Twisted Truth

In recent months there have been some specific accusations publicly directed at Mike Rinder that for Never Ins are worth addressing for the sake of the truth.

@ultioetveritas was initially created in order to confront the various Fair Game lies that Scientology was promoting against Rinder, most especially in the form of the claims of domestic violence. Over time, this twitter account has evolved into something more, building upon the early foundations, becoming a source of information for Never Ins about the lies and abuses of this dangerous cult.

The original purpose, however, is never abandoned.

Information concerning the many tragedies past events surrounding Scientology is “old news” for many, if not most, of the ex Scientologists.

Over the years, Scientology’s policies of Fair Game and disconnection have left a veritable path of pain in its wake. Their desperation for acceptance and good PR coupled with the exhortation to keep Scientology working has resulted in despicable, sneaky and even potentially criminal actions.

All of this is familiar and resignedly accepted by former members.

For Never Ins these goings on are not so familiar.

Hearing about Lisa McPherson’s senseless and brutal death is shocking and unbelievable. Discovering the lengths COS went to in order to have Paulette Cooper framed seems equally preposterous.

Faced with events, names or mysteries from the past is often difficult for Never Ins who are already so confused by the chaos that is this cult.

Some, for whatever reason, use this confusion and lack of familiarity in the Never In community as fertile ground for sowing conspiracy, antipathy and suspicion where none of it belongs or is warranted.

Scientology thrives on discord. It embraces anger and division.

If even one person, faced with such manipulative disinformation, is led to become distrustful of those now spending their lives trying to help people still trapped within the abusive arms of Scientology then it is a win for OSA and this cannot go unchallenged.

Two accusations have been flung at Mike Rinder which, for the Never In community, need to be addressed.

The first is the attack that “Rinder is not to be trusted until he tells the truth about victimizing wogs. Which he has never done.”

One form or another of this denunciation has appeared and reappeared over the past few months, if not longer, on social media and frankly it sounds like it’s taken straight from an OSA policy binder.

It all boils down to an accusation that Mike Rinder knows more than he’s telling. There are some who believe that they are entitled to all information Mike may or may not have.

This claim is false.

Anyone who has watched The Aftermath knows full well that Mike admitted he was in charge of and responsible for Fair Game against enemies of Scientology.

He could not have been more clear than when he stated; “If the Church decided someone was an enemy and needed to be silenced or destroyed, it was my job and I did it. Everything from following them 24 hours a day to having people camped outside their door, to being vilified on the internet, to following them wherever they traveled, I was the guy [that did it].’”

He has also expressed shame and sorrow for his deeds.

More than that, the things he has done since he left the organization speak far louder than any words could to his intent to fight the abuses and correct the wrongs.

Rinder’s honest disclosure has not been limited to just The Aftermath, either. He has spoken of his OSA required duties on a number of different occasions.

September of 2010, the BBC with John Sweeney produced a follow up to their 2007 exposé on Scientology called The Secrets of Scientology.

During this show Mike gave Sweeney unprecedented, open, honest and candid insight into the realities not only of how Scientology operated, but more importantly how they dealt with those who got in the cult’s way.

Sweeney had experienced Fair Game in all it’s ugliness, yet in spite of the aggressive stalking by private investigators, Scientology brushed Sweeney off as being paranoid.

John Sweeney questioned Mike about it on camera.

Sweeney: “was I being paranoid?”

Rinder: “no. You were being followed.”

Sweeney: “we were being followed?”

Rinder: “yes”

Sweeney: “and who gave the orders to follow us?”

Rinder: “that would’ve come under my purview.”

Later in the interview Mike also admitted to following Sweeney to San Francisco.

Even this was not the limit to his admitting his part in the ugliness that is Scientology.

Keeping silence about his actions while in Scientology is not an allegation that can be cast at Mike Rinder.

He has fully embraced the realities of his position while in the COS, publicly issued a mea culpa and has been actively forced into doing penance ever since.

Something that is expected to come from Scientology. That it is also coming from those allegedly claiming to be fighting this cult is disappointing.

One cannot help but wonder where such power and authority to question and judge comes from.

This segues into the second issue that Never Ins need to understand; what, if anything, Mike Rinder had to do with the tragic death of Kyle Brennan.

On a personal note, I can identify somewhat with his mother. While I have not lost a child to suicide, both my younger brother and my step father shot and killed themselves so I do understand the additional burdens surrounding suicide. Especially when there are so many unanswered questions left behind. This too, I can empathize with because in the case of my brother, Scott, there were and still are some serious missing pieces. According to the investigating officer at the scene of Scott’s death the girlfriend who found him lying in the field behind her house told every officer she spoke to a different story about what happened. She claimed further that my brother, who never drank, was raging drunk that night, yet the autopsy clearly shows there was no alcohol in his system. Even more mysterious is how Scott ended up with his father’s handgun that night. I cannot understand how he could have been, as the witness says, so drunk he could hardly walk, yet somehow had the ability to drive 45 miles from his town to his father’s home, sneak into the house walking right past the couch where my mother slept, find the gun and the bullets then sneak back out and make the return trip.

As for my step father, he had suffered multiple strokes and was in the care of hospice. He was confined to his bed and he could not remember what day it was. Taken by his brother and sister in law to their home, a place he’d not been to before in a completely different State, he was still somehow able to get out of bed, find his brother’s gun and the bullets, load it and kill himself.

