Why Danny Masterson’s attacks on Leah Remini aren’t helping him in court

 
For months Danny Masterson’s criminal defense attorney Tom Mesereau has been making boisterous speeches in court, complaining about press interest in the case that has the That ’70s Show actor facing 45 years to life in prison for violently raping three different women. Mesereau has repeatedly accused the prosecution and police of leaking information to the press, and has asked for judges to keep cameras out of the courtroom.

And that’s why it was particularly rich to see Mesereau playing to the press this week in a failed attempt to delay the case.

It sure looks like it was Mesereau or someone else in Masterson’s camp who fed a copy of their motion to delay the case to TMZ, an organization whose leader, Harvey Levin, is very tight with Mesereau.

That led to breathless coverage Tuesday in the Daily Mail, Daily News and others rewriting TMZ’s scoop, with none of them adding the detail that Mesereau’s blustery motion had actually been denied and that the preliminary hearing is still scheduled for May 18, something we reported that afternoon.

Yesterday, the Daily Mail followed up with some actual reporting from the hearing itself, and included some very interesting details gathered by writer Neil Blincow.

According to Blincow’s report, Mesereau accused Leah Remini of threatening the alleged victims that unless they made police reports against Masterson she would not include them on her A&E series, Scientology and the Aftermath.

But there’s a big problem with that accusation.

Although this case involves allegations by three different women who say they were raped in incidents between 2001 and 2003, the case itself is listed according to an alleged April 25, 2003 rape of the person we’ve been calling Victim B (“Jane Doe #1” in the separate civil lawsuit). Here, see for yourself…

 
Over the objections of the Church of Scientology, Victim B, who was a member of the church at that time, first went to the LAPD in June 2004, which is crucial to this case. And in 2004, we will remind you, Leah Remini was still a loyal Scientology member.

As for all three women coming forward and making new police reports in 2016, another of the alleged victims, Chrissie Carnell-Bixler, has said on the record that she filed her report with the LAPD before she ever spoke with Leah, and we believe, based on our sources, that the same is true for Victim C (“Jane Doe #2” in the civil suit).

Leah has publicly supported these women, and she did arrange for interviews with them on her television show, but only one of those interviews, with Carnell-Bixler, was aired. (Bobette Riales, the other alleged victim who appeared on the show, is not one of the three victims whose allegations resulted in criminal charges.)

Mesereau claimed that the women were offered “inducements” to report Masterson. Actually, in the civil lawsuit the women filed in 2019 they each allege that they have been subjected to years of harassment by Masterson and the church for coming forward. Inducements? They say they’ve been through hell for more than four years now, on top of their original victimizations.

Meanwhile, it’s kind of amazing to see that Mesereau is trying to make something of Victim B’s 2004 police file going missing. The file disappeared after Scientology had inundated the LAPD with affidavits calling Victim B a liar. If anything, the LAPD losing the entire file has long been a suspicious occurrence that points to cooperation between the LAPD and Scientology.

Fortunately, according to what Deputy DA Reinhold Mueller said in court Tuesday, it turns out that the DA’s office has their own copy of the 2004 file, which is likely going to be a big problem for Masterson. That Mesereau is now trying to turn that into a plus for Danny is sort of mind-boggling.

“Why was this case rejected?” Mesereau asked, but does he really want to know the answer? Because we have a feeling it has something to do with the LAPD’s cozy relationship to Scientology, not with Leah Remini’s much later defection from the church.

Of course there’s nothing wrong with Mesereau asking the court for more evidence in the DA’s possession or for reports to be unredacted, but Judge Charlaine Olmedo is clearly very familiar with the evidence in this case and with what the DA is required to turn over at this point.

And again, let’s be clear. Right now, the burden is on Mueller to convince Judge Olmedo at the preliminary hearing that a trial is justified, and based on testimony that we’re going to hear at the prelim.

While Mesereau’s complaints make for good tabloid fodder, they aren’t working in court, where a conscientious judge is keeping things focused on the matter at hand, and on a swift schedule.

