual combined effort of the three major UFO organizations." He wrote that Gibbons's "willingness to approach the Air Force, the Central Intelligence Agency and NASA on this project is extremely important," and that the group would put forward names for a pilot project on an expanded amnesty program. The draft letter to the President, he wrote, "might receive attention in a second term. You indicated that you will keep the First Lady's Office informed, and we shall as well."[^39] On February 27, 1996 Widnall wrote to Gibbons, after "our recent dinner conversation," enclosing "the full Roswell Report to pass on to Lawrence Rockefeller" and noting that a second volume was in preparation; on February 29 Rockefeller sent Gibbons the "Best Available Evidence" report, writing "I sponsored this report" and, "while I do not necessarily agree with every finding and conclusion," that "the evidence presented indicates that this subject merits serious scientific study," with a new draft of the letter to the President.[^40] On October 17, 1996 he proposed an international conference. "At the suggestion of Maurice Strong," he had contacted [[Julia Marton-Lefevre|Julia Marton Lefevre]], executive director of what the letter calls the International Scientific Union, and he forwarded a letter from [[Carl Sagan]], writing that he was "puzzled by Carl's enthusiastic support of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence by radio telescope while he maintains a high degree of skepticism about other means of inquiry."[^41] In a letter of January 2, 1997 to Gibbons, Maccabee wrote that in April 1993, "at the request of Dr. [[Ronald Pandolfi]] of the CIA," he had faxed Gibbons an information paper on UFOs.[^42] On June 20, 1997 the Secretary of the Air Force sent Gibbons the second volume of *The Roswell Report: Case Closed*, to be released on the following Tuesday.[^43]
On August 23, 1995 Rockefeller's office faxed Gibbons five pages plus a cover sheet: a draft letter to President Clinton, headed "Lifting Secrecy on Information About Extraterrestrial Intelligence as Part of the Current Classification Review," and the 1993 exchange with Graham. The draft states that Rockefeller has "been interested in the enhancement of spirituality and holistic healing as well as the development of a new paradigm of consciousness," and asks the President to direct that information on extraterrestrial intelligence and UFOs "be given priority in the current classification review," to appoint a coordinator for government information about those subjects, to bring together information "from all federal agencies involved, such as the Department of Defense, the Air Force, NASA and the CIA" ("Your Science Advisor, Jack Gibbons, might be the right person for this role"), and to make known that anyone with information "will be granted amnesty from relevant oaths or other government constraints."[^26] On November 1, 1995 Diamond, writing from 30 Rockefeller Plaza, Room 5600, sent Gibbons "a draft letter to the President which Laurance has been discussing with Mrs. Clinton and her staff" and a draft report on the "best evidence" about UFOs; a letter of November 8 identified [[Don Berliner]] as its principal author.[^47]
The *Unidentified Flying Objects Briefing Document: The Best Available Evidence* (December 1995), by Don Berliner with Marie Galbraith and [[Antonio Huneeus]], presented by the [[Center for UFO Studies]], the Fund for UFO Research and the [[Mutual UFO Network]] with copyright held by the [[UFO Research Coalition]], thanks "Laurance S. Rockefeller, for his vision and support, financial and otherwise," and George Lamb "for serving so effectively as liaison for Mr. Rockefeller," and thanks [[Sandra Wright]] for making her [[BSW Foundation]] "available as the umbrella under which all the work could be done."[^48]
On February 5, 1996 Rockefeller told Gibbons that the "Best Evidence Report (the report written by Don Berliner and coordinated by Marie Galbraith which we have referred to as the 'Bootsie report')" was an "unusual combined effort of the three major UFO organizations." He wrote that Gibbons's "willingness to approach the Air Force, the Central Intelligence Agency and NASA on this project is extremely important," and that the group would put forward names for a pilot project on an expanded amnesty program. The draft letter to the President, he wrote, "might receive attention in a second term. You indicated that you will keep the First Lady's Office informed, and we shall as well."[^49] On February 27, 1996 Widnall wrote to Gibbons, after "our recent dinner conversation," enclosing "the full Roswell Report to pass on to Lawrence Rockefeller" and noting that a second volume was in preparation; on February 29 Rockefeller sent Gibbons the "Best Available Evidence" report, writing "I sponsored this report" and, "while I do not necessarily agree with every finding and conclusion," that "the evidence presented indicates that this subject merits serious scientific study," with a new draft of the letter to the President.[^50] In a letter of August 8, 1996 to [[Julia Marton-Lefevre]] of the [[International Council of Scientific Unions]], written on the suggestion of Maurice Strong, he wrote of his interest in "expanding man's spiritual and intellectual potential" and proposed a small international group on extraterrestrial intelligence and UFOs.