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Subject: [SIGNAL] Timeline of Scientology's Assault on the US Internal Revenue Service - C. Owen
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> From: Chris Owen (chriso@lutefisk.demon.co.uk)
> Subject: Timeline of Scientology versus the IRS


Here's an attempt at a comprehensive timeline of the long battle
between the Church of Scientology and the IRS, which has recently
culminated (?) in the leaking of the secret agreement which the two
made in 1993. Is there anything I've missed? (a racing certainty...)

    - Chris

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Timeline of Scientology versus the IRS

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

1950s

* Dec 1953 Church of Scientology, Church of American
Science and Church of Spiritual Engineering
incorporated in Elizabeth, New Jersey by L. Ron
Hubbard. Co-signatories were Mary Sue Hubbard,
L. Ron Hubbard Jr. and Henrietta Hubbard.

* 2 Jan 1957 The Internal Revenue Service grants a tax
exemption to the Church of Scientology of
California (CSC).


----------------------------------------------------------------------

1960s


* 18 July The Internal Revenue Service revokes CSC's
1967 tax-exempt status, citing three reasons:

o Scientology practitioners are profiting
from the "non-profit" Church;
o The Church's activities are commercial;
o The Church is serving the private interests
of L. Ron Hubbard (a practice known as
inurement).
Scientology denounces the revocation, declares
its intention to ignore the decision and
withholds payment of taxes for the next 26
years.

Ref: Church of Scientology of California vs IRS,
24 Sept 1984 judgement


----------------------------------------------------------------------

1970s


* 20 April L. Ron Hubbard devises the Snow White Program
1973 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.

Ref: Guardian Order 732, 20 April 1973

* Early 1974? Kenneth Urquhart, "LRH Communicator", overhears
L. Ron and Mary Sue Hubbard discussing
infiltrating the IRS in Washington, DC.

Ref: "A Piece of Blue Sky", Jon Atack (1992), p.
227

* Summer 1974 Cindy Raymond (Collections Officer in the US
Information Bureau of the GO) in Los Angeles,
California, sends a directive to Michael Meisner
(Assistant Guardian for Information, Washington,
DC) ordering him to recruit a loyal
Scientologist to be placed as a covert agent at
Internal Revenue Service in Washington, D.C. The
agent is to obtain employment with the Internal
Revenue Service for the purpose of taking from
that agency all documents which dealt with
Scientology, including those concerning pending
litigation initiated by Scientology against the
United States Government. A number of
Scientologists are interviewed as prospective
agents. However, none are found to be suitable.

Ref: Stipulation of Evidence, United States of
America vs Mary Sue Hubbard et al, Oct 1979, p. 18

* Sept 1974 Gerald Bennett Wolfe is selected by Raymond to
infiltrate the IRS on behalf of the Church of
Scientology.

Ref: Stipulation of Evidence, United States of
America vs Mary Sue Hubbard et al, Oct 1979, p. 18

* 21 Oct 1974 Jane Kember, the Guardian World Wide (based in
East Grinstead in England) issues Guardian Order
1361. Its "operating targets" include the
following:

10. Immediately get an agent into DC
IRS to obtain files on LRH,
Scientology, etc. in the Chief
Council's [sic] office, the Special
Services staff, the intelligence
division, Audit Division, and any
other areas.

16. Collect data on the Justice Dept.
Tax Division for the org board, the
current terminals, and the people
handling Scientology.

17. When the correct areas are
isolated, infiltrate and get the
files.

It also calls for the planting of "an agent,
trustworthy and well grooved in, to infiltrate
the IRS LA office" (target 2). That agent is "to
obtain any files on LRH, Scientology", etc. from
both the Intelligence Division (target 3) and
the Audit Division (target 4) of the Los Angeles
IRS Office. It also calls for the location
(target 20) and infiltration (target 22) of the
IRS office at the US Embassy in London, England
in order to "obtain all documents".

Ref: Stipulation of Evidence, United States of
America vs Mary Sue Hubbard et al, Oct 1979, pp.
19-21

* 1 Nov 1974 Mitchell Hermann, the GO's Information Branch I
Director, plants an radio transmitting bug in
the conference room of the IRS' Chief Counsel,
where a confidential meeting is to be held
concerning Scientology. The meeting is to
discuss pending legal actions involving the
various churches of Scientology and to establish
general guidelines for determination of what
constituted a "religious institution" entitled
to exemption from taxation under the Internal
Revenue Code. The entire meeting is recorded and
transcribed by GO agents in a car outside the
building.

