TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: Candace Owens has claimed one of Turning Point USA’s ‘bigger donors’ is a Scientologist. This excited some speculation from the media that she didn’t name names. But we do know about a couple of major Scientology donors funding TP USA because they haven’t been quiet about it. [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]
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Technology Cocktail
“It has been found that drugs can remain in the body after the effects have worn off. These drug residues can sometimes circulate through the system long after the person has taken the drug and make the person feel as though he were again ‘high.’ Drugs and other residues in the body, from our chemically oriented society, can prevent a person from realizing his full potential as a Spiritual Being through Scientology. Through a program known as the Purification Rundown, the restimulative effects of these drug residues and other harmful substances can be eliminated. The program consists of exercise, heavy sweating in a sauna, vitamins and other nutrients, good food and plenty of rest. The drug effects can be resolved through the exercise and sauna and the person’s system can be built back up by the vitamins and this can put him in a position where he can really make gains in auditing.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1980
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“[The] press and the public are interested in murder, assault, destruction, violence, sex and dishonesty in that order. Investigations which can uncover these factors in the activities of individuals of a group attacking Scientology are valuable in the degree that they contain a number of these factors. The more factors a case contains the more important the case is. The idea is that the press feeds on these factors and we feed them someone else’s. It will be found that our own Scientology groups contain so few of these they have to be invented about us. We need never invent them in the attacking group. They will be found to be there.” — L. Ron Hubbard, February 17, 1966
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“The Flag Admin Org has a deficiency in LINE CONSCIOUSNESS. Because a line is invisible, one overlooks their presence. It’s public lines and routing lines are very poor. Lack of signs and advices and flash colors obscure lines. The staff member has to know where to route the particles and bodies and signs and flash marked paths and signs have to exist. An engineer flash marking pipes would understand this. I recommend the whole FAO get genned in by Dave Murphy on pipe flows as a starter. That makes the idea visible.” — The Commodore, February 17, 1971
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“I entered this body when I was 4 and a half years old. This body was dying and the being inside it allowed me to enter it, because the entity wanted to leave. I was unaware of who I was for a long time. Many amazing things happened and I was able to awaken to who I am. I am one of the first new creations of new Orbs that are being created directly out of the static source in the future. I have never been in this universe before. I was sent from the future.”
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1997: Dave Touretzky reported a probable sighting of a Scientology private investigator at his home. Dave maintains the NOTS Scholar’s web site, which Scientology has threatened legal action against in the past few months. “On Friday Feb. 7, 1997, as I was leaving my apartment, I ran into the apartment complex’s maintenance man, Rich, who asked me if the ‘CMU investigator’ who was looking for me had managed to get hold of me. I asked him what he was referring to. It turns out that a few days before, Rich had spotted a suspicious-looking guy with an RCA camcorder filming the parking lot and my apartment building. The guy then went into my building and came out again. (I wasn’t home.) Rich asked him what he was doing, and the guy told him that he was an investigator for CMU (Carnegie Mellon University, my employer), and he wanted to speak with me. He asked Rich some questions about me, specifically, had they had any trouble with me such as wild parties or drugs. Rich figured I was being checked out for a job, so he gave the guy his own name and answered his questions as best he could. There was no dirt to tell; I’ve always had a good relationship with my landlord. The guy also said he’d heard that I was ‘a computer whiz,’ and asked about that, but Rich didn’t know anything about it. I informed CMU’s lawyer of these events. He was not amused to hear that a PI was running around claiming to work for the university. Perhaps OSA is planning a burglary. I am taking appropriate precautions.”
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“47x Shades of Cray: The Grant Cardone Story”
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Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker
Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Sentenced to 30 years to life on Sep 7, 2023. Appeal now fully briefed, waiting for 2nd Appellate District court to set a hearing date. Masterson has also submitted a habeas corpus petition.
— ‘Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’ (a/k/a Justin Craig), aggravated assault, plus drug charges: Grand jury indictments include charges from an assault while in custody. Pleaded guilty on Nov 10 to a 17-year prison sentence (eligible for parole in two to three more years). Awaiting transfer to state prison.
— Aaron Matthes charged for SA of child under 12 years old: OT Scientologist facing multiple mandatory life sentences. Next pretrial court hearing set for Feb 2.
