Tony Ortega

Why is it so hard to find a Scientologist in good standing?

(Note: This article was first published at Tony Ortega’s Underground Bunker)

On Wednesday, Tony Ortega wrote that a Tampa federal judge continues to uphold his ruling that a California couple, Louis and Rocio Garcia, must submit their allegations of fraud to Scientology’s internal arbitration scheme — which doesn’t, actually, exist. And part of their frustration, the Garcia’s allege, is that every time they select a Scientologist they want to make an arbitrator in the Orwellian scheme, Scientology finds a way to declare that person “not in good standing.” Even the judge admitted it was pretty impossible to figure out who is and who isn’t in “good standing” in the church.

What is a Scientologist in good standing anyway?

It ought to be easy to decide who a Scientologist in good standing is. After all, there are millions of ’em, right?

For many years, Scientology officials openly claimed that the church had about eight million members.

In the ABC Nightline episode of February 14, 1992 Forest Sawyer was able to get church president Heber Jentzsch to clarify Scientology’s eight-million-member claim:

Sawyer: How do you get to call them members?
Jentzsch: Because they joined and they came in and they studied Scientology.
Sawyer: They took one course, maybe.
Jentzsch: Well, that’s how valuable the course is. Eight million people, yes, over a period of the last – since 1954.

In 1997, Mike Rinder, then the organization’s spokesman, invoked the same number. Criticizing what defectors from the church were saying, he told a press conference, “If any of the things these people say are true, there would not be eight million Scientologists in the world today.”

And as recently as 2004, the church told the Deseret News that it had eight million members.

In more recent years, as Tony has pointed out, Scientology is a lot less specific about its size. Scientology spokespeople are careful only to refer to “millions.” And here’s what the church’s website today says about Scientology’s growth:

With Scientology, millions know life can be a worthwhile proposition, that Man can live a fulfilled life in harmony with others and that the world can be a happier place. Scientologists work to create such a world every day, joined by others who share this dream. The undeniable relevance of Scientology to the lives of these millions assures its permanence in our society. Millions upon millions more will follow in this quest to create a better world.

Pretty vague, right?

In fact, in 1999 Jentzsch gave a deposition, and under oath he admitted that the “eight million” figure was arrived at not by estimating current active membership, but by adding up all of the people who had ever, in the church’s entire history, ever so much as bought a single book or took a single course.

But even if we take Jentzsch at his word, that eight million people had interacted in some way with Scientology since things began with the publication of ‘Dianetics’ in 1950, it would mean that over the period 1950 to 1999, when Jentzsch made that claim, it would represent about 163,000 new people joining every year. And if you know something about the size and number of Scientology’s “orgs” over the years, you know that number is pure fantasy. (For a more realistic assessment of Scientology’s current size, see the Bunker’s report from recent defector Paul Burkhart.)

But, for the sake of argument, let’s say that there are millions of Scientologists, and it’s just some kind of miracle that you never actually bump into any in your daily life. What does Scientology itself say about what defines a Scientologist?

The membership organization for Scientology, known as the International Association of Scientologists (IAS), has a very loose definition of a Scientologist on its website:

A Scientologist is defined as “essentially one who betters the conditions of himself and the conditions of others by using Scientology technology.”

Hey, that sounds easy. As long as we’re using Scientology tech, and we’re bettering ourselves, we’re Scientologists in good standing!

Well, not quite. The IAS isn’t going to make it that easy. In order to be considered in good standing by the IAS, you actually need to be a member of it. Lifetime IAS memberships cost $5,000 and Scientologists are constantly under a lot of pressure to donate even bigger amounts.

It seems pretty clear that to be considered “in good standing” by Scientology’s leaders, you’ll need to be an active donor and participant in the IAS.

But hang on. How big is the IAS?

Not anything close to millions. Former church executives will tell you that IAS numbers are in the tens of thousands, not millions. (And here’s the latest solid estimate for overall membership in this rapidly shrinking movement.)

But OK, let’s say you cut the check and join the IAS. Then that means you’re officially a part of the Church of Scientology, right?

Well, hold on. While the IAS is the “official membership organization” of Scientology, the IAS, legally speaking, isn’t part of the “Church of Scientology” itself…

In fact, according to what Scientology told the IRS in its 1992 application for 501(c)3 tax exemption, there’s actually no single thing known as the “Church of Scientology”….
And to add to the confusion, also according to the IRS application you don’t have to belong to the IAS to be in good standing with “a church of Scientology.”

Lost yet?

But see, that’s the beauty of Scientology’s rules for “in good standing.” They can say it’s whatever they want it to be!

Despite L. Ron Hubbard’s millions of words about everything from Scientology baptisms to Scientology funerals and how to clean windows and how to use a vibrator (we’re not kidding), and despite all the books and checksheets and pamphlets and fliers that current leader David Miscavige has killed whole forests to put out, the Church of Scientology really has no definitive policy stating what constitutes a Scientologist in good standing.

Who or what is a Scientologist? The answer is that it all depends on the circumstances, which Scientology uses to its best advantage in court. For decades Scientologists have smugly said to each other, “Everyone is a Scientologist; they just don’t know it yet.”

But for the purposes of arbitration? Scientologists “in good standing” are only whatever handful of people the church can count on to rule precisely the way church wants them to.
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My comments over at the Bunker to expand on this article:

As the funnel of “millions of Scientologists” dramatically narrows down to a tiny handful of Scientologists in good standing, here’s how, according to court documents, it works: Mike Ellis, the 315 pound Scientology International Justice Chief with health problems is supposedly the only guy in the world who can decide who is in good standing or not. Here is what Scientology told the court about Scientology IJC Mike Ellis:

Mr. Ellis weighs 315 pounds, suffers from high blood pressure, fatigue and tightness in his chest. He was seen by a cardiologist on January 16, 2015. The cardiologist obtained a history, conducted an examination, diagnosed “angina pectoris” and told Mr. Ellis that he was “unable to travel.” http://tonyortega.org/2015/01/…

Scientology would have us believe that some guy on a bike with health problems is the only person who gets to decide which Scientologists are in good standing with the Church:

Scientology International Justice Chief Mike Ellis.

But in reality, the guy on the bike with health problems actually gets told who is in good standing by another guy in a fake navy uniform with a bad temper who likes to hit people and is Tom Cruise’s best friend:

David Miscavige

That is how it really works in Scientology.

On a related note: In 2015, Scientology IJC Mike Ellis had an earache, high blood pressure, angina, and weighed 315 pounds. PTS much? And why does Mr. Ellis have these problems if Scientology is supposed to handle the underlying spiritual causes of physical disease? It is our sincere hope that the Church of Scientology gets IJC Mike Ellis the medical help he needs. It is also our hope that Mike Ellis comes to his senses and stops breaking up families via Scientology’s toxic policy of Disconnection. On a scale of Scientology evil, Mike Ellis is extremely evil as he is the Cult Enforcer of Disconnection.

