Person
Aaron Lukas
Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence (ODNI)
2026 · Government and the White House · Official
A former CIA chief of station and former ODNI chief of staff, he is the principal deputy director of national intelligence. On May 22, 2026, after the announcement of Tulsi Gabbard's resignation, Trump wrote that Lukas would lead the ODNI on an acting basis, but on June 2 he entrusted the interim post to Bill Pulte; since August 3, 2026 the director has been Jay Clayton. On September 17, 2026 he thanked on X Avi Loeb, the Disclosure Foundation and To The Stars for their advice to the intelligence UAP committee (UAP Governance Board).
- Today
- As of November 1, 2026, the ODNI website lists him as principal deputy director of national intelligence.
Documented authority
It measures how documented and verifiable what the person claims is, not their honesty. Each criterion is scored from 0 to 2.
- Credentials 2/2
- The role and career are given on the ODNI website.
- Direct access not applicable
- Not applicable: does not claim direct knowledge of the facts; reports sources or documents.
- Evidence provided not applicable
- Not applicable: does not advance claims of their own on UAP facts.
- Claims track record not applicable
- The sources consulted do not trace the outcome of any verifiable claims made by this person.
- Conflicts of interest not applicable
- The sources consulted do not document financial interests tied to the topic.
Sources
- ODNI, leadership page (accessed November 1, 2026) (primary source)
- Washington Examiner, May 22, 2026: who Aaron Lukas is (press)
- AP (via Spectrum News), June 2, 2026: Trump names Bill Pulte acting director of intelligence (press)
- UFO Feed, September 17, 2026: Mellon and the WSJ; Aaron Lukas's thanks (other, pro-disclosure)
On this site
Documents 1
- The ODNI guidance that releases from nondisclosure agreements those who speak with AARO or PURSUE Documented provenance
Timeline 3
- May 22, 2026: Tulsi Gabbard announces her resignation as Director of National Intelligence
- Jul 21, 2026: Presidential directive: confidentiality restrictions lifted for those who speak with AARO
- Sep 17, 2026: Mellon asks the WSJ to correct the articles on “Yankee Blue”
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UAPgrade's entries are compiled with artificial intelligence (three verifiers with opposing roles) and checked against the sources listed above: how we work. Have a document that changes this entry? Bring it to the Investigations Unit.