Tony Ortega’s charge, that the Church of Scientology has so much political power that it can shut down a FBI probe into human trafficking at its international headquarters, is quite a claim.
It’s a claim that Ortega makes over and over, and it gets repeated by his followers over and over, as well.
But I don’t think any of Ortega’s followers are really thinking about this claim of his, and what it actually requires in reality if it is true.
As a “datum of comparable magnitude” at a critical time during the 2016 presidential election, FBI director James Comey wrote a letter to the press that Hillary Clinton says contributed to her loss of the election. If the FBI was a law enforcement agency that ran and hid itself from anyone with political power, how could this have happened?
Does the Church of Scientology have more political power than Hillary Clinton?
What Tony Ortega is not showing his followers in his atheist-inspired daily biased broadsides against Scientology, is the every day real world life of a federal prosecutor. Or any prosecutor, in fact.
Prosecutors have a fundamental ethical responsibility to NOT prosecute a case which they believe has too little evidence to gain a conviction. There are many reasons for this, and it is a daily reality of their jobs. It is a fundamental consideration in deciding which cases they will prosecute, and which cases they will not prosecute.
Hillary Clinton is another instructive example here. When the FBI released the findings of their investigation into Hillary Clinton’s home-brew email server as Secretary of State, they showed that the best they could charge her with was a misdemeanor, and even that had too little evidence to gain a conviction. So they ended their investigation and did not charge her with a crime.
Yet no nowhere in Tony Ortega’s article does he even mention this fundamental dynamic in law enforcement investigations which lead to criminal charges being filed. Instead, he uses these documents as PROOF that Scientology is engaged in criminal activity and the Church of Scientology is so politically powerful that the FBI is simply afraid to prosecute them.
In fact in NONE of his articles has he deigned to acknowledge that the most likely reason the FBI dropped their 2009-2010 investigation of human trafficking by the Church of Scientology was that there were a lot of accusations but too little proof to prosecute.
What Tony Ortega will never tell his followers is that the evidence that RadarOnline uncovered from the FBI probes acts as a vindication that the behavior reported by these Ex-Sea Org members does not rise to the level of criminal activity. And the fact that no charges were filed acts as evidence that the Church, no matter how immoral and reprehensible, is not breaking the law.
That’s also a possibility for what we are seeing here, and a much more likely one than Tony Ortega is passing off on you.
And I know that it is the height of heresy for me to bring this up. But a little heresy never hurt anyone – especially if you really want to see justice accomplished with Scientology.
Remember, following a leader with out questioning him is a mistake.
It was a mistake to do it with L Ron Hubbard and it is a mistake to do it now, too.
Marsha, Marsha, Marsha! How the hell are ‘ya, Alonzo? Just dropped in to see what condition my condition was in. God I’m ancient. I know you know that your methods of “enlightenment” are repugnant to many, but I do understand what you try and say now and then in between the spikes and brimstone. Of course, as you know, you are evil incarnate and by my even conversing here, it will be assumed I am infected. Sigh. Fortunately, I have real world problems to wrestle to the ground these days, like healthcare zombies.
Anyway, just wanted u to know that everything America is on a budget, including FBI, so there’s that. Billionaires get by with murder all the time, so really, let’s get real here. The Holes Still Exist, and yes, Sea Org is one thing. But then, on my first intro courses in St Louis as newbie, got pains, got an assist. Pains went away, went home. Later, the ambulance got me to the hospital within 2 minutes of dying per the doctor. I still encourage anyone to get an up to date education and science about the brain so they can effectively help with the rest. There is scientific new evidence that when you repeat Q’s over and over the brain creates new physical pathways and new, false memories. Lots of new stuff out there. It’s actually very exciting, explains a lot of what happens to you in auditing or ethics and why new, diff methods are needed. Science doesn’t make anyone/thing wrong. Just better.
So, I have medical record evidence that whether it’s the most benign, simply intro elements all the way to the dystopia world of Sea Org, practicing medicine without a license is a reality in Scn. I advocate for education instead of ridicule, although I did know a scientist once who made a joke. I’ve recently invited Scientology celebs to stand with Leah Remini to end the abuses. Nothing else, Just help end the abuses. They exist, Alonzo. I got xrays, man! 🙂 Listen in and see if you think I am fake news. Stay strong, but kind. https://youtu.be/vr3ej6NdnRQ
Respect
It’s nice to know that at least one hole still exists. Okay, that sounds so very very wrong!! It’s nice to see YOU! How’s that? 😀
I see you deleted koki post and your response.
Yes I did. I have finally spotted what this is I have continued to bump into now since joining ESMB in 2007.
That was my first entry into the Anti-Cult Movement. I, of course did not know that because it was called “Ex-Scientology.”
For the 7 years I was on the Internet exposing Scientology, prior to ESMB, I was pretty much on my own. It was ESMB where I joined a group of others. And with it came all these attacks and handlings and ideological fighting.
I thought I was just part of a group of free thinkers deconstructing and exposing Scientology and exploring new things after it. But no, most people are pushing the Anti-cult ideology and that’s what I could never fit into.
So many Exes and critics never fit into that ideology. And they all got banned and discredited. Dennis Ehrlich, Gerry Amrstrong, Marty Rathbun – lots and lots of them. (isn’t that ironic that those guys can be grouped that way?)
So what if they have a different idea than the rest of anybody else?
The ideology is so what. They need to see things exactly per the ideology.
And if they don’t they’re OUT.
And they’re INSANE or a TROLL or whatever ideological label that can be used to pre-discredit whatever they have to say (just like “SP” or “Jew” or “psych”)
So yeah. Off topic personal attacks like Koki’s which are coming straight from the flying monkey tower which enforces the ideology and punishes anyone not under its control??