Mike Ellis is also the man who refuses legitimate repayment requests and thus enables the Church to go into a criminal ripoff condition that Mr. Hubbard called “out exchange.” Hubbard wrote, “A criminal is a person who wants something for nothing” and Mike Ellis is enabling the criminality of Scientology when he denies repayment requests of “monies on account.” What this means is that most Scientologists pay the Church money for future services. This is called “monies on account” and creates the impression in Scientologist that these monies belong to them and are in their account. Scientology actively pressures Scientologists to put monies on account. Many Scientology have tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars “on account.”

However, when many of these Scientologists decide to leave the Church and do not want future services, the Church keeps their “monies on account” and will not give it back. This is called theft. Scientology, of course, uses sleazy contracts in order to claim the monies were donations and that Scientology does not have to give the money back. This “monies on account” fraud is aided and abetted by Scientology’s phony “Claims Verification Board” and is one of the many demonstrable reasons why Scientology is considered a criminal organization masquerading as a religion. David Miscavige really does belong in prison.

Mike Ellis does not apply policy justly and is therefore not wearing his hat. He is out ethics, off policy, and a disgrace as a Sea Org member. This bad Karma is all on Mike Ellis and perhaps explains his health problems.

February 2017: Notes and Observations on Scientology

February 2017: Here are some notes and observations on how I watch and look at Scientology:

1. So many things constellate around The Underground Bunker that this place is mandatory daily reading. Tony Ortega understands context, story, and significance in a way that utterly eludes Scientology, David Miscavige, Freedom Rag, and the no-show-no-stats SMP.

2. Mike Rinder’s blog is the Tiffany’s of documenting Scientology’s ongoing failures, deceits, and decline. Mike provides an outstanding daily journal of real-time Scientology decline. Mike’s valuable insights into Scientology as an organization are possible due to his decades of managing the Office of Special Affairs on a daily basis. Mike understands Scientology and David Miscavige at a profound level. That Mike’s jovial and robust sense of humor is mated to his ferocious intellect makes reading his analysis of the situation that much more enjoyable.

3. Disconnection and Fair Game are non-negotiable and must go. To the degree that Scientology practices and enforces Disconnection and Fair Game, Scientology’s self-destruction will persist. No one out here in the real world will stand for Scientology’s breaking up of families and its programs of character assassination.

4. Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath was a devastating expose of the Church of Scientology and its brutality. If it is not already in the works, season two will spontaneously appear as an act of Creation Ex Nihilo; the metaphysics of television dictate that this must happen.

4. Twitter and Facebook are extremely important to watch. The sum of message traffic on these platforms provides invaluable existential information about Scientology and Culture. Social media shows Scientology’s inherent inability to interact with Culture. This ineptitude is traceable to L. Ron Hubbard who called for Scientology to use blatantly phony and dishonest PR in the place of apologetics or other forms of meaningful interaction with Culture.

5. Scientology’s hate websites are very important to watch. These incriminating sites constitute damning and irrefutable forensic evidence which shows that Scientology’s programs of Fair Game have an unlimited budget of tax-free dollars. These websites also offer a penetrating insight into the psyche of Miscavige and OSA in a way that betrays both of them. Like a Cold War era Sovietologist would note, a good analyst must study the propaganda operations and party line rhetoric of the other side. IMO, our side needs more analysts who are willing to monitor, document, analyze, and write about Scientology’s websites.

6. Scientology’s cash position, cash surplus, and real estate acquisitions are almost completely meaningless as significant metrics. Any organization with a cash surplus can buy and amass a real estate portfolio. In most cases, Scientology’s real estate acquisitions of decrepit old buildings in need of millions of dollars in renovations are designed to stall and buy time for David Miscavige. From my perspective, Miscavige is obviously using these empty buildings to buy time and create some semblance of hope for the future of Scientology. However, no one is fooled. Example: The San Fernando Valley Ideal Org is a complete waste of time and money. There is no excuse for Miscavige to leave that eyesore unfinished given the IAS cash pile. The PR damage done to Scientology by leaving buildings empty for years or decades, particularly when there is plenty of money available to open these buildings within 12-18 months, is inexcusable. Conversely, Scientology will cherry pick top properties. This was the case with SMP here in Hollywood or Larry Hagman’s place in Ojai. But then the Cult will not actually do anything with these premier properties except use them for PR.

7. David Miscavige needs to reverse the massive and long-term statcrash in Scientology and does not know how to do it because he refuses to understand the nature and essence of the problems facing Scientology. Understanding the real problems would require critical self-reflection on his part wherein he would conclude that he must resign and step aside. He has zero capabilities in this regard and believes himself to be indispensable to Scientology. Compounding this is the long term structural damage to Scientology wrought by Miscavige’s execution of Hubbard’s bad policies and Miscavige’s own failed programs in the period 2001 to the present day is irreversible. Miscavige massively overreached with his frenzied money grab in the Basics, selling IAS statuses, and the failed Ideal Org strategy. GAT I and GAT II were, and are, failures in ways Miscavige does not understand.

8. Scientology’s contradictory policies of greed-driven inhumanity place it at war with itself and all the parts of its own existence. To use an analogy, Scientology is like a raging alcoholic with serious self-created problems who denies they are an alcoholic and blames others for their problems. Everyone else can see the problems except Scientology. The Church of Scientology is an embarrassment to itself and does not see it.

9. The real numbers a good leaker could give are these:
A. Attendance at events: publics and SO.
B. The number of SO members over the past ten years.
C. The total number of IAS members in good standing with the Church.
D. Total membership losses of publics and SO over the past ten years.
E. Number of SO senior execs paid off to sign nondisclosure agreements in the past ten years.

10. One of the real things to watch is the covert consolidation of Scientology Orgs. Miscavige can call it whatever he wants, but consolidation is contraction and Scientology is contracting inwards upon itself with great force. The acquisition of real estate is a red herring. Purchasing buildings is meaningless in the face of Scientology’s uncontrollable and accelerating membership losses. The way out is through the nearest door.

11. The petard upon which Scientology is hanging itself is Disconnection and Fair Game.

The most incredible lie Scientology attorney Monique Yingling told ABC ’20/20′

Monique Yingling, Esq.

Preface: My article below originally appeared on Tony Ortega’s Underground Bunker. It is reprinted here with additional material added. I republish the article here because the Church of Scientology has used tens of millions of tax exempt dollars, or more, to pay Monique Yingling (and the law firm for which she works) for her four decades of legal services to Scientology. And yet Yingling had the shamelessness on her recent interview with ABC 20/20’s Dan Harris to criticize Leah Remini for making money to produce and appear in the A&E show Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath. Monique Yingling’s hypocrisy is staggering: She is a financial beneficiary of the human suffering that occurs in Scientology, and, Yingling helps to enable that suffering by defending it as an attorney for Scientology. Yingling also made a point to ABC’s Dan Harris that she raised her children in the Catholic faith; it is unfortunate that none of the love, compassion, or mercy of the Catholic faith seems to have affected Monique Yingling in her professional work.

