Podesta opened the door: former White House spokesman advises a foundation investigating UFOs
Andrew Bates, a former senior White House and Joe Biden campaign spokesman, has confirmed that he provides unpaid communications and policy advice to the Sol Foundation. Journalist Ben Schreckinger reports that John Podesta, one of the most senior figures in Democratic politics and a longtime advocate of UFO transparency, made the introduction.
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The confirmation that moved the story beyond rumour
On September 10, journalist Ben Schreckinger published the first edition of Signs of Life, a new weekly Paradigm briefing about UFOs and claims involving nonhuman intelligence. Buried among its larger stories was a short but unusual report: Andrew Bates, a former White House deputy press secretary and Joe Biden campaign spokesman, has been providing unpaid communications advice behind the scenes to the Sol Foundation. Bates then gave Schreckinger a more explicit statement. He said he is part of a bipartisan group of professionals with political and government backgrounds who advise Sol on public relations and policy. That confirmation turns a vague connection into a documented working relationship. It does not yet reveal what is discussed, who else participates or how long the arrangement has existed.
Who Andrew Bates is
Bates is not a UFO investigator or an intelligence officer. His trade is political communication. He worked for Biden’s presidential campaign and served as a White House deputy press secretary, later becoming senior deputy press secretary. In January 2025 he launched Wolfpack Strategies in Washington. Axios reported that the firm offers crisis communications, press relations, strategic messaging and reputation management. Those are precisely the skills an organisation needs when it wants to move a disputed subject into government, academic and media institutions. His involvement proves nothing about a single UFO, but it shows that the disclosure movement is building professional infrastructure instead of relying only on another indistinct clip circulating online.
Why the John Podesta connection matters
Schreckinger reports that John Podesta introduced Bates to the foundation. That name changes the weight of the item. Podesta served as chief of staff to President Bill Clinton, counsellor to President Barack Obama and chair of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. His official biography in the archived Obama White House site documents his position at the centre of government. Alongside that career, Podesta has spent years publicly urging greater government transparency about UFO records. The introduction therefore does not look like a random social connection. It describes a bridge between someone who understands the machinery of government, a seasoned political communicator and a policy institute trying to shape disclosure.
What the Sol Foundation says it is building
The Sol Foundation says it was created in 2022 after Congress received a pivotal intelligence report on unidentified anomalous phenomena. Its official site identifies three areas of work: scientific and philosophical research, public policy and education. Sol says it wants to prepare government, academia, business, religious institutions and the public for the changes that greater awareness of UAP could bring. It presents itself as both a research institute and a policy think tank, not as a sighting club. Its language goes further by saying that nonhuman intelligence likely accounts for some of the phenomena. That proposition still lacks decisive public evidence, so Sol’s stated belief must remain separate from what the present report establishes.
What the public record still lacks
The public does not know when the advice began, how often conversations occur, who belongs to the bipartisan group or what recommendations have been offered. No written agreement has been released, although the work is described as pro bono, and there are no public meeting logs or policy memoranda. There is also no evidence that the relationship originated as a Biden administration assignment or continues any official government activity. Bates is speaking as a private professional. Podesta is described as making an introduction. The distance between those facts and an organised White House program is substantial and should not be crossed by speculation.
The alternative explanation is part of the story
The arrangement can be understood as a niche nonprofit seeking legitimacy, attention and funding. Organisations working on climate, health and technology routinely recruit former government communicators. Even if that is the entire explanation, the development remains newsworthy. For decades, association with UFOs carried a professional cost in politics. A communicator who was a prominent presidential voice is now willing to link his name publicly with a foundation in the field, while Podesta is reported to have brokered the connection. The important shift is not proof of extraterrestrials. It is the declining career cost of treating the subject as a legitimate policy problem.
Sources and context
Ben Schreckinger published the report on September 10, 2026. Bates told him that he belongs to a bipartisan group of professionals with political and government experience who advise Sol on public relations and policy. Schreckinger reports that John Podesta connected Bates with the foundation.
No agreement, meeting log, complete adviser list or account of the recommendations has been released. There is no evidence that Bates acts for the White House, has received classified material or that his advisory role validates any claim about the origin of UFOs.