[^31] On October 17, 1996 he proposed an international conference. "At the suggestion of Maurice Strong," he had contacted Julia Marton Lefevre, executive director of what the letter calls the International Scientific Union, and he forwarded a letter from Carl Sagan, writing that he was "puzzled by Carl's enthusiastic support of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence by radio telescope while he maintains a high degree of skepticism about other means of inquiry."[^51] Sagan replied on November 6, 1996 that "no amount of anecdotal evidence, unsubstantiated by physical evidence, is worth a single substantive bit of physical evidence"; the letters are in the Sagan papers at the [[Library of Congress]] and were reported by [[Robert Sheaffer]].[^52] In a letter of January 2, 1997 to Gibbons, Maccabee wrote that in April 1993, "at the request of Dr. [[Ronald Pandolfi]] of the CIA," he had faxed Gibbons an information paper on UFOs.[^53] On June 20, 1997 the Secretary of the Air Force sent Gibbons the second volume of *The Roswell Report: Case Closed*, to be released on the following Tuesday.[^54]
### Pocantico Workshop, 1997
In December 1996, in Sturrock's words in the introduction to the published proceedings, "Mr. Laurance S. Rockefeller, Chairman of the [[LSR Fund]], invited me to review with him the status of our understanding of the problem posed by UFO reports." Rockefeller, Diamond and Sturrock conceived a workshop; Sturrock submitted a proposal to the LSR Fund in February 1997 with administrative support from the [[Society for Scientific Exploration]], and "the necessary funds were transferred from the Fund to the Society." The workshop met at the [[Pocantico Conference Center]] at Tarrytown, New York, from September 29 to October 4, 1997, and Sturrock thanked Rockefeller "for his interest in and support of this project" and Diamond and [[Charles Tolbert]] for administrative support.[^44]
In December 1996, in Sturrock's words in the introduction to the published proceedings, "Mr. Laurance S. Rockefeller, Chairman of the [[LSR Fund]], invited me to review with him the status of our understanding of the problem posed by UFO reports." Rockefeller, Diamond and Sturrock conceived a workshop; Sturrock submitted a proposal to the LSR Fund in February 1997 with administrative support from the [[Society for Scientific Exploration]], and "the necessary funds were transferred from the Fund to the Society." The workshop met at the [[Pocantico Conference Center]] at [[Tarrytown, New York]], from September 29 to October 4, 1997, and Sturrock thanked Rockefeller "for his interest in and support of this project" and Diamond and [[Charles Tolbert]] for administrative support.[^55] A report of June 1998 by the panel was, in *PEER Perspectives* of Winter 1998/99, described as "funded by the Laurance S. Rockefeller Fund."[^56]
### Rockefeller Funds
The Laurance S. Rockefeller Fund of New York, which received its Internal Revenue Service ruling in June 2006, reported assets of 35,533,812 dollars for 2023. The Fund for UFO Research of Fairfax, Virginia, to which the letters of 1994 and 1996 refer, has been tax-exempt since April 1982.[^13]
The Laurance S. Rockefeller Fund of New York, which received its Internal Revenue Service ruling in June 2006, reported assets of 35,533,812 dollars for 2023. The Fund for UFO Research of [[Fairfax County, Virginia|Fairfax, Virginia]], to which the letters of 1994 and 1996 refer, has been tax-exempt since April 1982.[^13]
### Footnotes
@ -240,32 +260,44 @@ The Laurance S. Rockefeller Fund of New York, which received its Internal Revenu
[^13]: ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer API, organization records for Jackson Hole Preserve Inc (EIN 13-1813818), Laurance S Rockefeller Fund (EIN 20-4192256) and Fund For UFO Research (EIN 52-1164176), https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/api/v2/organizations/131813818.json, https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/api/v2/organizations/204192256.json and https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/api/v2/organizations/521164176.json.
[^14]: Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research, press release, "Princeton's PEAR Laboratory to Close," February 10, 2007, http://pearlab.icrl.org/press-statement.html.
[^15]: John E. Mack Institute, "History," https://johnemackinstitute.org/history/, and "Program for Extraordinary Experience Research (PEER)," http://johnemackinstitute.org/2003/01/program-for-extraordinary-experience-research-peer/.
[^16]: C. B. Scott Jones, Human Potential Foundation, to John H. Gibbons, February 17, 1994, with Gibbons's handwritten note dated 2/24/94, Office of Science and Technology Policy file, http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-2-17-94.htm.
[^17]: John H. Gibbons, memorandum for the President, "Inquiry from Laurance Rockefeller," August 4, 1995, http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-8-4-95.htm.
[^18]: Grant Cameron, "Extraterrestrial Politics in the Clinton White House (1993-2001) and the Laurance Rockefeller Initiative," introduction and notes iii and xiii, http://www.x-ppac.org/OSTP.html. The index of the scanned documents is at http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller_Initiative_Documents.htm.
[^19]: Henry L. Diamond, memorandum to John H. Gibbons, attention Mike Kowalok, "Request for Meeting with Dr. Gibbons for Laurance S. Rockefeller, April 12 or 13, 1993," March 29, 1993, http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-3-29-93.htm.
