Scientology cult leader Captain David Miscavige.

Above: Captain David Miscavige is the leader of the Church of Scientology’s sinister paramilitary group known as the Sea Organization.

Although Captain Miscavige hotly denies it via his attorneys, he is the absolute and unchallenged leader of the Church of Scientology International, Narconon, IAS, and all other parts of the Scientology franchise system.  In Rathbun v. Miscavige, Miscavige’s attorney Lamont Jefferson spent time arguing with opposing counsel that Mr. Miscavige was not to be called Captain Miscavige. This was so preposterous that I satirized it at my other blog: How Dare You Call COB “Captain Miscavige!”

Captain Miscavige has a volcanic temper. He stands publicly accused of having physically attacked and beaten many of his subordinates. Too many victims have come forward. There are too many eyewitnesses of Miscavige’s violence. Miscavige dares not sue any of his accusers for that would put him in a courtroom nightmare in which he would have to face dozens of accusers and eyewitnesses.

Captain David Miscavige is crippled by the same problem as alleged serial-rapist Bill Cosby: There are too many accusers, and, these accusers are credible and believable.

Bill Cosby dares not sue his accusers nor does Captain David Miscavige.

*****

Although no one in the Church of Scientology has seen Alex Gibney’s upcoming documentary, Scientology nevertheless paid to publish a a full page ad  today in the New York Times. This Scientology ad was a preemptive attack upon Alex Gibney and his upcoming documentary Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief.

The ad and its content were energetically discussed by the commenting community over at Tony Ortega’s Underground Bunker.

The Scientology ad also ran in the L.A. Times.

UPDATE: Tony Ortega asked Alex Gibney for a comment and Gibney said:

“What I find so fascinating, from having studied the church for more than two years, is how eerily predictable it is. It’s almost as though all the voices from the church were channeling the views of a single individual…”

*****

Absent a lawsuit against Gibney or HBO for libel, Miscavige and the Church of Scientology are just wasting yet more tax exempt dollars on false and misleading newspaper ads intended for internal consumption. To be blunt, the NYT ad is the usual litany of Scientology butthurt ordered by  Captain David Miscavige.

The NYT full page Scientology ad is the same tired old recycled pablum Scientology has used on Vanity Fair, Lawrence Wright, CNN, and others. The empty and hollow threat letters written by Miscavige’s attorneys to CNN and Vanity Fair are here.

The bottom line is this: The Church of Scientology is not suing Alex Gibney or HBO for libel. The Church is also not suing any of Gibney’s sources.

Why?

Because Captain David Miscavige is the Achilles heel of the entire Church of Scientology. Miscavige cannot withstand being deposed if he sued anyone. Miscavige has too much to hide. Moreover, there are numerous victims and eyewitnesses to his physical assaults on Church members. There are witnesses to his paranoid waste of millions of Church dollars spent spying on people. For example, Miscavige ordered former Church executive Pat Broker surreptitiously followed and spied on for twenty-five years at a cost of $12,000,000.

David Miscavige and his posse of damage control lunatics are playing their usual cards. This is what the ads are all about.

Miscavige says he cleaned house. This is not correct because Gibney’s sources were not fired by Miscavige. Rather, they all escaped from the Sea Org. These former Sea Org members have had to endure years of harassment ordered by Miscavige and dubiously paid for using 501(c)(3)tax exempt dollars. These people were only later expelled as a grasping face-saving measure on Miscavige’s part.

Miscavige says he cleaned house. This is not correct because Miscavige did not resign from his position as the leader of the Church of Scientology. Miscavige stepping down is needed as the first step towards any “housecleaning” in the madhouse known as the Church of Scientology.