Bill Richardson and the Roswell records
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 🗓️ Event
Contents 7
| Date | 28 June 2008 |
|---|---|
| Topics | Crashes & retrievals (topic), Nuclear & missile sites (topic), Secrecy & cover-up (topic) |
| People | Bill Richardson |
| Testimony | Shellenberger testimony, p. 167 |
| Year | 2008 in UFO history |
| Timeline | 2008 on the UAP Timeline |
| Sources | 7 |
Bill Richardson (1947–2023), governor of New Mexico and a former congressman, United Nations ambassador and Energy Secretary, said during his 2008 presidential campaign that when he was in Congress he had asked the Defense Department about Roswell and been told the information was classified, and that he would work to open the files.[1][2]
The campaign remarks
At a town hall meeting in October 2007, Richardson said that finding out what happened at Roswell in 1947 was one of his priorities. He said he had been in government a long time and that the government did not tell the truth as much as it should on many issues. As a congressman, he said, he had asked the Defense Department what data it had and been told the details were classified, which "ticked me off". Asked whether he would open the files, he replied that he would work with the questioner on it.[1][2]
Background
Richardson represented northern New Mexico in Congress from 1983 to 1997 and, as Energy Secretary from 1998 to 2001, was responsible for the nuclear weapons laboratories, including Los Alamos. According to the testimony, he wrote the foreword to a 2004 book about an archaeological dig at the Roswell debris site, calling for more openness.[3]
Outcome
Richardson did not win the Democratic nomination. The testimony asks whether Energy Department or FBI offices near Los Alamos and other nuclear sites might hold relevant records. Richardson died on 1 September 2023.[3][4]
People and topics
- Bill Richardson — New Mexico governor who asked for Roswell records to be opened.
- Los Alamos National Laboratory — The New Mexico laboratory where the atomic bomb was designed.
- Roswell — The New Mexico town at the center of the 1947 crash story.
- Department of Energy — The U.S. department that runs the nuclear weapons laboratories.
- Federal Bureau of Investigation — The U.S. federal police agency, which helped check flying disc reports from 1947 to 1950.
On the Timeline
- DARPA Advanced Aerospace System Concepts (June 2008) — A DARPA budget line describing advanced aerospace concepts becomes public.
- Navy officer on the Montauk claims (4 August 2008) — An anonymous forum poster says a Navy officer dismissed some Montauk claims as nonsense.
See every 2008 event on the UAP Timeline →
References
- "Dem candidate feels alienated", Government Executive (Oct 2007) · govexec.com · archived copy
- "A UFO in Roswell? New Mexico's governor wants records opened", Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (Oct 2007) · rcfp.org · archived copy
- Bill Richardson — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- Roswell incident — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- Bill Richardson on government secrecy and Roswell — OnTheIssues · ontheissues.org · archived copy
- youtu.be · youtu.be · archived copy
- nicap.org · nicap.org · archived copy
Further reading
- Roswell incident — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- UFOs and the Air Force: records — National Archives · archives.gov · archived copy
- Los Alamos National Laboratory — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
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.
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