[^20]: Laurance S. Rockefeller to John H. Gibbons, April 21, 1993, http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-4-21-93.htm.
[^21]: John H. Gibbons, Director, Office of Science and Technology Policy, to C. B. Scott Jones, May 26, 1993, http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-5-26-93.htm.
[^22]: Laurance S. Rockefeller to Billy Graham, May 7, 1993, and Graham to Rockefeller, May 20, 1993, attached to Rockefeller's fax to Gibbons of August 23, 1995, with the undated draft letter to President Clinton, http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-8-23-95.htm.
[^23]: Laurance S. Rockefeller to John H. Gibbons, August 4, 1993, http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-8-4-93.htm.
[^24]: Paradigm Research Group, "September 14-15, 1993 Meeting at Rockefeller's JY Ranch in Wyoming," photograph and caption, http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/9-14-93_Meeting.htm.
[^25]: Henry L. Diamond, Beveridge and Diamond, P.C., memorandum to Sue Bachtel, November 12, 1993, http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-11-12-93.htm.
[^26]: Laurance S. Rockefeller to John H. Gibbons, February 14, 1994, http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-2-14-94.htm.
[^27]: Sheila E. Widnall, Secretary of the Air Force, memorandum for John H. Gibbons, "UFO Research," May 24, 1994, with Gibbons's handwritten note, and the enclosed memorandum for the Secretary of the Air Force from SAF/AAZ, "Status Report on Search Efforts Regarding 'the Roswell Incident,'" May 20, 1994, p. 1, http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-5-24-94.htm (the memorandum of May 24 is listed among the enclosures to Gibbons's letter to the General Accounting Office of April 26, 1995).
[^28]: Laurance S. Rockefeller to John H. Gibbons, June 1, 1994, with the attached letter from Melvin R. Laird to Rockefeller, May 9, 1994, http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-6-1-94.htm.
[^29]: Anne Bartley, memorandum for Jack Gibbons, "Laurance S. Rockefeller Interest in Extraterrestrial Intelligence," July 27, 1994, http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-7-27-94.htm.
[^30]: C. B. Scott Jones, Human Potential Foundation, to John H. Gibbons, August 11, 1994, pp. 1-2, http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-8-11-94.htm.
[^31]: U.S. General Accounting Office, General Government Division, to John H. Gibbons, April 12, 1995, http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-4-12-95.htm; John H. Gibbons to William Hunt, Director, Federal Management Issues, U.S. General Accounting Office, April 26, 1995, http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-4-26-95.htm.
[^32]: Laurance S. Rockefeller to John H. Gibbons, September 5, 1994, http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-9-5-94.htm, and December 9, 1994, http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-12-9-94.htm.
[^33]: C. B. Scott Jones to John H. Gibbons, February 9, 1995, pp. 1-2, http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-2-9-95.htm.
[^34]: Laurance S. Rockefeller to John H. Gibbons, April 11, 1995 (the scan is filed under 4-11-94 and the letter is dated April 11, 1995), http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-4-11-94.htm.
[^35]: Tanya M. Felder, OSTP electronic message to Susanne Bachtel, Barbara A. Ferguson and Holly L. Gwin, "GAO Report on UFOs," June 9, 1995, with handwritten reply of June 12, 1995, http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-6-9-95.htm.
[^36]: "Clintons to Vacation in Wyoming Mountains," *Spokesman-Review*, August 15, 1995, https://www.spokesman.com/stories/1995/aug/15/clintons-to-vacation-in-wyoming-mountains/; William J. Clinton Presidential Library, "White House Photos - Laurance Rockefeller - Philanthropist," finding aid 2006-0546-F (contact sheet book 312, frame P31195, August 21, 1995), https://www.clintonlibrary.gov/research/archives/finding-aids/white-house-photos-laurance-rockefeller-philanthropist.
[^37]: C. B. Scott Jones, Human Potential Foundation, to Representative Steven Schiff, August 17, 1995, http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-8-17-95.htm.
[^38]: Henry L. Diamond to John H. Gibbons, November 1, 1995, http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-11-1-95.htm, and November 8, 1995, http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-11-8-95.htm.
[^39]: Laurance S. Rockefeller to John H. Gibbons, February 5, 1996, http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-2-5-96.htm.
[^40]: Sheila E. Widnall, Secretary of the Air Force, to John H. Gibbons, February 27, 1996, http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-2-27-96.htm; Laurance S. Rockefeller to John H. Gibbons, February 29, 1996, http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-2-29-96.htm.
[^41]: Laurance S. Rockefeller to John H. Gibbons, October 17, 1996, http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-10-17-96.htm.
[^42]: Bruce Maccabee to John H. Gibbons, January 2, 1997, http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-1-2-97.htm.
[^43]: Secretary of the Air Force to John H. Gibbons, June 20, 1997, http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-6-20-97.htm.
