JOHN CURLEY

WA is ‘cemented at the forefront of the history of UFOs,’ expert explains after UFO documents released

May 16, 2026, 5:00 AM

Earlier this month, President Donald Trump had more than 170 files related to UFOs, or UAPs (unidentified anomalous phenomena), on the Department of War website, with some dating as far back as the 1940s.

Steve Edmiston, a business and entertainment lawyer with Bracepoint Law, shared with KIRO host John Curley that among the things the documents revealed is that Washington and the Pacific Northwest are the origin of all things UFO.

“We are clearly cemented at the forefront of the history of UFOs, so if you’re into like, ‘Where did this all start?’ This release reinforces the whole notion that this idea of the modern UFO era, the men in black, all that started right here in Washington,” Edmiston said on “The John Curley Show.”

In addition to being a lawyer, Edmiston wrote and co-produced a short film, “The Maury Island Incident,” that chronicled the true story of Harold Dahl and his alleged 1947 sighting of a UFO over Puget Sound.

“You’re sort of an outlier on this, Steve, because a lot of other UFO aficionados are disappointed,” Curley said. “They thought there’d be more there.”

“I think that is a question of perspective, because if we’re waiting for disclosure of waiting for that alien ship to land on the White House lawn, as it does in Hollywood B movies and in our fantasies and probably in Spielberg’s upcoming movie, yeah, there’s nothing. There’s nothing really new here,” Edminston said. “In fact, I think I saw someone give the quote that we’re nibbling around the edges still, and we’re just teasing things, so more will come. I think that’s accurate. I think there are some interesting things, but again, even the Apollo footage is historical, and it’s fascinating from a historical perspective. But no, there’s no smoking gun here.”

The released UFO files include sightings by civilians on the ground, commercial pilots in the skies, astronauts, and naval aviators.

What world views would change with the proof of alien life?

“Steve, what do you think happens to the structure of the world, culture, and religion?” Curley asked. “What does it do? All of a sudden, the earth-centric view that you could go from the Bible, that you can go country against country, fighting over land and oil, what do you think happens if, all of a sudden, the universe is not just right here? What happens to us as a species?”

“All I keep wanting to say is, this is so far above my pay grade,” Edmiston said.

“We’re not paying you, so go ahead, say whatever you want,” Curley retorted.

“I think for myself, I am often accused of being quite the skeptic. As a skeptic, the one thing that I associate with that is a completely open mind, and I think a lot of skeptics don’t have that,” Edmiston said. “A lot of skeptics are like, ‘We know everything, man knows everything that has ever been discovered, and there’s nothing left to discover, and that’s what my religion tells me, or that’s what my mantra tells me.’ I think if you’re in that box, your mind is blown. I don’t know what deconstruction happens, but that is a complete carnage to your beliefs.”

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to John Curley weekday afternoons from 3 – 7 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.

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