• The FBI protects Superman's secret identity from FOIA

    The FBI protects Superman’s secret identity from FOIA

    Included in the most recent batch of Federal Bureau of Investigation records regarding the Church of Scientology is the script for a play written by COS’s Ministry of Public Relations in order to counter the “inflammatory statements” being made by a “dissident church member.” Making light of what they call the “comic book flair” of the rogue ex-Scientologist’s claims, the play consists of an interview between him and “the greatest reporter of them all,” Superman’s alter-ego, Clark Kent - whose secret identity is safe, thanks to the Bureau’s redaction.

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  • A tip about Scientology infiltrators led DEA to change their hiring practices

    A tip about Scientology infiltrators led DEA to change their hiring practices

    A newly released Federal Bureau of Investigation memo shows that the exposure of Scientology’s “Operation Snow White” and the resulting 1979 convictions didn’t end government concerns about Scientology infiltrators.

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  • FBI teletype reveals a brief counterintelligence investigation into Scientology

    FBI teletype reveals a brief counterintelligence investigation into Scientology

    A recently released Federal Bureau of Investigation file from 1996 on the Church of Scientology shows that more than twenty years before Central Intelligence Agency accused WikiLeaks of being a “non-state hostile intelligence service,” the Federal Bureau of Investigation received an official inquiry asking if the COS was one. The inquiry resulted in the FBI Director sending a priority teletype to the Washington and Los Angeles field offices, as well as CCing the Bangkok Legat that had passed on the inquiry.

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  • In the early '90s, Scientology tried to dictate to the FBI what information could be released about them through FOIA

    In the early ‘90s, Scientology tried to dictate to the FBI what information could be released about them through FOIA

    A recent Federal Bureau of Investigation FOIA release prompted by the author’s lawsuit, shows that between 1990 and 1994, the President of the Church of Scientology International sent the FBI a series of letters instructing the Bureau on what records Scientology felt the FBI was entitled to keep or to release through FOIA.

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  • What L. Ron Hubbard’s son said about Scientology and the KGB

    What L. Ron Hubbard’s son said about Scientology and the KGB

    A recent FBI FOIA release prompted by the author’s lawsuit shows that in early 1985, L. Ron Hubbard’s son Ronald DeWolf wrote the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation Division a letter detailing a number of accusations - including Scientology’s alleged, and unsubstantiated, KGB connection, and that his father had once asked him to steal a hydrogen bomb.

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  • Recently released FBI files show L. Ron Hubbard offering to inform on his own organization

    Recently released FBI files show L. Ron Hubbard offering to inform on his own organization

    Recently released Federal Bureau of Investigation files show that just over a year after L. Ron Hubbard created the the Hubbard Dianetic Research Foundation, a precursor to the Church of Scientology, he offered to become an informant for the Bureau, and provide the FBI with a list of its members and copies of their fingerprints.

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  • Learn how to crowdfund your request on MuckRock from the pros

    Learn how to crowdfund your request on MuckRock from the pros

    Never before has it been so easy to engage others in your open government cause. Thinking of starting your own public records campaign? Already submitted a request, only to be thwarted by fees? We chatted with three MuckRock users who have had crowdfunding success to hear their tips for getting over crowdfunding anxieties, getting the word out, and, ultimately, getting records.

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  • While hunting Soviet spy, FBI feared angering Scientologists

    While hunting Soviet spy, FBI feared angering Scientologists

    A Priority Teletype from the FBI’s Legat in London to the Director outlined an interesting opportunity - the Bureau had been asked to help with a case involving Stig Bergling, a Swede who had apparently been spying for the Soviets, and a woman in the Tampa area might have information as to his whereabouts. There was just one snag - they were afraid it might lead to a confrontation with the Church of Scientology.

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  • Death at a Scientology-backed drug rehab center

    Death at a Scientology-backed drug rehab center

    Narconon is a Scientology-affiliated drug rehab program with multiple US and international locations, known for using unorthodox, non-medicinal detox methods. While the program insists that its treatment methods are sound and that it does not preach Scientology, law enforcement records concerning a facility in Oklahoma - which includes reports of three deaths - speaks to their opponent’s concerns.

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