[^44]: Peter A. Sturrock et al., "Physical Evidence Related to UFO Reports: The Proceedings of a Workshop Held at the Pocantico Conference Center, Tarrytown, New York, September 29 - October 4, 1997," *Journal of Scientific Exploration* 12, no. 2 (1998), pp. 179-229, introduction as reproduced at http://www.ufoevidence.org/documents/doc535.htm.
[^16]: Ben MacIntyre, "Harvard professor's stories of close encounters, other-world sex, embarrass university," *The San Francisco Examiner* (London *Times* credit), May 5, 1995, p. 16, https://www.newspapers.com/image/461595501/.
[^17]: "Harvard's Mack: The Subject Is Aliens," *Valley News* (West Lebanon, N.H.), May 20, 1995, p. 23, https://www.newspapers.com/image/833962083/. Byline not read.
[^18]: C. B. Scott Jones, Human Potential Foundation, to John H. Gibbons, February 17, 1994, with Gibbons's handwritten note dated 2/24/94, Office of Science and Technology Policy file, http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-2-17-94.htm.
[^19]: John H. Gibbons, memorandum for the President, "Inquiry from Laurance Rockefeller," August 4, 1995, http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-8-4-95.htm.
[^20]: Grant Cameron, "Extraterrestrial Politics in the Clinton White House (1993-2001) and the Laurance Rockefeller Initiative," introduction and notes iii and xiii, http://www.x-ppac.org/OSTP.html. The index of the scanned documents is at http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller_Initiative_Documents.htm.
[^21]: University of Colorado Boulder Libraries, "C. B. 'Scott' Jones papers," COU:4004, https://archives.colorado.edu/repositories/2/resources/346.
[^22]: Center for Psychology and Social Change, *CenterPiece*, September 1993, p. 2, "Center Welcomes PEER Research on UFO Abductions," https://johnemackinstitute.org/CenterPiece_1993_0900.pdf.
[^23]: Henry L. Diamond, memorandum to John H. Gibbons, attention Mike Kowalok, "Request for Meeting with Dr. Gibbons for Laurance S. Rockefeller, April 12 or 13, 1993," March 29, 1993, http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-3-29-93.htm.
[^24]: Laurance S. Rockefeller to John H. Gibbons, April 21, 1993, http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-4-21-93.htm.
[^25]: John H. Gibbons, Director, Office of Science and Technology Policy, to C. B. Scott Jones, May 26, 1993, http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-5-26-93.htm.
[^26]: Laurance S. Rockefeller to Billy Graham, May 7, 1993, and Graham to Rockefeller, May 20, 1993, attached to Rockefeller's fax to Gibbons of August 23, 1995, with the undated draft letter to President Clinton, http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-8-23-95.htm.
[^27]: Laurance S. Rockefeller to John H. Gibbons, August 4, 1993, http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-8-4-93.htm.
[^28]: Paradigm Research Group, "September 14-15, 1993 Meeting at Rockefeller's JY Ranch in Wyoming," photograph and caption, http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/9-14-93_Meeting.htm.
[^29]: Henry L. Diamond, Beveridge and Diamond, P.C., memorandum to Sue Bachtel, November 12, 1993, http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-11-12-93.htm.
[^30]: Laurance S. Rockefeller to John H. Gibbons, February 14, 1994, http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-2-14-94.htm.
[^31]: Rockefeller to Julia Marton-Lefevre, August 8, 1996, http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-10-17-96.htm; Rockefeller to Anne Bartley, February 14, 1994, http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-2-14-94-2.htm.
[^32]: Sheila E. Widnall, Secretary of the Air Force, memorandum for John H. Gibbons, "UFO Research," May 24, 1994, with Gibbons's handwritten note, and the enclosed memorandum for the Secretary of the Air Force from SAF/AAZ, "Status Report on Search Efforts Regarding 'the Roswell Incident,'" May 20, 1994, p. 1, http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-5-24-94.htm (the memorandum of May 24 is listed among the enclosures to Gibbons's letter to the General Accounting Office of April 26, 1995).
[^33]: Rockefeller to John H. Gibbons, April 26, 1994, http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/2-26-94%20LR%20Letter%20to%20JG/Letter.jpg (indexed as RID-2-26-94.htm).
[^34]: Laurance S. Rockefeller to John H. Gibbons, June 1, 1994, with the attached letter from Melvin R. Laird to Rockefeller, May 9, 1994, http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-6-1-94.htm.
[^35]: Anne Bartley, memorandum for Jack Gibbons, "Laurance S. Rockefeller Interest in Extraterrestrial Intelligence," July 27, 1994, http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-7-27-94.htm.
[^36]: C. B. Scott Jones, Human Potential Foundation, to John H. Gibbons, August 11, 1994, pp. 1-2, http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-8-11-94.htm.
[^37]: U.S. General Accounting Office, General Government Division, to John H. Gibbons, April 12, 1995, http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-4-12-95.htm; John H. Gibbons to William Hunt, Director, Federal Management Issues, U.S. General Accounting Office, April 26, 1995, http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-4-26-95.htm.
