

We’re traveling again today and we don’t have time for a long story. And we also know that you’re probably sick of reading about Marty Rathbun. But we wanted to give Victoria Britton recognition for raising one of the best questions we’ve seen about Rathbun’s new tune.

Here’s what Victoria said at Facebook after watching Rathbun’s “Going Clear, Part 9” video:

I just finished watching the ninth video in Marty Rathbun’s series and I would appreciate any feedback to my query. In the video Rathbun claims that the harassment of Judge Ronald Swearinger who presided over the Wollersheim case did not occur. According to Marty this is because of the purging of the Guardians Office that occurred five years prior. He continues in saying (not verbatim) “measures were tight-you couldn’t get involved in a lawsuit without an okay from H.Q.-no one would do something as stupid as mess with a judge.” In November of 2012, Marty while “under oath” described in detail how he set up a meeting to influence a Hillsborough County judge in the Lisa McPherson case. If what Marty says in his video is truthful, did he commit perjury in 2012?

That’s an excellent question, Victoria. Let’s go to the tape.


First, here’s the relevant passage from Rathbun’s new video. After denying accusations that Scientology had harassed and tried to influence a Los Angeles Superior Court judge, Rathbun says…

This was five years after the purge of the Guardian’s Office. I mean, the prophylactic measures, and control measures that were put in on external activity were so tight, that you couldn’t cough if you were involved in anything having to do with an external situation like a lawsuit, without HQ OK. OK? The last thing in the world that anybody — I mean, people knew within an inch of their lives that they would be purged and expelled forever if they did something as stupid and corrupt as go mess with a judge.

Seems pretty categorical, and Marty is leaving himself very little wiggle room. He’s saying pretty plainly that after the early 1980s purge of the Guardian’s Office, the agency that replaced it, the Office of Special Affairs, knew that trying to mess with a judge was no longer what Scientology did.

But as Victoria points out, in 2012 Rathbun gave a deposition, under oath, and described things very differently. Rathbun’s deposition was taken by Tampa attorney Ken Dandar, who at that time was fighting some very bizarre litigation from the Church of Scientology. (Eventually, Dandar succeeded in having a million-dollar judgment against him wiped out, and his court fight with the church is over.)

What Dandar wanted to know, and what Rathbun was happy to testify to, was the amount of time and money that was spent by the church fighting against criminal and civil court cases growing out of the 1995 death of church member Lisa McPherson. Specifically, Dandar wanted to know if Scientology had tried to influence the judges handling the various cases.

“Absolutely,” Rathbun testified. Here, we’re going to post the entire exchange from the deposition so you can see it for yourself.







Gosh, that sure sounds like “messing with a judge,” Marty — and it was done at your direction.

So, Victoria Britton’s eagle eye sure has raised a question for Marty Rathbun: Is he lying now, or was he lying then?

And he should be really careful about how he answers that question. Because if he was lying then, he was under oath. And that’s actually a crime.



Meanwhile, as for changing his tune…







Marty, you’re making this too easy. Do you really have such little self-respect?

Oh, and one more question, Marty. Why did you give Dani Lemberger’s private email to the Church of Scientology to use against him in litigation? How about just answering that simple question?



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Chris Shelton on the materials of Scientology







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Bonus items from our tipsters

Come to the local org to watch video of David Miscavige talking for two hours to a bunch of wealthy big beings on a cruise ship somewhere! Isn’t Scientology fun?







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HOWDYCON ANNOUNCEMENT



Can you believe it? We’re just a week out from the start of HowdyCon 2017 in Denver. If you are planning to join us Saturday night for our main event, we need to have your RSVP and dinner payment as soon as possible. Make sure you have confirmed with Kim O’Brien, our coordinator, and visit our HowdyCon website where she has instructions for how you can pay for the dinner fee that night. You need to do that right away to make sure you’ll be included in the Saturday night festivities, which include:

— London-based Australian journalist Steve Cannane talking about his book Fair Game

— A spoken-word performance from former Sea Org official Claire Headley

— Cathy Schenkelberg performing for us scenes from her one-woman show, “Squeeze My Cans”

You don’t want to miss out, so please visit the convention page and get in contact with Kim.



HowdyCon 2017: Denver, June 23-25 at the Residence Inn Denver City Center. Go here to start making your plans.



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Posted by Tony Ortega on June 15, 2017 at 07:00

E-mail tips and story ideas to tonyo94 AT gmail DOT com or follow us on Twitter. We post behind-the-scenes updates at our Facebook author page. After every new story we send out an alert to our e-mail list and our FB page.

Our book, 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 about the book, and our 2015 book tour, can also be found at the book’s dedicated page.

The Best of the Underground Bunker, 1995-2016 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Undergound Bunker (2012-2016), The Village Voice (2008-2012), New Times Los Angeles (1999-2002) and the Phoenix New Times (1995-1999)

Learn about Scientology with our numerous series with experts…

BLOGGING DIANETICS: We read Scientology’s founding text cover to cover with the help of L.A. attorney and former church member Vance Woodward

UP THE BRIDGE: Claire Headley and Bruce Hines train us as Scientologists

GETTING OUR ETHICS IN: Jefferson Hawkins explains Scientology’s system of justice

SCIENTOLOGY MYTHBUSTING: Historian Jon Atack discusses key Scientology concepts

Other links: Shelly Miscavige, ten years gone | The Lisa McPherson story told in real time | The Cathriona White stories | The Leah Remini ‘Knowledge Reports’ | Hear audio of a Scientology excommunication | Scientology’s little day care of horrors | Whatever happened to Steve Fishman? | Felony charges for Scientology’s drug rehab scam | Why Scientology digs bomb-proof vaults in the desert | PZ Myers reads L. Ron Hubbard’s “A History of Man” | Scientology’s Master Spies | Scientology’s Private Dancer | The mystery of the richest Scientologist and his wayward sons | Scientology’s shocking mistreatment of the mentally ill | Scientology boasts about assistance from Google | The Underground Bunker’s Official Theme Song | The Underground Bunker FAQ

Our Guide to Alex Gibney’s film ‘Going Clear,’ and our pages about its principal figures…

Jason Beghe | Tom DeVocht | Sara Goldberg | Paul Haggis | Mark “Marty” Rathbun | Mike Rinder | Spanky Taylor | Hana Whitfield