New government docs show Scientology trying to snow the Justice Dept after Snow White

Thanks to the indefatigable efforts of researcher R.M. Seibert, we have more government documents about Scientology that have never seen the light of day.

Last time, you may remember that Seibert found a stunning document written in 1983 by Stanley S. Harris, who was then Washington DC’s US Attorney before he went on to a long and illustrious career as a federal judge. (He’s retired now and 91 years old.)

At the time, various government agencies were contemplating a massive legal settlement that the Church of Scientology was pushing. But Harris had the good sense to speak up and say, based on Scientology’s horrendous history of behavior, the government shouldn’t contemplate for a moment adopting such a surrender, the effect of which would be to bury a lot of what the government had dug up on the church.

“The history of Scientology has been that truth is its enemy, and that it is opposed to the accuracy of information where correct information may hurt Scientology,” Harris wrote in his memo.

At the end of that story, we weren’t sure what happened to the proposed settlement. But Seibert kept digging with the help of Muckrock and found an answer to that question along with another trove of fun documents.

First, to answer the question, after Harris’s knockout memo the government agencies decided not to fall into the trap of settling with Scientology in 1983, as this 1986 memo proves…

 
But as you can tell from the language in that first paragraph, in 1986 the Church of Scientology was once again trying what had failed three years before, and asked to meet with the Justice Department to complain about all of the negative information about Scientology that the government had in its files.

On September 23, 1986, Scientology’s attorney Lawrence Hoffheimer sat down with Randy Levine, the US Associate Deputy Attorney General, who asked Hoffheimer to put into a document what it was the church wanted. The seven-page letter Hoffheimer sent on October 6 is really a classic of the kind, a perfect example of how the Church of Scientology tries to convince governments that it is misunderstood and victimized by “vested interests.” We’ll post the entire letter at the end of the story, but here are a few highlights to give you the flavor of it.

The letter starts out with Hoffheimer extolling the virtues of Scientology, which has attracted nefarious enemies that want to see it torn down…

 
Those vested interests, Hoffheimer continues, made sure that a lot of untrue garbage about Hubbard got into government files beginning in the early 1950s, and that those poisonous documents have been reported in the press.

And why was Hubbard the target of such unfair attacks? Well, obviously, because he was so effective.

 
And also that Dianetics was curing people of psychosomatic ills, that the Scientology religion promotes “high ethical and moral standards,” and that the church is such a strong advocate against drug abuse. But despite all of those good works, Scientology was being harmed by negative information in government files that had spread around the world.

Hoffheimer also bemoaned the great costs involved in litigation between the church and the government, and money wasted on government investigations that never went anywhere.

Hoffheimer then anticipates that the government will bring up all of that, you know, stuff about infiltration and burglarizing that Scientology’s Guardian’s Office was doing in the 1970s in its Snow White Program, which resulted in 11 top church officials going to prison, including Hubbard’s wife, Mary Sue.

But hey, can’t we let bygones by bygones?

 
That’s a pretty stunning paragraph, don’t you think? Hoffheimer wants the government to forget about a few years of Scientology espionage because really, the church is the victim here.

But hey, if the government isn’t interested in stopping the “war” going on between it and Scientology, the church can always “escalate” matters…

 
How’s that for a threat?

Hoffheimer then makes his pitch for what the church would like to see done.

1. A court settlement that would involve purging negative info about the church in government files.
2. An end to “discriminatory treatment” by the IRS.
3. More streamlined handling of Scientology immigration procedures on the part of the INS.
4. A special relationship with a Department of Justice official for quick handling of issues.

On October 24, Levine sent Hoffheimer his reply, denying that the government harbored any bias against Scientology, and characterizing the church’s proposals as unrealistic.

Levine’s letter was polite, but it was a firm no.

And once again, we can see that in the 1980s, the US government had all it needed to know about what kind of organization Scientology was. Despite the costs involved in litigation, Levine wasn’t about to give in to Scientology’s dishonest attempts to pretend that it wasn’t still the same nefarious organization that had infiltrated the government a decade earlier.

Also, it shows just how stunningly craven it was for the IRS, seven years later, to capitulate fully to Scientology and give it everything it wanted.

Still, we think it’s a good idea to remember that at one time, government officials like Stan Harris and Randy Levine had the backbone to tell Scientology where to get off, and we’re grateful to R.M. Seibert for discovering these documents so that we even had the chance to learn their names.

Today, by the way, Lawrence Hoffheimer lives in Florida and raises money for research into Parkinson’s disease and macular degeneration.

Randy Levine, meanwhile, went on to a fascinating career in private practice and in government.

Today, he’s the president of the New York Yankees.

The Hoffheimer-Levine corre… by on Scribd

 
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HowdyCon 2019 in Los Angeles

This year’s HowdyCon is in Los Angeles. People tend to come in starting on Thursday, and that evening we will have a casual get-together at a watering hole. We have something in mind, but for now we’re not giving out information about it.

Friday night we will be having an event in a theater (like we did on Saturday night last year in Chicago). There will not be a charge to attend this event, but if you want to attend, you need to RSVP with your proprietor at tonyo94 AT gmail.

On Saturday, we are joining forces with Janis Gillham Grady, who is having a reunion in honor of the late Bill Franks. Originally, we thought this event might take place in Riverside, but instead it’s in the Los Angeles area. If you wish to attend the reunion, you will need to RSVP with Janis (janisgrady AT gmail), and there will be a small contribution she’s asking for in order to help cover her costs.

HOTEL: Janis tells us she’s worked out a deal with Hampton Inn and Suites, at 7501 North Glenoaks Blvd, Burbank, (818) 768-1106. We have a $159 nightly rate for June 19 to 22.

 
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Scientology’s celebrities, ‘Ideal Orgs,’ and more!

We’ve been building landing pages about David Miscavige’s favorite playthings, including celebrities and ‘Ideal Orgs,’ and we’re hoping you’ll join in and help us gather as much information as we can about them. Head on over and help us with links and photos and comments.

Scientology’s celebrities, from A to Z! Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!

Scientology’s ‘Ideal Orgs,’ from one end of the planet to the other! Help us build up pages about each these worldwide locations!

Scientology’s sneaky front groups, spreading the good news about L. Ron Hubbard while pretending to benefit society!

Scientology Lit: Books reviewed or excerpted in our weekly series. How many have you read?

 
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THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] Scientology TV goes live tomorrow at 8 pm Eastern on app, DirecTV
[TWO years ago] Scientology made Danny Masterson’s Victim B search past lives to explain being raped
[THREE years ago] Belgian judge throws entire case against Scientology out of court on technicality
[FOUR years ago] The ‘Going Clear’ screening in Austin, featuring Marty Rathbun and other familiar faces
[FIVE years ago] Judge in Laura DeCrescenzo’s case retires, Scientology objects to his replacement
[SIX years ago] LEAKED: Scripts Spell Out How Scientology Directs the Unsuspecting to Its Rehab Network
[SEVEN years ago] Scientology Sunday Funnies: Countdown to LRH’s Birthday!

 
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Posted by Tony Ortega on March 11, 2019 at 07:00

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The Best of the Underground Bunker, 1995-2018 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2018), The Village Voice (2008-2012), New Times Los Angeles (1999-2002) and the Phoenix New Times (1995-1999)

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