[^38]: Laurance S. Rockefeller to John H. Gibbons, September 5, 1994, http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-9-5-94.htm, and December 9, 1994, http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-12-9-94.htm.
[^39]: C. B. Scott Jones to John H. Gibbons, February 9, 1995, pp. 1-2, http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-2-9-95.htm.
[^40]: Laurance S. Rockefeller to John H. Gibbons, April 11, 1995 (the scan is filed under 4-11-94 and the letter is dated April 11, 1995), http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-4-11-94.htm.
[^41]: C. B. Scott Jones to Gibbons, December 2 and 13, 1994; Patti Solis to Jones, December 15, 1994; William M. Webster IV to Jones, December 21, 1994, http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-12-2-94.htm, RID-12-13-94.htm, RID-12-15-94.htm, RID-12-21-94.htm.
[^42]: William J. Clinton Presidential Library, "When Cosmic Cultures Meet - Collection Finding Aid," FOIA 2008-1575-F, https://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/show/36409.
[^43]: Tanya M. Felder, OSTP electronic message to Susanne Bachtel, Barbara A. Ferguson and Holly L. Gwin, "GAO Report on UFOs," June 9, 1995, with handwritten reply of June 12, 1995, http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-6-9-95.htm.
[^44]: "Clintons to Vacation in Wyoming Mountains," *Spokesman-Review*, August 15, 1995, https://www.spokesman.com/stories/1995/aug/15/clintons-to-vacation-in-wyoming-mountains/; William J. Clinton Presidential Library, "White House Photos - Laurance Rockefeller - Philanthropist," finding aid 2006-0546-F (contact sheet book 312, frame P31195, August 21, 1995), https://www.clintonlibrary.gov/research/archives/finding-aids/white-house-photos-laurance-rockefeller-philanthropist.
[^45]: C. B. Scott Jones, Human Potential Foundation, to Representative Steven Schiff, August 17, 1995, http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-8-17-95.htm.
[^46]: Jones to Gibbons, August 23, 1995, with attached Jones letters to Newt Gingrich (August 17, 1995) and to members of the House (May 16, 1995), http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-8-23-95-2.htm.
[^47]: Henry L. Diamond to John H. Gibbons, November 1, 1995, http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-11-1-95.htm, and November 8, 1995, http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-11-8-95.htm.
[^48]: Don Berliner et al., *Unidentified Flying Objects Briefing Document: The Best Available Evidence* (UFO Research Coalition, December 1995), acknowledgments, https://archive.org/details/rockefeller-briefing-document.
[^49]: Laurance S. Rockefeller to John H. Gibbons, February 5, 1996, http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-2-5-96.htm.
[^50]: Sheila E. Widnall, Secretary of the Air Force, to John H. Gibbons, February 27, 1996, http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-2-27-96.htm; Laurance S. Rockefeller to John H. Gibbons, February 29, 1996, http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-2-29-96.htm.
[^51]: Laurance S. Rockefeller to John H. Gibbons, October 17, 1996, http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-10-17-96.htm.
[^52]: Robert Sheaffer, "Carl Sagan, Laurance Rockefeller, and UFOs," *Skeptical Inquirer* 38, no. 5 (September/October 2014), pp. 19-20, https://skepticalinquirer.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2014/09/p19.pdf.
[^53]: Bruce Maccabee to John H. Gibbons, January 2, 1997, http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-1-2-97.htm.
[^54]: Secretary of the Air Force to John H. Gibbons, June 20, 1997, http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-6-20-97.htm.
[^55]: Peter A. Sturrock et al., "Physical Evidence Related to UFO Reports: The Proceedings of a Workshop Held at the Pocantico Conference Center, Tarrytown, New York, September 29 - October 4, 1997," *Journal of Scientific Exploration* 12, no. 2 (1998), pp. 179-229, introduction as reproduced at http://www.ufoevidence.org/documents/doc535.htm.
[^56]: *PEER Perspectives* no. 2 (Winter 1998/99), p. 1, https://johnemackinstitute.org/PEER_Perspectives_2.pdf.

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10 - PEOPLE/(N-S)/Ronald Pandolfi.md Normal file
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---
category: "Intelligence & Government"
tags:
- Person
- CIA
- UFO
- Aviary
- RockefellerInitiative
- Hughes
- 1990s
alias:
- Ronald Pandolfi
- Ron Pandolfi
- Dr. Ronald Pandolfi
- Ron Pandolphy
- Pelican
summary: "Scientist described as working for the CIA, who briefed the Senate Intelligence Committee in 1998 on Hughes and China, appears in a purported 1993 UFO briefing telecon, and was listed as Pelican by Richard Boylan."
relations:
- type: employed_by
with: "[[Central Intelligence Agency]]"
start: 1995
role: "described as a CIA scientist (Farley, 1995; New York Times, 1998) and CIA analyst (Congressional Research Service, 1998); office and title not stated in the sources opened"
fn: 2
- type: investigated
with: "[[Hughes Electronics]]"
start: 1995
role: "reported that the company had passed technical data to China after the January 1995 Long March failure"
fn: 4
created: 2026-10-02
updated: 2026-10-02
---
Ronald Pandolfi is described in the files of the White House [[Office of Science and Technology Policy]] on [[Laurance Rockefeller]]'s UFO initiative, in a [[Congressional Research Service]] chronology and in *The [[New York Times]]* as a scientist or analyst of the [[Central Intelligence Agency]], and he figures in the 1998 congressional inquiry into [[Hughes Electronics]] and [[China]]. The sources opened do not state his CIA office or title; an office-level description (including the [[Office of Scientific and Weapons Research]]) was not found in any opened source and is not asserted here.