Civil litigation:
— Leah Remini v. Scientology, alleging ‘Fair Game’ harassment and defamation: Some defamation claims were removed by Judge Hammock. Judge Hammock’s ruling is on appeal. Leah’s respondent’s brief is due February 11.
— Baxter, Baxter, and Paris v. Scientology, alleging labor trafficking: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ 15 days of arbitration completed, Val waiting for further word from the IJC.
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson. Judge Upindra Kalra’s ruling denying Scientology’s motion to strike is on appeal. Appeal fully briefed. Motion to replace Jane Does’ AI-tainted brief denied by court. Awaiting a court hearing date.
— Jane Doe 1 v. Scientology, David Miscavige, and Gavin Potter: Case unsealed and second amended complaint filed. Scientology moves for religious arbitration, gets ruling to depose Jane Doe 1. Trial has been set for January 10, 2028.
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Other links: The prosecution of Danny Masterson. Leah Remini’s Fair Game Podcast. Leah Remini’s A&E Series. Scientology’s Celebrities, from A to Z. Bryan Seymour’s suppressed series, Scientology Black Ops: Tom Cruise and dirty tricks. 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] RFK Jr.’s ties to Scientology’s sordid past, and his unity on its goals today
[TWO years ago] PODCAST: She spied on the FBI for Scientology and lived to tell about it
[THREE years ago] Danny Masterson retrial: No, the DA is not putting less focus on Scientology
[FOUR years ago] Shekter: The proposition that threatened to upend my Scientology billion-year commitment
[FIVE years ago] The FBI wants a word with Leigh Dundas, Scientologist attorney and Capitol rioter
[SIX years ago] DRONE FLYOVER: Another look at Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard’s final hiding place
[SEVEN years ago] Another Scientology monument to L. Ron Hubbard is going up in besieged Clearwater
[EIGHT years ago] Scientology set to turn Silicon Valley ‘Ideal!’ Here’s our first look from the grand opening
[NINE years ago] Scientology’s next move in forced-abortion lawsuit: Deposing defectors
[TEN years ago] When will academics acknowledge that the Scientology ‘apostate’ theory is finished?
[ELEVEN years ago] On the eve of the big Tampa hearing, the Garcias fire back at Scientology’s ‘bench memo’
[TWELVE years ago] NEW DATE: Celebration details of Los Angeles Scientology facilities leaked
[THIRTEEN years ago] Sunday Funnies: The Grant Cardone Is An Asshat Special Edition!
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Bernie Headley (1952-2019) did not see his daughter Stephanie in his final 5,667 days.
Joe Reaiche (1958-2024) did not see his daughter Alanna Masterson in his final 6,999 days.
Mike Rinder (1955-2025) did not see his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in his final 7,589 days.
Tammy Synovec has not seen her daughter Julia in 3,542 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 4,046 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 4,552 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 4,102 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 3,092 days.
Klaus Büchele has not seen his daughter Jasmin in 5,478 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,973 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 6,277 days.
Marc Headley has not seen his mother Trudy in 4,928 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 4,146 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,700 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 5,041 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,612 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 9,528 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,695 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 5,277 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 5,536 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 4,288 days.
Marie Poulin has not seen her mother June in 3,853 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 2,168 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 3,343 days.
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 5,025 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 5,362 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 10,215 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 5,331 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,693 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 4,104 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 4,492 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 4,376 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,940 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 4,452 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,712 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,816 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on February 17, 2026 at 07:00
E-mail tips to tonyo94 AT gmail DOT com or follow us on Twitter.
Our book with Paulette Cooper, Battlefield Scientology: Exposing L. Ron Hubbard’s dangerous ‘religion’ is on sale at Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats. Our book about Paulette, The Unbreakable Miss Lovely: How the Church of Scientology tried to destroy Paulette Cooper, is on sale at Amazon in paperback, Kindle, and audiobook versions. We’ve posted photographs of Paulette and scenes from her life at a separate location. Reader Sookie put together a complete index. More information can also be found at the book’s dedicated page.
The Best of the Underground Bunker, 1995-2024 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2024), The Village Voice (2008-2012), New Times Los Angeles (1999-2002) and the Phoenix New Times (1995-1999)
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Tony Ortega at The Daily Beast
