Guardian Office
The Guardian Office (now the Office of Special Affairs) attempts to silence criticism of Scientology. It is also in charge of front groups like Narconon and Criminon.
More about Guardian Office
May 7, 1971: L. Ron Hubbard writes GO [Guardian Order] 070571 LRH "Secret: Notes on Smersh." (He took the word from the James Bond novels to refer to an international conspiracy that he believed was directing the attack on him.) An excerpt: "Penetration is always a win. We have made it in finding WHO attacks Scientology from where by doing what. This gives us an ever further penetration. We have found as well the EX intelligence officer mouth pieces [sic] in the UK that influence that government and push Nazi aims. We are getting even further penetration now into who is keeping this planet upset."
January 12, 1972: L. Ron Hubbard issues GO 111212, "Black Propaganda." It will later be cancelled and reissued as OSA Network Order 15 on February 18, 1988.
November 6, 1972: A Guardian's Office memo is sent to Mo Budlong, with a weekly update on the status of operations on several Scientology critics, including LRH's son Nibs, Paulette Cooper, Michael Sanders, and Judge J Skelly Wright. An excerpt: "SITUATION: Paulette Cooper continues as source of trouble for the church. WHY: Right pressure has not been brought to bear on her. ... HANDLING: Agent spoke to intelligence officer of IRS and gave him data on [Paulette's] father ... HANDLING: Agents took photographs October 25 of group including Kaufman, Cooper and Bernie Green, as they came from Channel 5 TV show in New York. Cooper ... screamed "he is one of them" ... and ... told agent "When the pictures come out in Freedom and so forth you'll be sued for invasion of privacy". Such a big effect for so little work. HANDLING: Handwriting analysis done on Cooper showing unfavorable characteristics. For use in future operation. HANDLING: Full up-to-date timetrack on Cooper sent to WW and CS-G."
April 20, 1973: L. Ron Hubbard writes Guardian Order 732, in which he devises the Snow White Program for Scientology's intelligence agency, the Guardian's Office (GO), in an effort to root out and remove "false files" about the Church and Hubbard held by governments around the world. This becomes a sophisticated worldwide espionage operation targetting 17 governments and three international organisations.
October 31, 1974: A telex is sent from Duke Snider to Michael Meisner inquiring whether an agent has successfully infiltrated the IRS yet.
December 4, 1974: Duke Snider sends Mo Budlong a telex informing him that Snider and his associates had received "two shipments from DC . . . about ten inches" thick containing documents which the defendants Mitchell Hermann, Gerald Wolfe, and Michael Meisner had stolen from the IRS.
January 9, 1975: Scientologist Mitchell Hermann writes a handwritten note stating "I attest that I have placed and am running an FSM at Silver [code name for the IRS] and am attaching the accompanying documents as evidence."
January 21, 1975: L. Ron Hubbard issues GO 111212, "Willful False Reports," in which he says, "The government could be willfully manufacturing false reports in order to get rid of somebody." It will later be cancelled and reissued as OSA Network Order 19 on February 18, 1988.
June 27, 1975: L. Ron Hubbard writes an order for the Guardian's Office. An excerpt: "Info must find the who back of these IRS attacks and document it for exposure plus all other items of interest. It could be IRS and the government is attacking any vocal group to pave the way for some coup by the government. Evidence as to the why of these attacks must be gotten, powerful enough to destroy the attackers when eventually used or revealed." Hubbard said that somewhere in IRS was "an insane individual with insane plans" who was operating a " false reports factory." He wanted that person found.
October 3, 1975: A Guardian's Office memo is sent to Richard Weigand requesting a compliance report on target 17 of GO 1361. (Target 17 directed the infiltration and theft of files relating to Scientology from the Tax Division or the United States Department of Justice in Washington, D.C.) Weigand added a handwritten note to the memo that target 17 "is almost done" in Washington DC, but that six more weeks would be needed to complete the target at the Justice Department in Los Angeles.
October 10, 1975: A Guardian's Office memo excerpts " IRS Intelligence Files - 1972-1974".
October 13, 1975: Henning Heldt sends a CSW (Completed Staff Work) to Jane Kember dealing with "the turnover of B-1 data from IRS LA, IRS DC, and Justice Dept. Tax Division to PR and legal to get the reports D/A'd (dead agented), and for attacking along PR and legal lines." He attaches a proposed GO 1361-1, listing additional goals, including placing additional Scientology agents in the Los Angeles and Washington DC "target areas" and preparing the stolen government documents for release to the press.
October 13, 1975: Michael Meisner writes a memo dealing with the transcript of an interview between former Scientologist Gene Allard and California Deputy Attorney General Lawrence Tapper. A copy of that transcript had been given to the IRS. Cindy Raymond later sends copies of this memo to other Guardian's Office officials. (Note that Scientology documents revealed a plot to frame Lawrence Tapper for getting a nun pregnant - one of Scientology's more bizarre attempts to smear a government official.)
October 21, 1975: Cindy Raymond sends a letter to various Guardian's Office officials, enclosing Michael Meisner's letter from the 13th (dealing with a transcript of an interview between Gene Allard and California Deputy Attorney General Lawrence Tapper) and also appending stolen government documents. Among the recipients: Michael Taylor, Henning Heldt, Richard Weigand, Gregory Willardson, Jane Kember, Mo Budlong, and Mary Sue Hubbard.