### The Science Adviser's Briefing, 1993
A transcript headed "Telecon: Ron Pandolphy and [[C.B. Scott Jones|Scott Jones]]," dated April 15, 1993, purports to record a call between Pandolfi and C. B. Scott Jones of the [[Human Potential Foundation]]. In it Pandolfi says "we had been tasked a couple of days before the proposed visit of Laurance Rockefeller with the [[White House]] Science Advisor, to provide a briefing update to him, and we didn't do that, instead we tasked out friend Dr. [[Bruce Maccabee|Maccabee]] to do it." Jones asks "why didn't you guys do it yourselves?" Pandolfi answers "We didn't have the material here to do it on that short of notice, didn't have any reference material in the file records, and Bruce had already taken a shot on something fairly similar." He describes a briefing book of "one and a half pages of bulletized notes, and then tabs going back to paragraphs on each of the main points, and then further tabs going back to the original source material," which is "unclassified." He says the science adviser, [[John H. Gibbons]], "got it the night before," that "Kit was supposed to meet with Jack yesterday and supposed to give us some guidance today," and "My guess is that he is not going to do anything. He seemed to be fairly adverse to this whole subject." (The typed line in the reproduction is partly garbled; "he" is not identified in that sentence, and the preceding exchange concerns Gibbons.) Asked whether the timing was a coincidence, he says "No, Gibbons tasked us to do this," and that Gibbons, who "didn't have any background" and "never heard of the [[Majestic-12|MJ-12]]," "contacted our representative over there and asked whether we could provide some support." Jones says in the transcript that Gibbons "was not read into it" and "declared to us that he was an agnostic." The transcript does not name the agency Pandolfi speaks for.[^1]
The transcript reached the files through C. Richard Farley Jr., who wrote that he had been associated with the Human Potential Foundation from August 1991 through April 30, 1994 and had been its Director of Project Development. He sent it to Gibbons on April 29, 1995 as an "enclosed purported transcript of a telephone conversation Jones had with Dr. Pandolfi, allegedly discussing his (and CIA's) role in supporting your response to the Rockefeller 'UFO' initiative." Farley wrote that Jones "routinely 'bugged' Pandolfi's calls, according to Jones' former executive assistant," that Jones himself gave him the transcript "for purposes which were not clear to me then, nor presently," and that he had sent it to the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] and CIA "months ago." In the same letter Farley wrote that he had learned of Gibbons's release of Rockefeller correspondence from "Mr. [[Dan T. Smith]], of [[Baltimore]], a self-proclaimed confidant and asset of Dr. Ronald Pandolfi, described to me (by Jones, Smith and others) as a CIA scientist," and that he knew of Pandolfi's role "from my discussions with Dr. Bruce Maccabee and from Pandolfi himself at an August, 1993 meeting (Ron, two of his associates, Dr. Jones and myself)."[^2]
Bruce Maccabee wrote to Gibbons on January 2, 1997 that "in April 1993, at the request of Dr. Ronald Pandolfi of the CIA, I sent (faxed) to you an information paper regarding UFOs entitled 'Briefing on the U.S. Government Approach to the UFO Problem as Determined by Civilian Researchers During the Last Twenty Years,'" and enclosed a copy. In it, he wrote, he had presented evidence that the government held a "rather large number of documents on UFO sightings."[^3]
In a letter of March 29, 1997 Farley told Gibbons that [[Kit Green]] used the term "myth-making" for efforts by "cultists and culture-change agents employed in ongoing efforts by Laurance Rockefeller, with his attorney Henry Diamond and former Pell aide (and intelligence 'rogue') C.R. 'Scott' Jones, to involve President Clinton in their 'UFO disclosures' initiatives."[^2]
### Hughes and China, 1995 to 1998
The Congressional Research Service recorded that in April 1996 "a CIA analyst, Ronald Pandolfi, had reportedly prepared a National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on how Hughes may have helped to improve China's missile capabilities," which the CIA "did not approve." In September 1998 he briefed the [[Senate Select Committee on Intelligence]] on what he had found at Hughes in 1995 after the January 1995 explosion of a [[Long March]] rocket; according to a reported internal CIA cable of September 23, 1998, the CIA then told Hughes of the briefing, and the committee asked Attorney General [[Janet Reno]] for a criminal investigation of whether the CIA obstructed its inquiry.[^4] The House Select Committee on U.S. National Security and Military/Commercial Concerns with the People's Republic of China (the [[Cox Committee]]) wrote, without naming him, that "a CIA analyst" had alleged that while visiting Hughes in 1995 he found information that technical data had been passed to China, "and that the CIA had ignored his request for a formal report to CIA Headquarters." The committee wrote that the CIA advised Hughes of the lines of questioning the committee would probably pursue, which the committee considered "ill-advised and an impediment."[^5] The committee wrote that the CIA's official explanation was that it notified Hughes "as a courtesy" and that the CIA denied any intent to interfere with the [[Department of Justice|Justice Department]] or congressional investigations.