Not going to give them even a second of consideration from now on. It is not a matter of challenging the logic of anything. It is a matter of AGREE WITH OUR IDEOLOGY OR YOU WILL BE BANNED AND DISCREDITED.
I am fully done with that, and I am done with anyone who pushes that on me ever again – especially on my own blog.
Why Gib?
You gotta problem with that? 🙂
/end of extremely satisfying rant.
Alanzo
I promise I’m not a flying monkey. More like a munchkin, if anything. I’m not a scientologist, or ex or any of the other sub categories. I got interested in it after Aftermath popped up in my FB newsfeed. I ordered Leah’s book, then ordered several more. I occasionally post on Mr. Rinders blog, but I’m guessing there aren’t many Indies there.
I just have questions. Mainly because I am a domestic violence survivor (cult of 2), and I know how long it took me to dispel the mindbend one sorryman worked on me. But that’s nothing compared to an entire organisation.
I agree with you, that surviving a cult makes you stronger. For years, I refused to admit I had any trauma, because I would not give that to Mr Sorry. It’s several years later, and I’m coming to terms with it.
Thats alot of 411, sorry! Have a good night!
Welcome, Tanchi!
You know there is an ideological stance that if you have been in a cult then you must have been damaged by it. Over time, with that suggestion being repeated over and over in many different ways, I think that a person can become convinced that he is damaged when he really wasn’t. It’s a similar type of operation that LRH played when he said that there’s this thing called a reactive mind and you have one. And so now you need to pay me to get rid of it.
I have a friend who was an Olympic gymnast. He makes the point to me that the team he was on ran like a cult. They had almost complete control over him and every aspect of his life. The coaching was vicious. He was not allowed to have any other pursuits in his life. And the rest of the team members used all kinds of socially coercive techniques to keep him and everyone else in line, including physical violence.
He was the number 1 qualifier for the US Olympic gymnastics team in 1988, and he got 16th in the world in Seoul, Korea. No other US gymnast beat him that year.
Was he damaged by that?
Does he believe he was damaged? If so, did he repair the damage?
He does not believe that he was damaged, by competing at Olympic level gymnastics, or by Scientology. To this day he continues to credit his use of Scientology for getting to the Olympics.
And he usually uses his experiences on the gymnastics team to make the point that, just like Olympic-level athletics, Scientology is not for everyone.
I’ve written a little bit about him. I’ll probably be writing ore about him in the future.
All we know for certain is that:
1) At one time, the FBI actively investigated CoS for potential human rights violations.
2) That investigation did not result in criminal charges.
Maybe further documentation will shed light on why #2 occurred.
It could very well be that a prosecutor did not feel the case was winable. Happens all the time.
For every disgruntled ex-Sea Org member, the church could probably produce an ex-SO member who did not feel they were abused. Add to the mix First Ammendment protections…you get the idea.
This is a type of case that could make or break a prosecutor’s career. You don’t take on CoS unless you have a solid, winable case against them.
Do I “feel” the church has committed human rights abuses? Sure. But, if we ran our justice system based on feelings we’d all be screwed.
Regardless if the church is guilty or innocent, the release of these documents will still have a damaging effect on the church – crimes or no crimes.
The court of public opinion is 90% feeling, 10% evidence.
There are some serious and well documented accusations in affidavits and testimonies. Names, dates, places. There’s inward facing spikes at the fence in Hemet. There are witnesses.
Yes, there are. There is overwhelming evidence that these things happened. No one is denying that they happened, and that they are very immoral & reprehensible.
The questions is – are these acts ILLEGAL?
The answer to this question is important.
If these acts are not illegal, and do not rise to any prosecutable crimes, then all attempts to get government and law enforcement to intervene will be wasted efforts.
And if you look at all the hueing and crying over the last two decades – which have produced no criminal charges in the US – shouldn’t that hueing and crying be spent in other areas which might be more productive?
And here I’m not suggesting that everyone just give up and go home and let the CofS abuse their people all they want.
I’m saying – if these acts are legal, or very unlikely to ever be prosecuted, then what about supporting, and not ridiculing, the Indies? They could be a very strong and constant force against DM’s bloodlust.
There are other solutions which might arise if we all grow up and realize that much of what the Church of Scientology does is legal and they have every right to do it under the law.
Didn’t the article emphasize the COS denying there was an investigation?
Well, one thing I have observed- CofS seems to have almost uncanny luck with the judiciary as witness the Headleys’ suits. “It’s a religion” then they find against the plaintiffs. Thing is, kidnapping, coercion and slavery are illegal for everyone, church or not.
So when I read a supposition like Tony’s, I’m open to it.
Totally. Tony’s is one hypothesis for what we are seeing here which has a certain level of likelihood of being true.
There are others, as well. Including ones that do not require conspiracy theory thinking, like “Federal prosecutors are all being intimidated by the Church of Scientology into not bringing charges against them.”
You have to keep in mind many different possible answers for what we are seeing with Scientology – not just one – like Tony Ortega’s little hobby horse here.
It is much more likely that the investigation simply did not produce the evidence necessary to produce a charge, and gain a conviction. And if that’s the case, it should be discussed. Why? Because that produces a view of REALITY that will produce a new way forward in eradicating the abuses in Scientology.
If the abuses in Scientology which we all hate are LEGAL, then continually trying to get government or law enforcement to do something about them will produce little or no effect. As we have seen for the last many decades (except for 1 successful conviction for fraud in France).
Remember the teaching in Sun Tzu: Get your enemy to attack your strongest defenses, and distract him from attacking your weakest ones.