November 10, 1975: Henning Heldt writes a memo entitled "Re: China Shop: Clearwater Sun" about a Clearwater newspaper, which has been designated a target for attack due to its critical articles on Scientology. Scientology plans to take over the paper: "Our target on this, very confidentially, is ownership or control of the paper. So, as you know, the finance information on the paper, its debts, its income (and how it could be cut) are prime information needs. Also detailed info on the posts of the staff editors, etc."
December 4, 1975: A Scientology memo summarizes the contents of some "LA Intel Files," including information about Scientology links to the Process, references to the " Scientology murders" (Doreen Gaul and James Sharp, teenage Scientologists who were murdered, possibly by the Zodiac killer or someone associated with Charles Manson), an allusion to LRH being arrested in 1968 for counterfeiting, and FBI information on Scientology.
February 12, 1976: One week after Scientology threatened to sue the St. Petersburg Times for libel, Duke Snider, deputy deputy guardian U.S., writes Henning Heldt, deputy guardian U.S., that he had come up with an excellent defence should anyone accuse the church of trying to silence The Times. "There are 3 papers here, the CW Sun, St. Pete Times, Tampa Tribune," he said. "The CW Sun and St. Pete Times printed the most stuff. Tampa ran a lesser amount but still some entheta (translation: unfavorable publicity). "When we sent out the letters threatening libel we did not have time to get around to the Tribune, they had printed less, but still some entheta and we wanted to go over their articles more carefully." Just that day, he said, his office was preparing to send a letter to the Tribune threatening a suit, but then his plan came to mind. "So with the Tribune ( Tampa)," Snider said, "we do not threaten any action but just let PR (public relations) handle. As a defence we then point to them and say 'We didn't threaten them or try to shut them up, it's just those who are completely unreasonable or unfair and despite all our best efforts will not stop printing falsehoods that require us to take recourse to legal action'."
February 12, 1976: The Flag Collections Officer [possibly Molly Harlow?] writes a memo to Joe Lisa entitled "Re: Rumours." It discusses rumors the Scientologists were trying to plant at the Clearwater Sun and the Chamber of Commerce that L. Ron Hubbard was in Europe and had come to the US to relax, do photography, and record choirs - not to set up the fake United Churches front that Scientology was hiding behind.
February 21, 1976: Molly Harlow, collections officer for Flag, sends Joe Lisa a two-page report providing biographical background on Clearwater City Atty. Thomas Bustin.
February 21, 1976: A church document reports that Scientologist June Byrne, who had infiltrated the Clearwater Sun using the name June Phillips, "is being grooved in to be a reporter."
February 27, 1976: Joe Lisa, assistant guardian for information at Flag, writes Jimmy Mulligan, an aide to Mary Sue Hubbard, that "a letter is going out to the Sun (one of those 5 day warning letters). Basically they are going to be warned not to print anymore ... or else we will sue." He also says, "Yesterday we turned over to PR scandal material for a Br I PR (branch one) attack on the medicos in these here parts. I am also having some follow up on this and am drawing up a project to get a large scale attack going on nursing homes, medical centers, mental health and psychiatric clinics. I'll be sending a copy up lines as soon as I get that completed."
February 28, 1976: Mary Sue Hubbard writes her assessment of the Clearwater scene to Dick Weigand, deputy guardian for information, U.S. Of Mayor Cazares, she says: "He thought he had an excellent handle on us politically and was using it to gain PR for himself politically. He has nowhere to go except in the political arena. We were the football that blew up on him when we did not prove out to be tied to some gambling or other interests." She gives her assessments of reporters Snyder and Sableman and of The St. Petersburg Times. "Of all," she said, "I consider the SPT (Times) to be the most dangerous. Poynter obviously feels he owns this neck of the woods morally, spiritually, politically and otherwise." She was referring to Nelson Poynter, the Times' chairman of the board.
September 29, 1976: Deprogramming: Arizona Set-up - B-1 Missionaire's Report
Guardian Office in the News
| July 15, 2008 | SPY VS. SCI: The Latest Scientology Protest | Anonymous protests Scientology in Portland, Oregon to raise awareness about the dirty tricks of Scientology's Guardian Office and Scientology's criminal Snow White conspiracy. | |
| June 30, 2008 | Anti-Scientology Group On Attack | The anti-Scientology group known as Anonymous says its July 12 "Spy vs. Sci" plans to demonstrate in "cities all around the world." Anonymous members - who include former Scientologists - are focusing on alleged "abuses" of the church's intelligence agency, known as the Office of Special Affairs (OSA). The group charges that critics are "targeted, harassed, threatened and intimidated in an attempt to silence or punish them." | |
| December 20, 1984 | Police, Provincial Employees Included 19 People Charged In Scientology Case | Germany created a government office Wednesday to coordinate its fight against the Church of Scientology and to keep people who are affiliated with the group out of key public jobs. Federal and state governments will work together to try to keep companies and people with links to Scientology away from jobs involving teaching and counseling, Kohl said in a statement. The German government claims Scientology is largely a money-making organization - with some traits of organized crime - that seeks world domination. | |
| October 9, 1979 | 9 Scientologists OK Conviction So They Can Appeal | Nine leaders of the Church of Scientology, in a rare legal maneuver, have agreed to be found guilty by a federal judge on reduced charges of conspiracy and theft as an outgrowth of their long battle with the federal government over allegedly stolen U.S. documents. | |
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