[^5] *The New York Times* of December 7, 1998 began its report, "When a Central Intelligence Agency scientist visited the Hughes Electronics Corporation in [[Los Angeles]] in 1995 to learn more about China's missile capabilities, he became concerned that the satellite manufacturer might have helped improve Chinese military capabilities," named him as Ronald Pandolfi, and wrote that the agency "killed his study, called a National Intelligence Estimate." It reported that agency officials denied intending to hinder the Senate inquiry and said they helped facilitate his questioning, that an agency spokesman, [[Bill Harlow]], said the agency "would not talk about Mr. Pandolfi's experiences or the 1996 National Intelligence Estimate he wrote, because of the investigations," and that one official said CIA officials "disagreed with some of Mr. Pandolfi's conclusions" and judged the estimate not "rigorous" enough.[^6] In September 2000 Senator [[Richard Shelby]] said the Justice Department had decided not to charge an unnamed CIA official with obstructing a Senate investigation.[^4] The [[Washington Post]], in a story printed in *The [[The Kansas City Star|Kansas City Star]]* of December 5, 1998, reported that officials said on Friday, December 4, the Justice Department had begun a criminal obstruction-of-justice investigation of the CIA after the Senate committee learned that the agency had told Hughes the names of company officials it had supplied to the committee. The story described Pandolfi as a CIA analyst specializing in technology who told committee staff that in 1995 he had concluded Hughes had been too aggressive in marketing high-technology equipment in China; according to unnamed sources, he had interviewed Hughes executives about their work there, Hughes complained angrily to the CIA that he was operating outside customary channels, and the CIA office that regularly deals with Hughes reprimanded him before the committee summoned him in September. The story said the CIA, aware of his views, gave Hughes advance word of his discussion with the committee and offered names of Hughes executives who might explain the disagreement. A Hughes spokesman, [[Richard Dore]], was quoted as saying Hughes "has not been provided information by the CIA regarding the details of federal criminal investigations involving Hughes."[^7]
### Reported Role on UFO Matters
[[Richard J. Boylan]] listed "Ron Pandolfi" as Pelican in a roster of the [[The Aviary|Aviary]] published in *[[Perceptions]],* describing him as "CIA Deputy Director for the Division of Science and Technology and current custodian of UFO files at the 'Weird Desk'" who "may be involved in the White House initiative to promptly release UFO information to the public." Boylan gave no source for the roster; in a separate passage he attributed other Aviary claims to an informant he called "Beltway Throat," whom the host site's editor calls Dan Smith, the same Dan T. Smith of Baltimore whom Farley described in 1995 as a "self-proclaimed confidant and asset of Dr. Ronald Pandolfi" (the identification of the two rests on the name alone).[^8] The Aviary of [[William L. Moore]] and [[Jaime Shandera]], as described in a UFO BBS text file and in [[Mark Pilkington]]'s *[[Mirage Men]],* consisted of bird-named contacts of Moore at [[Air Force Office of Special Investigations|AFOSI]] and elsewhere; neither source names Pandolfi, and Boylan's list attaches the same term to a different and larger roster.[^9] The authors of the [[Loose Threads Report]] wrote that Kit Green left the "weird desk" "before hiring Ron Pandolfi to take over," without a stated source.[^10] A note in [[Jacques Vallee]]'s *[[Forbidden Science: Volume Three]],* as quoted by [[Keith Basterfield]], ends a list of reported participants in the 1985 [[Advanced Theoretical Physics Working Group]] with "Ron Pandolfi of CIA also claims to have been involved." Pandolfi does not appear on [[James Oke Shannon]]'s handwritten attendee list.[^11]
[[Bob Oechsler]] wrote in *[[Alien Update]]* that, "After validating my meeting with [[Everett Hineman]], the CIA Deputy Director for Science & Technology, Pandolfi asked Admiral [[Bobby Ray Inman|Inman]] if he had in fact talked to me about UFOs," and that Inman "did not deny that such a conversation took place, but was unwilling to discuss any details."[^12]
The blogger [[Robert Schaeffer]], quoted by [[Jason Colavito]] in 2019, reported that the television producer [[Robert Kiviat]] was engaged by [[Joe Firmage]] to develop a series on Firmage's anti-gravity claims "and also the story of the Aviary UFO history as seen through the eyes of Pandolfi," and quoted Kiviat as saying that "Pandolfi was not willing to state his claims publicly." Colavito wrote that Kiviat sued Firmage, Pandolfi and [[Daniel Marriott]] for $300,000. The complaint was not read, and the defendants' answers were not found.[^13]
### Footnotes
[^1]: "Telecon: Ron Pandolphy and Scott Jones," April 15, 1993, enclosed with Farley's letter of April 29, 1995, Clinton Presidential Library, Office of Science and Technology Policy FOIA 01-22, item 46, https://avalonlibrary.net/Grant_Cameron/Clinton_Presidential_Library_collection/OSTP%20-%20FOIA%2001%2022/1995%2004%2029_C.%20Richard%20Farley,%20Jr.%20to%20John%20Gibbons%20-%20OSTP%20-%20FOIA%2001%2022%20-%20item%20no%2046.pdf (digitized by Grant Cameron). The transcript is described in the cover letter as "purported"; its authenticity is not otherwise established.