It’s quite obvious what Mesereau was trying to do here. After the motion attacking Leah Remini was leaked, if the judge had granted a delay, it would have looked like those accusations had some weight.

Instead, Mesereau and his client are up against a judge who isn’t so easily snowed.

 
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Source Code

“We find our people, as we process them, further and further along on this curve of create, through survive, to destroy. And when we get well past survive, we get to an individual who can think in no terms but suicide. He tries to kill himself and those around him. He would not even dream of getting, you might say, out of the body. All he can think of is being in the body and destroying things. He has bought the physical universe. Well, we try to process this individual. We normally find him in sanitariums, and so forth, because he’s no longer able to promote the biological line; and we find his anxiety on the subject of sex very, very great, but it’s very destructive. It’s not the type of sexual activity that would lead to an unending stream of protoplasm. Quite on the contrary, it would be a type of sexual activity which said ‘The unending stream of protoplasm must now end,’ which is to say homosexuality, other misconducts. And we’d find him over on the physical universe side of the ledger over here. And he would be very involved with rocks and solid masses of various things. He’s really left the biological line.” — L. Ron Hubbard, April 22, 1954

 
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Avast, Ye Mateys

“The VIP Party was a huge success, Governor, Lord Mayor and all. Div VI must receive full cooperation on set ups and drills, however. We are at our best in Billing and Drilling. It’s been an awful long time since I heard the rush and pound of feet getting a drill drilled. Guest drill is just another drill. The Supercargo is reponsible for having a well drilled ship. The smartest ships ever were the heavily drilled Enchanter, Avon River and the pre-Melilla RSM! So WE DRILL 1700 to 1800 DAILY HEREAFTER, at sea or in port Supercargo and Ship LRH Comm Take note please.” — The Commodore, April 22, 1970

Overheard in the FreeZone

“Can there be more than one reincarnated or returnee LRH on Earth? Can there be several returnee LRHs on Earth and other returnee LRHs in other planets? Apparently yes, according to what LRH said in this taped lecture series, History of Man or Time Track of Theta tapes and in his books. In them LRH explains how it has been found that several theta lines merge to become one and later separate, how they become one individuality and later choose to become several. Also, in another taped lecture, LRH explains how thetans have three stages of track: the early track with thetans as spheres of light, next track as war of universes, and the final track with thetans trapped in meat bodies. In another line, there are accounts of ETs performing ‘soul merging’ operations with electronics means to merge an ‘out of body’ identity or thetan, with the thetan of another person with a body. This being described by abductee Dan Burisch. I say this to explain why we should not discard the Freezone story of Capt Bill Robertson stating that LRH at the moment of his death assumed the identity of Galactic Patrol Commander L Ron L. Ray and why we can also have the case of finding reincarnated or returnee LRHs on Earth, and even find LRH on the next Galaxy, Andromeda, where he said he would go after death.”

 
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Past is Prologue

1997: The New York Review of Books contains an article on Scientology and Germany. “The church’s propagandists point to a teacher in Lower Saxony who was allegedly dismissed because of her association and beliefs. Not quite. The teacher was transferred five times because she kept hawking material about ‘cleansing courses’ and Scientology brochures in the school. In other words, she had run afoul of well-established rules against merchandising and proselytizing of any kind — rules even a liberal American school board would enforce. In the end, the teacher was not fired, but removed from the classroom and given an office job in the Lower Saxony Ministry of Culture. There is no symmetry of political power between the Church of Scientology and the Federal Republic of Germany. One is rich, nasty, and vengeful — but still only a cult, whose leaders go to prison when found guilty of a crime. The other is a democratic nation of 80 million, respectable and respected, armed with all the power at the disposal of a state. If Scientology, or some other cult, illegally takes money from the faithful, terrorizes defectors, or breaks into government buildings, let the laws that protect the citizen and the state come into play. Let’s indict and convict, but let’s not smear and vilify those we despise, for those are tactics unworthy of a liberal polity.”