Following the sudden departure of Tommy Davis as the Church of Scientology’s spokesman in 2011, the organization no longer has an actual Scientologist to represent it on television or in documentaries. Seemingly by default, Scientology leader David Miscavige’s attorney Monique Yingling — a non-Scientologist – has found herself cast in the unlikely role as the international spokeswoman for the church.

During ABC 20/20’s recent episode, “Scientology: A War Without Guns,” Yingling appeared to speak on behalf of Miscavige at the last minute. Like her previous appearance in April in an episode about Ron Miscavige’s book Ruthless, Yingling was given a lot of airtime to present the church’s side of things. And this time, at one point ABC’s Dan Harris asked her a very straightforward question, and her reply was stunning:

Harris: Scientology has described psychiatry as an “industry of death.” Why is that?

Yingling: Well, I think that’s a catchphrase. But what Scientology has worked hard against are abusive practices of psychiatry. Not psychiatry in general.

Harris: You say, “not psychiatry in general,” but an “industry of death” sounds pretty general.

Yingling: Well because unfortunately there have been a lot of abuses, and psychiatry has caused a lot of deaths.

Right there on national television, this was a pretty spectacular lie.

ABC 20/20’s Dan Harris interviewing Monique Yingling

If you know much about Scientology at all, you know that founder L. Ron Hubbard considered all of psychiatry an abomination that has plagued mankind for trillions — yes trillions of years. Hubbard even claimed that the “evil psychs” were a special race, traceable to the planet “Farsec.” The goal of the psychs, according to Hubbard, is to implant, enslave, and kill humans.

From 1950 until his death in 1986, Hubbard created, expanded, and sustained Scientology’s attack upon psychiatry that continues to this day.

As part of Hubbard’s efforts to expose psychiatry, Scientology created the Citizens Commission on Human Rights in 1969 as a “mental health industry watchdog whose mission is to eradicate abuses committed under the guise of mental health.” But what does CCHR actually do? One thing CCHR does is work to get psychiatrists arrested, tried, and imprisoned for abuses.

CCHR’s Psychiatric Crime Database, yet another typically exaggerated and bizarre Scientology PR effort, puts the lie to Monique Yingling’s claims that “Psychiatry: An Industry of Death” is merely a catchphrase:

CCHR also markets and sells the book “Psychiatrists – the Men Behind Hitler” on its website. This tawdry book blames psychiatry for the Holocaust:

In 2005, CCHR opened its “Psychiatry: An Industry of Death Museum” in Hollywood. This was the same year Tom Cruise launched into his hostile attack against psychiatry and psychiatric drugs during his interview with Matt Lauer. And then at the 2007 New Year’s event at the Shrine auditorium in Los Angeles, David Miscavige infamously used animated exploding hand grenades to call for the global obliteration of Psychiatry:

I was in the audience that night and was appalled to see the way in which the gathered Scientologists jumped to their feet to scream wildly and applaud Miscavige’s violent call for the global obliteration of Psychiatry and the mass arrest and imprisonment of psychiatrists. Miscavige further bragged at this event that CCHR had a “smart bomb” that “sniffs out Psych fuel lines and blows the funding mechanism. And in that way, to put it bluntly, we booby-trapped the whole psychiatric ecosystem.”

David Miscavige’s violent 2007 rant against psychiatry was nothing new. In October 1995, Miscavige promised Scientologists that psychiatry would be destroyed in five years:

“There are a lot of opinions out there as to what is wrong with Earth, 1995. But if you really want to eliminate those problems all you have to do is work for the objectives that we, as members of the IAS, have set for the year 2000: Objective One – place Scientology at the absolute forefront of Society. Objective Two – eliminate psychiatry in all its forms. Let’s get rid of psychiatry, and let’s bring Scientology to every man, woman and child on this planet.”

Finally, and here we arrive at the crux of the matter, L. Ron Hubbard was infuriated that psychiatry had obtained what he thought was a fraudulent monopoly on mental health treatment. To Hubbard’s way of thinking, psychiatry was rigged because it required an eight-year medical degree plus a four-year psychiatric residency to become a psychiatrist. This conspiracy to require medical degrees and residencies effectively locked Hubbard and his e-meter out of the tens of billions dollars per year in government funding spent on mental health treatment.

Hubbard wanted that money. He wanted Scientology to have an exclusive global monopoly on mental health treatment and the billions of government dollars pouring into psychiatric and mental health programs. As Hubbard wrote in his confidential 1969 memo Intelligence Actions:

Our war has been forced to become to take over absolutely the field of mental healing on this planet in all forms… Our total victory will come when we run his (the enemy’s) organization, perform his functions and obtain his financing and appropriations.

Monique Yingling was prevaricating when she told Dan Harris that “Psychiatry: An Industry of Death” was a catchphrase. Yingling knows that, per its own policies, Scientology will not accept anyone as a member who has been suicidal or has been treated with psychiatric drugs. In a paradoxical coda to this article, we note that these two prohibitions disqualify L. Ron Hubbard from Scientology.

In 1947, L. Ron Hubbard wrote to the US Veterans Administration complaining of suicidal ideations and moroseness, or what we would today call depression. Hubbard asked the Veterans Administration to provide him with psychiatric treatment.

And at the end of his life, in January 1986, L. Ron Hubbard suffered a stroke and was treated with the psychiatric tranquilizer Vistaril.

Hubbard’s intense hatred of psychiatry was most curiously book-ended between his request for psychiatric help in 1947 and his use of a doctor-prescribed psychiatric tranquilizer at the end of his life. I wonder how Monique Yingling would spin that?

— Jeffrey Augustine

When I was doing research for this article I thoroughly examined many CCHR websites. While it feels like internet dumpster diving, the fact is that one has to study Scientology websites in detail in order to be a good researcher. Scientology websites are a gold mine of the Cult’s paranoid mindset and CCHR has the most gruesome and weird of all Scientology websites.

As to “Industry of Death” being a catchphrase, one CCHR website has a CGI reproduction of the actual Industry of Death museum in Hollywood. I toured the museum after it opened many years ago. The decor reminded me of a Marie Calender’s restaurant, sort of a French farmhouse motif, festooned with photos of Nazis and ghastly photos of lobotomies and ECT. There are also psychiatric appliances. The net effect led me to conclude that CCHR itself is in dire need of psychiatric treatment.