Only 3 days after signing a Will leaving everything to them.

Questions that make no sense and to which I will never get an answer for.

So yes, I understand some of the anger, confusion and feelings of injustice that Kyle’s bereaved mother endures.

This is not about Kyle or what happened that day in February 2007. There is nothing to be gained by rehashing any of those details here.

It is about another kind of justice, a different set of truths.

The allegation that Mike Rinder knows about this situation and is just not sharing his information.

Claiming this also means that Rinder would be guilty of purposefully denying a grieving mother closure and justice, something that is both patently untrue and cruelly unfair.

Scientology’s organizational structure runs on a need to know basis. Miscavige is so paranoid that he often even refers to himself in the third person in order to create plausible deniability and protect himself.

Rinder was on the Board of Directors of CSI, this is true. What is also true is that he was not privy to everything that went on around him. In spite of his position, Mike was answerable to four other people who he reported to; Miscavige, Rathbun, Warren McShane and Michael Sutter.

In his Texas declaration under oath in 2013 he describes how the group ran; “The ‘Case Officers’ (usually Neal O’Riley, Ben Shaw and Linda Hamel, all former Guardian Office members) who directed PI’s and other operatives reported only to me, and I forwarded it to Miscavige, Rathbun, McShane and Sutter. The information they collected and activities they directed were kept segregated from even others in OSA. This is pursuant to the written policy of the church on how to conduct covert investigations and operations. (Some operations were so sensitive that Rathbun or McShane went directly to the Case Officers and I was not informed about what they were doing)”

Not every member of OSA, or even those closest to Miscavige were privy to every bit of information about every situation happening.

More importantly is the timeline. This is crucial for Never Ins to know in order to be able to capably weigh the accusations being made.

Mike Rinder was in The Hole from 2004 to 2006, being allowed out on a few short occasions at Miscavige’s order for one mission or another.

In the latter part of 2006 he was sent by Miscavige with Tommy Davis to handle John Sweeney’s investigation of Scientology for the upcoming exposé for the BBC. Still in disgrace with Miscavige, Rinder was clearly told that he was to be Tommy Davis’ “servant”. Ultimately they ended up in London in 2007 because Miscavige was desperate to keep Sweeney away from John Travolta at a movie premiere for Wild Hogs with Time Allen and to somehow stop the documentary.

Rinder was sent from The Hole to London.

The Hole is on Gold Base near Hemet, California.

Kyle Brennan died in February of 2007 in Clearwater, Florida.

Mike was in such disgrace that he was under Tommy Davis for the Sweeney/BBC mission.

Mike Rinder blew from London in June of 2007.

He was not in Clearwater when Kyle died because he was either incarcerated in The Hole in Hemet, following and harassing John Sweeney under Tommy Davis during the journalist’s investigations in the U.S. or, finally in London.

If David Miscavige was furious enough to keep Rinder in The Hole only to let him out under threat of hard labor in Australia if he failed why on earth would he confide the details of Kyle’s death to him? Tommy Davis is out there somewhere, has anyone demanded answers from him?

Further, Mike has been candid about so many other serious, even potentially criminal activities. Why stop at this incident?

Why admit to so much then lie or deny the Brennan case? Rinder even admitted to his part in the Lisa McPherson case. If he knew anything about Kyle why would he lie about it now? What advantage would it have?

Finally and quite ironically, Mike addressed the idea of what he knows with one of the very people who are now persecuting him so unfairly.

Mike’s statement is straightforward, reasonable and clear.

“Realize that because I was the head of OSA (or WDC OSA) for many years doesn’t mean I knew about everything that happened in detail. In fact, because I was a SPOKESPERSON I was NOT privy to a lot of things. The ones that I did know about, like following John Sweeney I have talked about. The information about the activities against Tory and Chuck Beatty I have made known. But I cannot talk about what I don’t have specifics about.

Those who strive for information about Intel actions are going to have to wait for Warren McShane, Linda Hamel, Neil O’Riley, Doug Jacobsen, Ben Shaw, Charlie Earle and a few others to speak up. There is enormous compartmentalization in scientology, and especially in the intelligence activities.

I have testified plenty of times about the general policies and practices that are followed. I have made all the secret OSA policies and documents known many times.

Just cannot do everything people wish I could do.

I also extensively debriefed to the FBI and gave them thousands of documents. Everything I could provide and every detail I could possibly recall.

I do what I can do and devote a lot of time and effort to it. I am not half hearted about it and have talked about everything I can think to talk about and keep doing so.”

Truth is vital in this fight for the end of Scientology’s reign of abuse. There are times when things are not as they are made to appear. Sacrificing truth in the name of attention seeking and “Likes” is a sad reality and this too must be known and watched for.

The strides former members like Mike Rinder, Leah Remini and others have made are incredibly important and admirable when one remembers that these individuals are speaking out in the face of incredible odds. Scientology is a huge, multi million dollar conglomerate who practices hate and disconnection. Actively working to sabotage what progress they are attempting to make in light of this reality does nothing but aid Scientology.

That this is happening is an injustice and does a disservice to everyone who is involved in speaking out against a dark and dangerous cult. We do not all have to like all the players, we do not all have to agree or get along. But intentionally, publicly impugning someone with unfounded speculation is OSA level behavior.

The question one needs ask, is why?