 
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Random Howdy

“At least two thirds of the people who showed up on the top five anti-Scientology vids on YouTube from 2008-2010 representing themselves as Scientologists were in fact FAKE. And I was usually the person who busted them.”

 
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Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker

Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Preliminary hearing set for May 18.
— Jay and Jeff Spina, Medicare fraud: Jay sentenced to 9 years in prison. Jeff’s sentencing to be scheduled.
— Hanan and Rizza Islam and other family members, Medi-Cal fraud: Trial scheduled for May 20 in Los Angeles
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud: Pretrial conference set for Apr 29.

Civil litigation:
— Luis and Rocio Garcia v. Scientology: Oral arguments were heard on July 30 at the Eleventh Circuit
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ Petition for writ of mandate denied Oct 22 by Cal 2nd Appellate District. Petition for review by state supreme court denied Dec 11.
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Dec 30, Judge Kleifield granted Scientology’s motions to compel arbitration. June 7: Status conference.
— Matt and Kathy Feschbach tax debt: Eleventh Circuit ruled on Sept 9 that Feshbachs can’t discharge IRS debt in bankruptcy. Dec 17: Feshbachs sign court judgment obliging them to pay entire $3.674 million tax debt, plus interest from Nov 19.
— Brian Statler Sr v. City of Inglewood: Second amended complaint filed, trial set for Nov 9, 2021.
— Author Steve Cannane defamation trial: Trial concluded, Cannane victorious, awarded court costs. Case appealed on Dec 24.

Concluded litigation:
— Dennis Nobbe, Medicare fraud, PPP loan fraud: Charged July 29. Bond revoked Sep 14. Nobbe dead, Sep 14.
— Jane Doe v. Scientology (in Miami): Jane Doe dismissed the lawsuit on May 15 after the Clearwater Police dropped their criminal investigation of her allegations.

 
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SCIENTOLOGY BLACK OPS: Tom Cruise and dirty tricks

The Australian Seven News network cancelled a 10-part investigation of Scientology and its history of dirty tricks. Read the transcripts of the episodes and judge for yourself why Tom Cruise and Tommy Davis might not have wanted viewers to see this hard-hitting series by journalist Bryan Seymour.

SCIENTOLOGY: FAIR GAME

After the success of their double-Emmy-winning, three-season A&E series ‘Scientology and the Aftermath,’ Leah Remini and Mike Rinder continue the conversation on their podcast, ‘Scientology: Fair Game.’ We’ve created a landing page where you can hear all of the episodes so far.

LEAH REMINI: SCIENTOLOGY AND THE AFTERMATH

An episode-by-episode guide to Leah Remini’s three-season, double-Emmy winning series that changed everything for Scientology watching. Originally aired from 2016 to 2019 on the A&E network, and now on Netflix.

SCIENTOLOGY’S CELEBRITIES, from A to Z

Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!

 
Other links: Scientology’s Ideal Orgs, from one end of the planet to the other. 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 a weekly series. How many have you read?

 
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THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] Even a pandemic can’t stop Scientology from tracking you down, apostate!
[TWO years ago] Where is Scientology dying most Ideally? Could it be our neighbor to the north?
[THREE years ago] Everything — even Scientology — is up to date in Kansas City, and here’s who’s responsible!
[FOUR years ago] Scientology denied twice in wrongful death lawsuit as parents grieve for Tabatha Fauteux
[FIVE years ago] Another depressing piece of evidence that Scientology advocates splitting apart families
[SIX years ago] Scientology: Making fools of your local elected lunkheads since 1952
[SEVEN years ago] The Garcias take one more shot at Scientology before their fraud suit will live or die
[EIGHT years ago] GARCIAS RESPOND TO SCIENTOLOGY: YOU’RE A BIG RIPOFF
[NINE years ago] Scientology Sunday Funnies: Jake and Elwood Want Your Cash!

 
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Posted by Tony Ortega on April 22, 2021 at 07:00

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