On one wall there is a big sign that reads: Psychiatry. Torture & Death Sold as Miracle Cure. When I saw this, I realized Scientology was projecting what it does onto Psychiatry:

There is also a Eugenics display. Curiously, it has never occured to Scientology that its goal to create a master race of Homo Novis and to “dispose of quietly and without sorrow” all those 2.0 or below on the Tone Scale is a form of both Scientology eugenics and genocide.

The Industry of Death museum has a strange display that features a collage of images that is weird and creepy:

On a final note, one CCHR website shows a Mr. Lage Vitus correctly condemning the South African philosopher, psychologist, and Prime Minister Dr. Hendrik Verwoerd (1901-1966) as the architect of apartheid. However, Scientology then uses a non-sequitur to blame Dr. Verwoerd’s work in psychology — and by extension psychiatry — for apartheid. Mr. Vitus is incorrect for apartheid was rooted in racism, segregation, and the goal to keep Black South Africans in a perpetual state of poverty and illiteracy. Apartheid did not occur due to psychiatry.

Moreover, as the Daily Mail noted, L. Ron Hubbard wrote to Prime Minister Verwoerd to praise Verwoerd’s slum clearance projects. In doing so, Hubbard effectively praised and condoned apartheid.

In a letter written in November 1960 to Hendrik Verwoerd, a former president considered the architect of apartheid, Hubbard praises the devastating practice of forced resettlement of non-white South Africans.

‘Having viewed slum clearance projects in most major cities of the world may I state that you have conceived and created in the Johannesburg townships what is probably the most impressive and adequate resettlement activity in existence,’ says the letter, which was brought up during South Africa’s 1972 Commission of Inquiry into Scientology.

While in South Africa, Hubbard developed Scientology’s toughest test: a confessional-style list of probing questions, asked of followers while they hold the tin can electrodes of a lie detector-type device known as an ‘e-meter.’

The Wiki page on Verwoerd describes the brutal tactics he used against opponents of his apartheid policies. If one substitutes “Scientology” for “apartheid” in this quote, the parallels between L. Ron Hubbard and Verwoerd are eerie:

Verwoerd rigidly enforced Apartheid policies through further introducing oppressive laws, which diminished the rights of ordinary individuals… Verwoerd empowered the police, Secret Police and Army to extraordinary levels. During his time in office he ordered a secret all-out offensive against those opposed to apartheid policies….

L. Ron Hubbard created a fascist system of Scientology apartheid in which, if he had his way, only Scientologists would have rights. As Hubbard wrote in Science of Survival:

…any person from 2.0 down on the Tone Scale should not have, in any thinking society, any civil rights of any kind, because by abusing those rights he brings into being arduous and strenuous laws which are oppressive to those who need no such restraints.

DOX: How Scientology ensnares the unsuspecting in a series of binding contracts

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(Note: This article was originally published on Tony Ortega’s Underground Bunker and is republished here for archival purposes)

How do good people get trapped in something like Scientology? One way is through the series of unconscionable legal contracts the Church of Scientology uses to strip its members of their civil and legal rights. As revealed in its own documents, Scientology is designed to ensnare its members legally, and as soon as practically possible. Contracts are the legal backbone of the “Prison of Belief.”

The public doesn’t know about this malicious series of Scientology contracts. New Scientologists are never informed, advised, or counseled in advance about the potential adverse legal consequences they could face as a result of signing these contracts. These contracts are one-sided and give the Church all of the power while taking away power from individual members.

The first thing a new Scientologist must do is watch an introductory video. Simply entitled “Orientation,” the film serves as the legal basis for the first contract all new Scientologists must sign. The essence of this contract is that a new member agrees that he or she considers Scientology to be a religion. This contract is called “Attestation of Religious Belief Regarding the Scientology Religious Film called Orientation.” Excerpt:

We have seen recently in the Luis and Rocio Garcia fraud lawsuit against the Church of Scientology how useful such a declaration can be. In that case, the Garcias never got a chance to have their claims of fraud heard before a jury because the judge felt it would infringe on Scientology’s religious rights. When the Garcias objected that they never granted that Scientology was a religion, Whittemore pointed to statements made by Luis in deposition which showed that he had, at one time, considered Scientology a religion. Statements like that matter, and Scientology knows it. So it wants a new member on the record — this is church, not self-help.

The second contract the new Scientologist must sign is called the “Religious Services Enrollment Application, Agreement, and General Release.” In this contract, one gives up the legal right to sue the Church of Scientology or to have a lawyer represent them in any dispute with Scientology. One also surrenders the right to a refund of any donations they have made to the organization.

The third contract a new Scientologist signs is called Agreement Regarding Confidential Religious Files. In this particular contract a Scientologist forever signs away all their rights to ever read, inspect, review, or own their preclear folders. Excerpt:

Although Scientologists pay the Church of Scientology hundreds of thousands dollars to go up the Bridge, no Scientologist may ever read, inspect, review, or own their preclear folders. The Church owns these folders forever. When a member leaves the Church and speaks out, OSA typically breaks the contract by culling a person’s preclear folders to look for dirt on that person in an attempt to shudder them into silence. Failing this, OSA uses materials from folders in its hate websites.

The fourth standard contract a Scientologist signs is called “Agreement and General Assistance Regarding Spiritual Assistance.” Shockingly, this is Scientology’s infamous “Kidnap Contract” which allows the Church to take any of its members and lock them up for an indefinite duration of time — and this without the kidnapped member having the benefit of any legal representation, legal hearing, medical evaluation, or medical intervention. All a Scientology “case supervisor” has to say is that a member has gone Type III. After this pronouncement, the member is bodily seized, locked up, and held against their will. This is exactly what happened to Lisa McPherson.

Lisa McPherson died while being held captive in Scientology’s Introspection Rundown. In the contract excerpt below, the Scientologist agrees to not sue the Church for any injuries or damage — and this release contemplates death — that might or could occur when one is being held as a religious prisoner in the Introspection Rundown. Excerpt:

Scientologists must sign onerous contracts all the way up the Bridge to Total Freedom. For example, Scientology OT’s sign a contract wherein they agree to pay a $100,000 fine — falsely called a reimbursement — if they ever publicly disclose anything from the secret OT levels.

10. Parishioner acknowledges and agrees that the continuing harm to FSO, to all other churches of Scientology and affiliated organizations that would result from his/her breach of any of the provisions of this Agreement, including but not limited to Parishioner’s unauthorized use or disclosure, of all or in any part, of the Advanced Technology or the information, materials or works comprising it, would not be readily compensable monetarily and would hence constitute irreparable harm. Therefore, Parishioner hereby consents to the entry of temporary, preliminary and permanent injunctive relief against Parishioner should Parishioner breach or threaten to breach any of the terms of this Agreement, without requiring the enforcing party to post a bond or make any undertaking as a condition of such relief except to the extent an undertaking may, under applicable law, be required, in which event Parishioner recognizes that an undertaking of $10,000 shall be adequate to cover any economic interest (including Parishioner’s attorneys’ fees). In addition, Parishioner acknowledges and agrees that not only would it be extremely difficult to determine or calculate the actual monetary damages resulting from his/her breach of any of the provisions of this Agreement, but that FSO and/or its licensor will be required to incur significant legal fees and costs to protect and preserve the Advanced Technology, as it is scripturally and contractually bound to do. As such, Parishioner agrees to reimburse FSO and/or its licensor, for FSO’s or its licensor’s legal fees for each such breach by Parishioner. Further, Parishioner agrees to pay FSO and its licensor the total amount of $100,000 for each such breach by Parishioner.

