Christopher K. Mellon served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Intelligence in both the Clinton and Bush administrations, and as Minority Staff Director of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. Over 20 years in the federal government in intelligence and defense policy roles. ROLE IN VIDEO RELEASE: After Luis Elizondo resigned from the Pentagon in October 2017, Elizondo secured a security review that cleared the three UAP videos for public release. Elizondo could not release them directly. Mellon — using his classified access and Pentagon relationships — physically carried the Tic Tac (FLIR1), Gimbal, and GoFast videos on a USB drive to journalists Leslie Kean and Ralph Blumenthal at the New York Times. This single act triggered the December 16, 2017 NYT front-page story — “Glowing Auras and ‘Black Money'” — which changed the trajectory of UAP disclosure permanently. Kean and Blumenthal had credibility. The NYT had reach. Mellon had the access and the files. TTSA: Joined Tom DeLonge’s To The Stars Academy on the advisory board alongside Hal Puthoff and Garry Nolan. Left in late 2020 with Elizondo and Steve Justice when the science and aerospace divisions collapsed. CONGRESSIONAL STRATEGY: Mellon’s sustained advocacy with members of Congress — along with Harry Reid’s internal Senate work — was instrumental in getting UAP legislation into the NDAA from 2020-2024. SOL FOUNDATION: Speaker at the inaugural Sol Foundation conference at Stanford 2023. FILTER REDUCTION: Nolan credited Mellon for advocating the removal of sensor filters on radar and tracking systems — the change that subsequently detected Chinese spy balloons in February 2023.