"Never mind UFOs": Stephen King demands release of Epstein files amid Trump's disclosures

Stephen King, a noted author known for works such as Carrie and Misery, dismissed the hype around the recently declassified UFO (unidentified flying object) files and urged the Trump administration to release the full set of the Epstein files in a pithy post on X.

King, a popular Trump critic, echoes the sentiment of several high-profile Americans who believe that the public interest is better served by shedding light on the associates of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein than by discussing unidentified aerial phenomena.

Tim Dillon, stand-up comedian and podcaster, said that Trump is serving up the information on UFOs at a time when rising inflation (triggered by the war with Iran) is causing a spike in the cost of gas and groceries. "They're trying to drive you insane. Stop bothering us. They are telling us: We're the government; leave us alone," he added, while noting that the administration has shown little interest in investigating the Epstein case.

The release includes a batch of 162 files related to Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), following a directive by President Donald Trump. The initial data set includes high-resolution sensor readings, cockpit transcripts, and internal correspondence that have been withheld from public view for decades.

King's blunt post taps into a long-standing frustration over the lack of transparency in the release of nearly 3.5 million documents, which were heavily redacted, with some documents reportedly not seeing the light of day. The massive tranche includes travel logs, recordings, and emails, along with more than 2,000 videos and 180,000 images.

Former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene accused the federal government of using the UFO file release as "shiny object" propaganda to distract from "unnecessary wars," lack of arrests in the Jeffrey Epstein case, and a devalued dollar.

Another popular podcaster, Joe Rogan, was surprised that there had been no arrests in the Epstein case despite the Justice Department releasing the files in January this year. Rogan also questioned why the Justice Department was investigating former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) director James Comey over an Instagram post while making no arrests in the Epstein case.

Michigan Democratic Party Chair Curtis Hertel, in a statement, quipped that Trump would have kept the secret about aliens intact if they had "flown over Epstein Island". He said that the "stunt" is a "sad attempt" to distract the American public from "Trump’s colossal failures".

There are some six million files in the government's hands, according to the BBC. An official, however, clarified that some files will remain private because they contain survivors' personal information or belong to open cases.