As covered previously by Tony Ortega at the Underground Bunker, all Sea Org and Scientology staff members have been made to sign a new non-disparagement agreement that prevents them from speaking out if they ever leave. The contract screams this in caps that could have been written by David Miscavige himself:

3. I therefore agree that in exchange for the opportunity to serve on the Church’s staff and to receive the benefits available to all staff members, including the right to receive Scientology religious auditing and training to forward my own spiritual growth, I swear to forever use the full extent of my ability to uphold my obligations under this Religious Covenant of Non-Disparagement (“Non-Disparagement Covenant”). I will never do less. Accordingly, I PROMISE AND SWEAR NEVER TO SAY OR ENCOURAGE OR INDUCE OTHERS TO SAY OR WRITE ANYTHING NEGATIVE OR DISPARAGING ABOUT L. RON HUBBARD (“LRH”), THE CHURCH, CSI, RTC OR ANY OTHER CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY OR THEIR STAFF, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS OR TRUSTEES, IN WHATEVER CAPACITY, OR ABOUT THE RELIGIOUS PRACTICES, MATERIALS, TECHNOLOGY AND SERVICES OF THE SCIENTOLOGY RELIGION. I UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT THIS NON-DISPARAGEMENT COVENANT APPLIES NOT JUST WHILE I AM SERVING ON THE CHURCH’S STAFF BUT ALSO IN PERPETUITY, SHOULD I EVER LEAVE STAFF.

The Scientology non-disparagement contract calls for an offending Sea Org or Staff member to pay the Church $25,000 in liquidated damages per breach:

B. In addition to anything else a court may require me to do for violating this Non-Disparagement Covenant, that I shall pay the Church $25,000 as liquidated damages (and not as a penalty) for each individual violation of this Non-Disparagement Covenant and/or for each individual instance of causing, participating in, cooperating with or encouraging the publication or broadcast of information that results in a violation of this Non-Disparagement Covenant. I understand that it is difficult to ascertain the exact extent of damage and harm a violation would cause the Church, but I acknowledge that $25,000 is fair and reasonable.

The Church of Scientology’s contracts serve to make “donations” nonrefundable, subject all disputes to internal binding arbitration, and act to protect the Church’s legal interests while obliterating the legal rights and protections of Scientologists. None of this is surprising coming as it does from a “Church” that was legally designed by lawyers to fend off lawsuits, discovery, and trials to the greatest degree possible.

Scientology’s Secret Teachings about Jesus Christ

As part of its dishonest money-making scam, the Church of Scientology claims that a person can be a Scientologist and still be a Christian, a Jew, a Muslim, or a member of any other faith. Yet this is an outright lie. In the secret 1993 settlement between IRS and Scientology, David Miscavige’s attorney Monique Yingling told the IRS:

“Although there is no policy or Scriptural mandate expressly requiring Scientologists to renounce other religious beliefs or membership in other churches, as a practical matter Scientologists are expected to and do become fully devoted to Scientology to the exclusion of other faiths. As Scientologists, they are required to look only to Scientology Scriptures for the answers to the fundamental questions of their existence and to seek enlightenment only from Scientology. Thus, a Scientologist who grew up in the Jewish faith who continues formal membership in his synagogue and attends services with his family violates no Scientology policy or tenet. On the other hand, such a person is not permitted to mix the practice of his former faith into his practice and understanding of Scientology so as to alter orthodox Scientology in any way.”

The reason Scientologists are “expected to and do become fully devoted to Scientology to the exclusion of other faiths” is because L. Ron Hubbard considered all other religions to be what he called “R6” alien implants. The Church of Scientology will not disclose to the public Hubbard’s secret teachings about Jesus Christ, Islam, or any other religion. Only the most indoctrinated Scientologists get to read Hubbard’s secret teachings about Jesus Christ. As a public service, therefore, the Scientology Money Project discloses these teachings.

The first of Hubbard’s secret teachings are from the original OT VIII level. These materials are corroborated by George White who did the original OT VIII level and read the materials himself. White discusses this in his book Lucifer’s Bridge: Scientology’s Lost Paradise. The materials are corroborated by others as well. In the original OT VIII. Hubbard called himself the Antichrist and denounced Jesus as a “lover of young men and boys.”

No doubt you are familiar with the Revelations section of the Bible where various events are predicted. Also mentioned is a brief period of time in which an archenemy of Christ, referred to as the Antichrist, will reign and his opinions will have sway. All this makes for very fantastic, entertaining reading but there is truth in it. This Antichrist represents the forces of Lucifer (literally, the “light bearer” or “light bring”), Lucifer being a mythical representation of the forces of enlightenment, the Galactic Confederacy. My mission could be said to fulfill the Biblical promise represented by this brief Antichrist period. During this period there is a fleeting opportunity for the whole scenario to be effectively derailed, which would make it impossible for the mass Markabian landing (Second Coming) to take place. The Second Coming is designed, among other things, to trigger a rapid series of destructive events….

For those of you whose Christian toes I may have stepped on, let me take the opportunity to disabuse you of some lovely myths. For instance, the historic Jesus was not nearly the sainted figure he has been made out to be. In addition to being a lover of young boys and men, he was given to uncontrollable bursts of temper and hatred that belied the general message of love, understanding and other typical Marcab PR. You have only to look at the history his teachings inspired to see where it all inevitably leads. It is historic fact and yet man still clings to the ideal, so deep and insidious is the biologic implanting. It is a good joke that the Galactic Confederacy is associated with the Serpent in the Garden, the Beast and other emissaries of the “Prince of Darkness.” Yet in certain passages and esoteric interpretations of the Bible (much of which has been taken out and effectively suppressed for centuries) as well as the Kabbalah, the truth reveals itself quite nicely for the clever and the ungullible.

Those Scientologists who completed the original OT VIII level reacted so badly to the release original OT VIII materials that Scientology withdrew the materials and released a redacted version of OT VIII.

When the original OT VIII level materials were introduced into the court record by Steven Fishman in Church of Scientology International v. Fishman and Geertz, (Case No. CV 91-6426 (HLH (Tx) U.S. District Court for the Central District of California), the Church and claimed hem to be spurious.

