Henry Diamond letter to John Gibbons (1995)
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 🗓️ Event
Contents 10
| Date | 1 November 1995 |
|---|---|
| From | Henry L. Diamond, writing from 30 Rockefeller Plaza on behalf of Laurance Rockefeller (signed in his absence) |
| To | Dr John H. Gibbons ("Jack"), Assistant to the President for Science and Technology |
| Enclosures | A draft letter to President Clinton "which Laurance has been discussing with Mrs. Clinton and her staff"; a draft "best evidence" report on UFOs |
| Context | The Rockefeller Initiative (1993–1996) |
| Outcome | No government UFO disclosure followed |
| Topics | Secrecy & cover-up (topic), Government programs (topic) |
| People | Laurance Rockefeller, Henry Diamond, John Gibbons, Bill Clinton |
| Testimony | Shellenberger testimony, p. 124 |
| Year | 1995 in UFO history |
| Timeline | 1995 on the UAP Timeline |
| Sources | 7 |
On 1 November 1995 Henry L. Diamond, a lawyer and associate of Laurance Rockefeller, wrote to John H. Gibbons, President Clinton's science adviser. He sent two enclosures for Rockefeller's campaign to encourage the release of government UFO information.[5][6] The first was a draft letter to the President, "which Laurance has been discussing with Mrs. Clinton and her staff". The second was a draft report on "the 'best evidence' about UFOs".[5] The letter is one of dozens of documents from what became known as the Rockefeller Initiative. They were later published by the Paradigm Research Group.[6] No government disclosure followed.[3]
The letter
The one-page letter, on Rockefeller Plaza letterhead and addressed "Dear Jack", says:[5]
- The enclosures. "(1) A draft letter to the President which Laurance has been discussing with Mrs. Clinton and her staff; and, (2) A draft report on the 'best evidence' about UFOs."
- The timing. "Laurance thinks that it is perhaps timely to send a letter to the President."
- The report. "We think the 'best evidence' report, although we haven't reviewed it in detail or analyzed it, is a good piece of work."
- A call. Rockefeller wanted to discuss the items by telephone, perhaps on Thursday 2 November between 11:30 and 12:30.
It is signed "Henry (signed in absence)" and was sent to Gibbons at Room 424 of the Old Executive Office Building by Federal Express.[5] The same day Rockefeller faxed the Office of Science and Technology Policy a draft letter to the President, with the cover of the UFO Briefing Document: The Best Available Evidence attached.[6]
The Rockefeller Initiative
In 1993 Rockefeller and his niece Anne Bartley, then president of the Rockefeller Family Fund, began pressing the Clinton White House to declassify and release all government UFO information, including CIA and Air Force records. Rockefeller made the 1947 Roswell incident the first test case.[3] The Paradigm Research Group's index of the correspondence shows the campaign unfolding:[6]
- 1993. Diamond wrote to Gibbons on 29 March 1993. Rockefeller wrote in April 1993, and C. B. "Scott" Jones in May. Gibbons replied to Rockefeller in August.
- 1994. Jacques Vallée wrote to Gibbons in February 1994. Gibbons wrote to Air Force Secretary Sheila Widnall about Roswell, and the Air Force replied. The Air Force released its September 1994 Roswell report, and Don Berliner and Stanton Friedman sent studies.
- 1995. Gibbons corresponded with the General Accounting Office, which was investigating Roswell. In August 1995 Gibbons wrote to President Clinton, and Rockefeller wrote to the President and to the evangelist Billy Graham.
- Late 1995. Diamond's letter of 1 November was followed by another of 8 November, with an Air Force report and a letter from Berliner.
- 1996. In February 1996 Rockefeller wrote to Gibbons again, mentioning Hillary Clinton. Gibbons replied to Diamond, and Rockefeller sent the briefing document again.
C. B. Scott Jones, a former naval intelligence officer and aide to Senator Claiborne Pell, worked with Rockefeller through the Human Potential Foundation. His papers include correspondence with Rockefeller and drafts of letters to Clinton.[2]
The "best evidence" report
The draft enclosed with Diamond's letter became the UFO Briefing Document: The Best Available Evidence, a privately produced survey of what its compilers considered the strongest UFO cases, funded by Rockefeller.[4][6] Diamond's own letter was cautious about it, saying that Rockefeller's office had not reviewed or analysed it in detail.[5] The online copy at Sacred Texts refused automated access.[4]
The Wyoming visit
In 1995 the Clintons spent part of their summer holiday at Rockefeller's JY Ranch in Wyoming. Accounts say Rockefeller raised the subject of UFOs there.[3][4] Rockefeller briefed the President on the initiative's results in 1995.[3] He later gave the 1,106-acre ranch to Grand Teton National Park in 2001.[3] A 2017 documentary, UFO Chronicles: The Shadow World, discusses the episode about 35 minutes in; it could not be viewed for this article.[7]
Outcome
The effort produced no disclosure:[3]
- Roswell. In September 1994 the Air Force said the Roswell debris was not from a UFO.
- Declassification. Clinton's executive order of late 1994 declassified many records in the National Archives but did not specifically cover UFO files.
Clinton later joked about UFOs, saying he had asked about Roswell and Area 51 and found nothing. The Office of Science and Technology Policy's own UFO file, released to The Black Vault in 2011, contains 2009 emails about UFO comments on the Obama administration's open-government website, not the Rockefeller correspondence.[1]
Assessment
The letter documents a well-connected private campaign that reached the President's science adviser and, through Rockefeller, Hillary Clinton's staff.[5][6] It shows a respectful hearing at the White House but no commitment. The release of UFO records that Rockefeller sought never came.[3]
People and topics
- Laurance Rockefeller — Philanthropist who lobbied the Clinton White House for UFO disclosure.
- Unidentified anomalous phenomena — The U.S. government's current term for unidentified objects in the air, in space and underwater.
- Henry Diamond — Laurance Rockefeller's associate who wrote to the White House in 1995.
- John Gibbons — President Clinton's science adviser.
- Bill Clinton — 42nd U.S. president, lobbied about UFO files by Laurance Rockefeller.
- Unidentified flying object — An object in the sky that can't be identified; the older term for UAP.
- Freedom of Information Act — The 1966 U.S. law that lets the public request government records.
- Rockefeller Initiative — Rockefeller Initiative
- Roswell — The New Mexico town at the center of the 1947 crash story.
- Area 51 — The secret Nevada test site where spy planes and stealth aircraft were developed.
- The Black Vault — John Greenewald's online archive of government documents.
On the Timeline
- GAO Roswell records report (28 July 1995) — Rep. Steven Schiff says Roswell base records were destroyed, per a GAO audit.
- Army manual and high-technology devices (1996) (1996) — An Army manual lists a unit that responds to incidents involving 'high technology devices'.
See every 1995 event on the UAP Timeline →
Further reading
- Laurance Rockefeller — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
References
- White House Office of Science and Technology Policy UFO records (PDF), The Black Vault · theblackvault.com · archived copy
- "Jones, C. B. Scott", Anomaly Archives · anomalyarchives.org · archived copy
- Laurance Rockefeller — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- "UFO Briefing Document: The Best Available Evidence", Sacred Texts · sacred-texts.com · archived copy
- paradigmresearchgroup.org · paradigmresearchgroup.org · archived copy
- paradigmresearchgroup.org · paradigmresearchgroup.org · archived copy
- imdb.com · imdb.com · archived copy
Facts in this article are drawn in part from the Wikipedia article “Laurance Rockefeller”, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.
This page was last edited on 29 October 2026. Articles are written in our own words from the sources listed under References; disputed claims are attributed to the people who made them.
No discussion yet.