Story highlights Podesta has made his interest in the possibility of alien life well known 
 
 "The American people can handle the truth," Podesta said 
 
 Washington (CNN) There has long been an air of conspiracy surrounding theories of alien life, and the head of Hillary Clinton's campaign said Thursday it's time to do away with the secrecy. 
 
 CNN's Jake Tapper pulled aside Clinton campaign chair John Podesta, who was a guest on "The Lead," to talk aliens. 
 
 "The U.S. government could do a much better job in answering the quite legitimate questions that people have about what's going on with unidentified aerial phenomena," Podesta said. 
 
 Podesta has made his interest in the possibility of alien life and conspiratorial leanings toward Area 51 well known. During his time serving in the Obama administration, Podesta tweeted, "Finally, my biggest failure of 2014: Once again not securing the #disclosure of the UFO files. #thetruthisstilloutthere cc: @NYTimesDowd." 
 
 1. Finally, my biggest failure of 2014: Once again not securing the #disclosure of the UFO files. #thetruthisstilloutthere cc: @NYTimesDowd — Brian Deese (@Deese44) February 13, 2015 
 
 Clinton herself pledged in January to "get to the bottom" of whether rumors of U.S. contact with extraterrestrial life were true. 
 
 Read More ||||| Clinton campaign chairman: Americans 'can handle the truth' about UFOs 
 
 John D. Podesta is seen in this 2012 photo. (Photo: Massoud Hossaini, AP) 
 
 John Podesta, Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman, says it’s time for the U.S. government to release any evidence it has about the existence of alien forms of life in outer space. 
 
 Podesta, who was also a chief of staff to President Bill Clinton, told CNN that if Hillary Clinton is elected, she’ll ask for as many records about Area 51 in Nevada as the U.S. government has to be declassified. 
 
 “I think that's a commitment that she intends to keep and that I intend to hold her to," Podesta told CNN. 
 
 Area 51 is a remote Air Force test and training range that’s been the subject of conspiracy theories, including UFO sightings. 
 
 "The U.S. government could do a much better job in answering the quite legitimate questions that people have about what's going on with unidentified aerial phenomena," said Podesta. 
 
 Asked if the government is holding proof of alien life, Podesta said: “That’s for the public to judge once they’ve seen all the evidence that the U.S. government has.” 
 
 Asked about his own beliefs, Podesta simply said: “There are a lot of planets out there,” adding “the American people can handle the truth.” 
 
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– With The X-Files off the air—again—we need somebody to step into Fox Mulder's shoes. It looks like that somebody is going to be Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman, John Podesta. USA Today reports Podesta, who was also chief of staff for President Clinton and a member of President Obama's administration, wants the government to release any evidence it has on the existence of aliens and says Clinton, if elected, will request the declassification of records related to Area 51. “I think that's a commitment that she intends to keep and that I intend to hold her to," Podesta tells CNN. Podesta's desire to get to the bottom of this whole aliens thing goes back more than a decade, according to Jezebel. In 2002, he said scientists need those sealed records in order to solve UFO phenomena. "The US government could do a much better job in answering the quite legitimate questions that people have about what's going on with unidentified aerial phenomena," Podesta tells CNN. While working for the Obama administration, Podesta described his biggest failure of 2014 as "once again not securing the disclosure of the UFO files." Podesta wouldn't say whether he believes in aliens or if the government has proof of their existence. He says that's for the public to decide after they've seen the files: "The American people can handle the truth.” Jezebel thinks he might be right: "A lot of other things—abortion, the death penalty, race relations, the yawning wealth gap, and the disappearance of the middle class—we’re not doing so great coming to a consensus on, but I’m confident we could all, as a group, calmly handle the truth about aliens."