However, what puts the lie to this is that when Scientology obtained a federal warrant to raid Arnie Lerma’s house in 1995 to confiscate OT materials, Scientology seized the original OT VIII material and catalogued it as HCO BULLETIN OF 5 MAY 1980 with RTC as the copyright owner. Scientology used the materials as evidence against Lerma until it was realized they would be scandalous in the public court record. HCO BULLETIN OF 5 MAY 1980 was subsequently dropped as evidence after initially being introduced as evidence. This begs the question: If the original OT VIII materials were spurious, then why did Scientology seize them in the raid?

Read OT VIII Part B from the court record on Karin Spaink’s blog.

Writing under his screen name Path of Buddha, George White posted a comment on Marty Rathbun’s blog in response to a question about the original OT VIII materials:

Windhorse,

The anti-Christ OT8 that I did on the Freewinds was on July 17, 1988. I met miscavige on the Freewinds just before he canned it. I remember because I met him on the main deck for a supper buffet. My two FSM’s did it before me and very candidly we discussed the anti-Christ, the synthetic Karma, and the spontaneous combustion of anyone who could not get it all right. Hugh Urban agrees with me as he has also researched it at Ohio State. The religious department there has known about at for about five years. It is common knowledge in academic circles

Much Metta,
George M. White

Bob Grant did the original OT VIII on the Freewinds and also confirmed on Rathbun’s blog that it contained the Antichrist reference and Hubbard’s remark that Jesus was a lover of young men and boys.

In this next Fair Use excerpt of Hubbard speaking, we pick up his lecture where he is talking about how everyone on this planet was “implanted” to believe they had been crucified. Hence, Hubbard says the man on the Cross is an “everyman” implant shared by all humans. Hubbard then says there was no Christ:

In his teachings, Hubbard attacked Jesus and Christianity as implants:

“Also the Christian Church used (and uses) implanting (with a squirrel version of the “7s”). These gangsters were the Nicomidians (sic) from lower Egypt who were chased out for criminal practices (implanting officials). They took over the Niocene (sic) Creed before the year zero, invented Christ (who comes from the crucifixion in R6 75m years ago) and implanted their way to “power”. The original Nicomidians (sic) date about 600 BC and people who were Christ date at 75m years ago. ” – L. Ron Hubbard, Resistive Cases, Former Therapy, HCOB 23 Sep 1968.

For a long while, some people have been cross with me for my lack of co-operation in believing in a Christian Heaven, God and Christ. I have never said I didn’t disbelieve in a Big Thetan but there was certainly something very corny about Heaven et al. Now I have to apologize. There was a Heaven. Not too unlike, in cruel betrayal, the heaven of the Assassins in the 12th Century who, like everyone else, dramatized the whole track implants – if a bit more so. The symbol of the crucified Christ is very apt indeed. It’s the symbol of a thetan betrayed.”, – L. Ron Hubbard, HCOB 11 May, 1963

“Further, we have our hands on an appalling bit of technology where the world is concerned. With rapidity and a Meter it can be shown that Heaven is a false dream and that the old religion was based on very painful lie, cynical betrayal.” – L. Ron Hubbard, HCOB 11 May, 1963

“Religion does much to keep the assumption in restimulation, being basically a control mechanism used by those who have sent the preclear into a body. You will find the cross as a symbol all over the universe, and the Christ legend as implant in preclears a million years ago.”, Professional Auditors Bulletins, vol. 2, p. 26 , copyright 1954.

“Now we say this thing called a thetan is capable of producing all sorts of things, and we say this is THE person. So therefore, we differ enormously from the Christian statements on the subject. They say, ‘you, son, must save your soul.’ The fellow says, ‘I don’t have one!’ So therefore, the christian religion cannot possibly be true…and they lose all kinds of converts this way. Somebody saving his soul is doing something very interesting. He evidently has something set up over here, that has probably, mass, that he says is his soul! And then he goes about saving it and it turns out to be a demon circuit called “Mama,” or something. Now he expects THIS to go to heaven. (laughs)”, Clearing Congress Lecture (videotape), L. Ron Hubbard, 1958.

” Men, then … a whole lot of people will say carelessly ‘Well, God is everywhere’, remember that this was an idea which was introduced rather lackerly in christian religion. The God of which they speak, of whom they speak continually, eh Yahweh, Lord knows how it’s produ.. pronounced, because it is so secret, that nobody is really is supposed to be able to pronounce it, so they ommitted all of the vowels in the word, and they spell it only with it’s consonants. So Lord knows how this word is to be pronounced, but the more agreed upon pronunciation amongst scholars so they can talk about it is Yahweh. And this is the Christian God. But he lives in a trunk with a leopard skin. That’s right, that’s the full story of it. “

” Old therapies include the 2000 yr ago plus or minus Aoscuplepian drug treatment (hillabore) which produced a conclusion and coma, and in which the nut practitioner made up as a God and “visited” the patient in a “dream”. This outfit was all over the ancient world. — – L. Ron Hubbard, Resistive Cases, Former Therapy, HCOB 23 Sep 1968. “

And finally, David Miscavige speaking on the importance of Scientology:

“For while you’ve often heard it said ‘we are the only major religion to emerge in this 20th century,’ the truth is more than that. In fact, we are the only new religion. Not a reinterpretation of some ancient doctrine, but the only original scriptural voice in the last 2,000 years.”, International Scientology News #7, David Miscavige, March 13, 1998

Look at the arrogance of Scientology cult leader David Miscavige: He states that Scientology is the “only original scriptural voice in the last 2,000 years.” What Miscavige fails to mention is Scientology’s $460,000 price tag to reach OT VIII only to discover that Jesus was an alien implant!

New Scientology financial disclosures reflect the dire state of its chief drug rehab

miscavigearrowhead

(Note: This article was originally published at Tony Ortega’s Underground Bunker and is reposted here for informational and archival purposes)

Contributor Jeffrey Augustine keeps a close eye on Scientology’s financial documents. And he has some new information today that backs up what we’ve been told anecdotally by our other sources — that Scientology’s flagship drug rehab center in Oklahoma, Narconon Arrowhead, is in serious trouble. Take it away, Jeffrey…

Here in the US, religious groups do not have to file tax returns. The only exception is if they have “unrelated business income.” If they do, thanks to a 2006 law change, religious groups must file an IRS form “990-T.” And even then, we don’t have much interest in the “unrelated” income that they report. The Church of Scientology, for example, owns a nine hole golf course at Gold Base that it rents out to local civic groups. The Flag Land Base in Clearwater and Celebrity Centre International in Hollywood each have ballrooms that they rent out. These tend to be trivial amounts and don’t tell us much about the real money they’re taking in for courses and donations.

However, the real value of the 990-T form is that it contains one really interesting question: It requires that the filer estimate the total “book value” of the organization. In other words, Scientology entities that submit these forms have to admit how much they’re worth.