[^2]: Farley, C. Richard, Jr., letters to John H. Gibbons, April 29, 1995 (item 46) and March 29, 1997 (item 75), OSTP FOIA 01-22, same collection, https://avalonlibrary.net/Grant_Cameron/Clinton_Presidential_Library_collection/OSTP%20-%20FOIA%2001%2022/. Sole source for Farley's statements about Smith, Jones and Green.
[^3]: Maccabee, Bruce, letter to John H. Gibbons, January 2, 1997, OSTP FOIA 01-22, item 73b, same collection.
[^4]: Congressional Research Service, "China: Possible Missile Technology Transfers under U.S. Satellite Export Policy: Actions and Chronology," report 98-485 F, entries for April 1996 and September 1998, https://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/98-485F.html (Shelby statement of September 2000 at note 77); and CRS report RL30220, https://www.everycrsreport.com/files/19990608_RL30220_8a89fcc3410f43e494c171a03c54353429cabd96.html.
[^5]: U.S. House of Representatives, Select Committee on U.S. National Security and Military/Commercial Concerns with the People's Republic of China, *Report* (Cox Report), 1999, section "Issues" on CIA and Hughes, https://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/congress/1999_r/cox/appbod.htm.
[^6]: Gerth, Jeff. "Old Concerns Over Data Transfer to China Get New Attention," *The New York Times,* December 7, 1998, read in an excerpt (first paragraphs) reproduced at https://anomalyarchives.org/collections/file/pandolfi-ron/; the Times page itself returned an access block and was not opened.
[^7]: "CIA being investigated for information given to Hughes," *The Kansas City Star* (Washington Post wire), December 5, 1998, p. A10, https://www.newspapers.com/image/685529422/. Byline not visible in the view read.
[^8]: Boylan, Richard J. "UFO/ET-Disclosure Policy Splits Covert Network," *Perceptions,* reproduced at http://web.archive.org/web/20130831033026/http://www.think-aboutit.com/ufo/aviary.htm. Sole source for the code name.
[^9]: "E B E's," UFO BBS files UFO1024 and UFO1030, https://mirror.cyberbits.eu/textfiles.com/ufo/UFOBBS/1000/1024.ufo; Pilkington, Mark. *Mirage Men,* 2010, PDF at https://avalonlibrary.net/ebooks/Mark%20Pilkington%20-%20Mirage%20Men%20-%20A%20Journey%20into%20Disinformation,%20Paranoia%20and%20UFOs.pdf. Text searches of those files and of the book for "Pandolfi" returned no matches.
[^10]: Elizondo and The Hermetic Penetrator, "The Loose Threads Report," Anomaly Archives, 2022, section on EarthTech, https://anomalyarchives.org/wp-content/uploads/PDF-Loose-Threads.pdf. Sole source for the passage.
[^11]: Basterfield, Keith. "Jacques Vallee and the 'Secret Onion,'" December 21, 2016, quoting Vallee, *Forbidden Science: Volume Three,* p. 480 (the quoted note refers to Alexander's February 2011 book), https://anomalyarchives.org/collections/file/atp-aka-secret-onion/. The book was not opened; Google Books and the Internet Archive offer no readable copy. For Shannon's list, Loose Threads Report p. 15.
[^12]: Oechsler, Bob, *Alien Update,* as quoted in Elizondo and The Hermetic Penetrator, "The Loose Threads Report," Anomaly Archives, p. 47, https://anomalyarchives.org/wp-content/uploads/PDF-Loose-Threads.pdf. The book was not opened. Sole source for the passage.
[^13]: Colavito, Jason, quoting Schaeffer, Robert, and Kiviat, Robert, March 23, 2019, https://www.jasoncolavito.com/blog/alien-autopsy-producer-sues-ufo-contactee-former-cia-scientist-and-ex-congressman-over-stalled-ufo-documentary. Sole source for the passages so cited.