As reported today by Mike Rinder at his blog, Scientology spokesperson Karin Pouw has been caught lying to the Los Angeles Times. We are reprinting Mike Rinder’s blog post on the matter verbatim:

Mike Rinder: 

The prosecution of Danny Masterson is becoming a predictable nightmare for David Miscavige and scientology.

Forced into making a public statement after damaging testimony in the Preliminary Hearing, scientology resorted to its time-honored tradition and lied. Not just a little lie. A big, bold, easily disproven denial. They rely on the fact that most are uninformed about their actual practices, and that the vast majority of people think when someone makes such an emphatic statement, they could not possibly be lying. Sociopaths use the good nature of the vast majority of people who could not tell the enormous lies they do because they would be too ashamed of being exposed. Sociopaths don’t possess a conscience. When it comes to the non-scientology world, scientology has no conscience.

The Los Angeles Times story includes a response from spokesperson Karin Pouw. Of course, Karin is just a name that is used to mask the statements from David Miscavige when he doesn’t want to get too close to a controversy. So far, scientology has remained mum on the prosecution of Danny Masterson, though they have said  plenty about the non-criminal allegations made against Paul Haggis. Because Masterson and his family remain card-carrying scientologists they are defending. Paul Haggis is now an avowed “enemy” for talking to the New Yorker about scientology’s anti-gay public stance and lies about disconnection, so he is Fair Game.

Here is what the LA Times reported about the statement from scientology:

This is, as I said, a big, bold lie. Or in fact, a couple of them.

Let me start with the fact that though David Miscavige is a textbook sociopath according to my reading of Marth Stoutt’s excellent book The Sociopath Next Door, not all scientologists fall into that classification. Most are decent, nice people. But they are all expected to lie to protect scientology. And some of scientology’s most treasured assets are its celebrities. Including Danny Masterson. So the lies come thick and fast.

I have covered this in earlier blog posts here, including this one from 2017: Why Do Scientologists Lie?

Just for good measure, apart from the “scripture” and court documents quoted in this article, there is also an excerpt from the summary of the FBI Investigation into scientology human trafficking in 2009, which makes clear the proclivity for lying to law enforcement in particular. I include it here:

What of the specific lie that there is any language that would bar scientologists from filing reports about crimes?

Below are two pages from the book Introduction to Scientology Ethics. This is a handbook for scientologists, and these are two of the numerous pages listing what are classified as “High Crimes” in scientology. High Crimes are also denominated “Suppressive Acts” which are those things that result in one being declared a “Suppressive Person.” Suppressive Persons are not to be contacted by any scientologist, even immediate family members. This is the scientology practice of “disconnection.”

It is plain for all to see — there is absolutely language in scientology’s list of Suppressive Acts that contradicts Pouw’s claim.

And if you understand scientology and the larger context in which these passages are applied, you will know even more clearly how black and white this is in the eyes of scientologists. They may try to wiggle around this if anyone pins them down with “reporting a crime is not an effort to suppress scientologists from practicing standard scientology.” Once again, another lie resting on the belief that you will NOT be familiar with scientology policy or Hubbard’s worldview. Putting anyone in the hands of law enforcement and the courts is a horrible thing in the mind of scientologists. This is “wog” justice and it is virtually a death sentence.

You do not have to believe anyone about this other than L. Ron Hubbard himself. The final chapter of that same book is entitled “A New Hope for Justice.” This is not a secret document of limited distribution. Every scientologist is expected to own a copy of this book and have studied it. Hubbard doesn’t beat around the bush.

And this is another chapter from the same book, deriding the idea of “wog” justice and that scientologists must only apply “scientology justice” in all situations.

Now, putting aside the written words of Hubbard, there is also the experience of anyone who has ever been involved in scientology.

Every scientologist knows that if there is a crime involving another scientologist, the ONLY correct action is to report it internally. There are literally hundreds of examples of this.

Karin Pouw claiming “The Church is known for its assistance to law enforcement and appropriately reporting criminal behavior” is an extremely deceptive half-truth. The deceptive half is another big lie. Yes, scientology immediately reports NON-scientologists of suspected crimes, especially those it perceives as enemies. These people are turned in even without any real evidence. When scientology spots a non-scientologist engaged in assault or theft on their numerous security cameras around their buildings, they call 911. When their PI’s dig up dirt on enemies they turn that over to law enforcement. This is part of their efforts to make it appear they are good citizens supportive of law enforcement. It gives them brownie points and a reserve of credibility and goodwill with the police.

But the proof that this is just scientology gaming the system is this: If law enforcement shows up to inquire about a possible crime committed by a scientologist, or request evidence of a crime committed by a scientologist, they cannot even get past the front door. Ever. Then they are referred to legal counsel. Scientology fights turning over anyone or anything. They will even send potential witnesses out of the jurisdiction or country.

These are the questions scientology cannot answer about their fake claims of cooperation with law enforcement, specifically with respect to the Masterson case:

Have you turned over the files containing the detailed contemporaneous reports that everyone was required by scientology to make?

Have you made any of the people who talked with, counseled or “handled” either the victims or Danny Masterson available to law enforcement? 

Didn’t think so.

And here is another one, more broad, but also not answerable:

Can you provide an example of when you have EVER reported a scientologist in good standing to law enforcement before they were under investigation? Or even when they were under investigation but had not been charged?

Can’t come up with one of those either….

As I said, the big lie is just scientology being scientology. Don’t be fooled.