And that’s forced several Scientology entities to admit to being worth a total of about $1.7 billion in assets. (And that’s only for the entities that report unrelated business income. Some of Scientology’s entities don’t submit 990-T forms, so we can only guess at their book value. But it would certainly mean that Scientology as a whole is worth billions more.)

Meanwhile, Scientology’s entities that can’t claim to be religious in nature — like the secular front groups, including the drug rehab companies under the Narconon umbrella — do submit annual tax returns (990 forms) if they have gross receipts of more than $200,000 or assets of $500,000 or more. There is typically a two year lag in getting 990s and 990-Ts. The forms Scientology submitted for the tax year 2014 are just now beginning to become available.

David Miscavige has always held out Narconon Arrowhead as the “flagship” of the drug rehab network. Located in Canadian, Oklahoma the facility has been rocked by a series of scandals and lawsuits – as have Narconon Georgia, Narconon in Canada, and several other Narconon centers.

The Underground Bunker has broken these stories to its international audience, and readers here have followed what seems to be the implosion of Narconon. Now, we can report that Narconon Arrowhead lost money in 2014 and has experienced a serious “stat crash.”

Narconon Arrowhead’s most recent 990 tax return, for 2014 (see below), paints a grim story.

Gross receipts that year were $4,117,845, a combination of gifts ($2,034,017) and sales of services ($2,044,407).

How did Narconon Arrowhead come up with $2 million in gifts? The answer is on another 990 tax form, the one submitted by Narconon’s Scientology umbrella organization, the Association for Better Living & Education (ABLE). In 2014, ABLE gave Arrowhead a “grant” of $1,879,286 for “general support.” Arrowhead’s remaining gift amount presumably came from other Scientology organizations. We can say that with some confidence based on precedent. In 2008, Scientology’s Social Betterment Properties International (SBPI) donated $180,000 to Narconon Arrowhead. Apparently, and for public relations reasons, David Miscavige cannot allow Narconon Arrowhead to become insolvent — it is, after all, the flagship of Narconon.

Arrowhead’s losses (revenues less expenses) for the year were $310,714. But that’s misleading. The real number, once you take away what was “gifted” to Arrowhead by ABLE to keep it afloat, is a real annual loss of at least $2,190,000. In other words, Scientology’s other groups had to prop up Narconon Arrowhead with $2 million in gifts so it would only show an annual loss of $310,714 in 2014. Of course, it is possible to work the numbers in different ways, but I am using very basic accounting. I welcome comments and analysis from the real numbers people here at the Bunker.

Even with Arrowhead’s lousy 2014 numbers, its losses in 2013 were even worse — a total of $3,713,907 in losses after subtracting operating costs from revenue. That might explain why Scientology found a couple of million to “gift” Arrowhead in 2014, which it didn’t do in 2013.

Meanwhile, ABLE wasn’t only propping up Arrowhead. It “gifted” plenty more to other Narconon entities that are struggling: Narconon International ($541,053), Narconon Fresh Start ($866,739), Narconon Pacific Coast ($15,561), Narconon Freedom Center ($34,047), International Academy of Detox Specialists ($30,762), and Narconon Georgia ($33,620).

For decades, Narconon was a reliable moneymaker for ABLE and the Church of Scientology. Now, after Narconon became a nightmare of lawsuits and scandals, Scientology is having to fork out serious money to keep it from collapsing.

Narconon Arrowhead’s financial decline is particularly stark. After its income rose to a peak of $12 million in 2012, it fell off a cliff after, that year, three patients died in a nine-month period:

2010: $8,793,476
2011: $11,091,425
2012: $12,333,912
2013: $4,332,483
2014: $2,044,407

As Tony Ortega reported recently, he’s heard from his sources that Arrowhead, which was designed to house more than 200 patients, is reportedly now down to ten staff and only three patients. If Miscavige is going to continue to prop up his flagship drug rehab, he’s going to have to keep giving it “gifts” in the millions.

Narconon IRS Form 990 for 2014

https://www.scribd.com/document/321652476/Narconon-Arrowhead-2014-IRS-990

Scientology claims L. Ron Hubbard chose David Miscavige to succeed him, proving he didn’t

Eric_Lieberman2-e1465900443806 [Scientology attorney Eric Lieberman]

(Originally published at Tony Ortega’s Underground Bunker, my article is reposted here for archival purposes).

Contributor Jeffrey Augustine has taken another close look at Scientology’s over-the-top attacks on Ron Miscavige for this piece today. Once again, he’s found some really interesting stuff!

The website that smears Ron Miscavige — presumably hosted by the Church of Scientology to distract from Ron’s book, Ruthless — is a gift that just keeps on giving. Previously, we pointed out that in an attempt to defend Scientology leader David Miscavige against allegations in the book, the website includes statements by church officials about David that directly contradict what he swore to the IRS when it gave Scientology tax exempt status in 1993.

This time, we’re looking at another claim made at the smear website — that it was Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard’s intention for David Miscavige to take over leadership of the church after Hubbard’s death.

This is such an important claim, it’s made by one of Scientology’s most important (and rarely seen) attorneys, Eric Lieberman, who says in a video at the smear site…

We have documented statements by L. Ron Hubbard, tapes by L. Ron Hubbard, affidavits by L. Ron Hubbard say…saying, “David Miscavige has assumed an essential position of leadership in this Church. He is my good friend and I call upon all of you to… to trust him because he is the person who has taken over the mantle and will continue to do so.”

We challenge Mr. Lieberman to produce, and post online, the documentation proving this assertion, that Hubbard appointed David Miscavige as his successor. To the best of my knowledge, the only public statement the Church has ever posted to assert David Miscavige’s anointing as the successor to Hubbard, which appears in a biography of Miscavige at the official church website, contains a fatal plural/singular problem…

In 1983, L. Ron Hubbard described a heroic Church executive who cleaned the ranks of rogue staff attempting to seize control of Scientology while Mr. Hubbard was engaged in intensive research and absent from the Church. As Mr. Hubbard himself phrased it:

“So forgive me for not managing the Church when it almost fell into hostile hands. It all came out all right. Why? Because real Scientologists made sure it did. My faith was justified.”

That real Scientologist L. Ron Hubbard spoke of was David Miscavige.

Note that in his statement, Hubbard thanks “real Scientologists,” plural, but the church website says that the “real Scientologist,” singular, was Miscavige. That’s so clumsy, you can’t even call it sleight of hand.

And Miscavige’s claim that he was anointed by Hubbard is even less convincing when you take into account what he said in a sworn affidavit he signed on February 17, 1994…

45. Mr. Hubbard took no part in the disbanding of the GO [Guardian’s Office] or removal of Mary Sue Hubbard. In fact, the first he heard of it was five months after the initial purge, in July of 1981. While he had been out of communication and uninvolved in Church activities for the previous two years, he had engaged in further researches on Dianetics and Scientology.

Here we have David Miscavige stating under oath in 1994 that Hubbard was “out of communication and uninvolved in Church activities” from July 1979 to July 1981.

Miscavige further states:

50. Upon the dismissal of the probate action, DeWolfe’s attorney announced that his “real” purpose in bringing the probate action had been to force Mr. Hubbard out of seclusion so he could be served in the civil damages cases filed by DeWolfe’s lawyer. The idea was simple. Aware that Mr. Hubbard wanted to maintain his privacy and seclusion, the lawyer would notice Mr. Hubbard’s deposition as both an individual and as a “managing agent” of the Church. Default or settlement then would follow a managing agent finding and non-appearance. This ploy was particularly effective since Mr. Hubbard went completely out of touch with any and all Church entities from May of 1984, until he passed away in January of 1986.

If we take David Miscavige’s two statements in his affidavit at face value – and we must for he was speaking under oath and surely was not committing perjury – then the timeline for L. Ron Hubbard from July 1979 until his death in January 1986 is as follows…

— Hubbard was “out of communication and uninvolved in Church activities” from July 1979 to July 1981.

— Hubbard went completely out of touch with any and all Church entities from May of 1984 until he passed away in January of 1986. This means that from May 1984 forward, Hubbard had absolutely no contact with David Miscavige or anyone else in the Church.

According to David Miscavige, then, L. Ron Hubbard was only available to the Church from July 1981 until May 1984 – a period of 36 months. During this time what happens? We return to Miscavige’s declaration:

NOVEMBER 1, 1981: The Church of Scientology International was founded, signaling a new era of Scientology management. A strong standardized corporate structure was required to facilitate the rapid expansion of Scientology and maintain high ethical standards in a widespread international network of churches.

David Miscavige was in the Church of Scientology International (CSI) in November 1981. Specifically, he was in the Commodore’s Messenger’s Organization (CMO) until the end of 1981. In the beginning of 1982, however, L. Ron Hubbard transferred David Miscavige and appointed him CEO of the for-profit Author Services, Inc. David Miscavige remained at ASI until March 1987 – a full fourteen months after Hubbard’s death.

Here are the two central problems with David Miscavige’s claim to be L. Ron Hubbard’s successor as the leader of the Church of Scientology:

1. ASI is not a part of the Church of Scientology. ASI is a private for-profit California corporation whose sole business is the management of L. Ron Hubbard’s personal and business affairs.

2. While at ASI, David Miscavige denies all involvement in the Church of Scientology. At ASI, Miscavige himself stated that he was L. Ron Hubbard’s business manager, again this according to Miscavige’s 1994 declaration:

Accordingly, in 1982, Author Services was formed to manage the personal affairs of L. Ron Hubbard including his literary, financial and legal matters. As I was held in some regard by Mr. Hubbard, I was given the opportunity to be part of this new endeavor. Beginning in 1982, I devoted my full time and attention to Mr. Hubbard’s personal affairs from my position as Chief Executive Officer of Author Services. [Robert Vaughn] Young’s contention that I was somehow managing all Scientology Churches internationally at the same time that I was supervising Mr. Hubbard’s affairs is preposterous…From the beginning of 1982 until March of 1987, I was Chief Executive Officer and later Chairman of the Board of Author Services, Inc. (“ASI”), a California corporation which managed the personal, business, and literary affairs of L. Ron Hubbard.

Miscavige’s statement does not square with Lieberman’s claim that L. Ron Hubbard wanted Miscavige to inherit the mantle. In 1982 L. Ron Hubbard intentionally transferred David Miscavige off Church lines altogether by removing him from CMO INT and placing him into ASI.

Miscavige makes it quite clear that the Mother Church – the Church of Scientology International – was founded on November 1, 1981. However, Miscavige also makes it clear that he was transferred to ASI in the beginning of 1982. This raises the question: If Hubbard wanted Miscavige to lead the Church, then why did Hubbard place Miscavige in the for-profit ASI and away from everything to do with the Church?

To reiterate what Miscavige himself said under oath:

Beginning in 1982, I devoted my full time and attention to Mr. Hubbard’s personal affairs from my position as Chief Executive Officer of Author Services. Young’s contention that I was somehow managing all Scientology Churches internationally at the same time that I was supervising Mr. Hubbard’s affairs is preposterous.

David Miscavige cannot have it both ways: He cannot place himself in ASI in 1982 where he protests, “Young’s contention that I was somehow managing all Scientology Churches internationally at the same time that I was supervising Mr. Hubbard’s affairs is preposterous,” while also having his attorney Eric Lieberman claim that David Miscavige ascended to the leadership of the Church.

When L. Ron Hubbard died on January 24, 1986, David Miscavige remained in ASI for an additional fourteen months until he went to the Religious Technology Center (RTC), where he remains today. Why the delay? It stands to reason that if Hubbard had wanted Miscavige to be in charge of the entire Church of Scientology then Miscavige could have very easily produced a written order by Hubbard naming him successor. But this did not happen.

There is no evidence that Hubbard appointed David Miscavige to be his successor. Quite the contrary, the available legal evidence from the mouth of David Miscavige is crystal clear: Hubbard placed David Miscavige at ASI. By doing so, Hubbard kept Miscavige out of CSI, RTC, and CST, the ruling entities of the church itself.

It’s not clear that Hubbard ever appointed anyone to take over after his death. He did, near the end, announce that a young couple, Pat and Annie Broeker, who had been taking care of him in hiding, were to be considered “loyal officers,” a term out of Hubbard’s space opera fiction. But it’s very unclear that this meant Hubbard intended for the Broekers to succeed him based on that document. But David Miscavige took no chances — after he took over and pushed Pat Broeker out, he had two private investigators stalk Broeker for the next 24 years, at a cost of about $12 million.)

That L. Ron Hubbard parked Miscavige at ASI in 1982, left him there, and had absolutely no communication with him, or anyone else in the Church after May 1984 (if we believe the church), argues that Hubbard did not want David Miscavige to handle or lead the Scientology movement. What Hubbard wanted is quite clear: He wanted David Miscavige to handle his private business affairs.

Instead, in the days after Hubbard died on January 24, 1986, David Miscavige maneuvered to push others out of the way so he could take control of Scientology, just as Ron Miscavige describes it in his book.

But that account contradicts the story that David told the IRS and continues to tell the public today — that he’s an “ecclesiastical” leader who is not involved in church management. And maybe that’s why he’s so sensitive about how he got to where he is today: If the IRS ever showed any interest, it wouldn’t be hard to demonstrate that Miscavige has done nothing by lie about his role in the church and how he took it over after Hubbard departed for the galaxy’s greener pastures.

Can you begin to understand why David Miscavige will do anything to avoid being deposed under oath?

— Jeffrey Augustine