Ref: Stipulation of Evidence, United States of
America vs Mary Sue Hubbard et al, Oct 1979, pp.
23-24

* 18 Nov 1974 Scientology agent Gerald Wolfe obtains
employment at the IRS as a clerk typist.

Ref: Stipulation of Evidence, United States of
America vs Mary Sue Hubbard et al, Oct 1979, p.
18

* 4 Dec 1974 Using fake passes, Hermann and Meisner illegally
enter the Exempt Organization Division of the
IRS and steal a file on Scientology, which they
describe in a telex as "two shipments from DC .
. . about ten inches" thick.

Ref: Stipulation of Evidence, United States of
America vs Mary Sue Hubbard et al, Oct 1979, p.
38

* around 30 Hermann orders Wolfe to obtain all documents
Dec 1974 related to Scientology from the IRS office of
Barbara Bird, an attorney in Refund Litigation
Service.

Ref: Stipulation of Evidence, United States of
America vs Mary Sue Hubbard et al, Oct 1979, p.
41

* Jan - July Wolfe steals thousands of documents, totalling
1975 some 10 feet in height, freom the offices of
Barbara Bird and Lewis Hubbard of the Chief
Counsel's Office and from the Chief Counsel's
file room, as well as from other offices within
the suite of offices comprising the Office of
the Chief Counsel.

Ref: Stipulation of Evidence, United States of
America vs Mary Sue Hubbard et al, Oct 1979, p.
53

* May 1975 "Project Horn" is devised by Greg Willardson
(Deputy Deputy Guardian for Information) and the
order to implement it given to Meisner. Its aim
is to "provide a cover for PR [Public Relations]
and legal for the way they obtained IRS docs."
This project further implements Guardian Order
1361, Target 6, which already provides for the
creation or a "suitable cover" to disguise the
true manner in which stolen documents have been
obtained from the IRS so that the Public
Relations Bureau can use them without fear of
being connected to the thefts.

Meisner is ordered to steal documents concerning
organizations other than Scientology. Thus,
whenever any stolen IRS documents are later
released, those other organizations will also be
perceived as having received them and their
publication will not point to the Church of
Scientology alone. Additionally, the project
orders the theft of IRS stationery so it might
be used by the GO to draft false letters from a
fictitious IRS employee disgruntled with the
organization. Wolfe is tasked with the actual
thefts and accomplishes them successfully.

Ref: Stipulation of Evidence, United States of
America vs Mary Sue Hubbard et al, Oct 1979, pp.
48-49

* 7 May 1975 Willardson requests the Guardian's Office
World-Wide to approve an additional expenditure
of funds for the excerption, xeroxing and
cross-filing of 15,000 documents stolen from the
IRS. This is so that Mary Sue Hubbard and other
senior GO personnel can be advised "as fast as
possible as to the IRS's intentions in regards
to the Church during the ongoing IRS tax
exemption negotiations." The letter adds that
"[t]his was a valuable action in that it
resulted in a more real estimate as to the IRS
scene than was visable [sic] from the Legal
viewpoint."

Ref: Stipulation of Evidence, United States of
America vs Mary Sue Hubbard et al, Oct 1979, pp.
55-56

* 27 May 1975 Mary Sue Hubbard writes a letter to her deputy,
Jane Kember, on Scientology's "IRS Strategy". It
states:

Our overall strategy with the IRS
shall be as follows:

1. To use any method at our disposal
to win the battle and gain our
non-profit status.
2. To buy all the time we can in terms
of years ... So we work to win, but
also to delay as time works on our
side, not theirs ...

Ref: Stipulation of Evidence, United States of
America vs Mary Sue Hubbard et al, Oct 1979, pp.
65-66

* 11 June The GO gets wind of a major financial audit to
1975 be made by the IRS of the Church of Scientology
of California. Accordingly, the GO decides to
obtain as much inside information as possible on
the IRS' "line of attack". Meisner devises
"Project Beetle Cleanup" for obtaining "all DC
IRS files on LRH, Scientology, etc., in the
Intelligence section, OIO [Office or
International Operations], and SSS [Special
Services Staff]".

The project proposes the placement of "FSMs"
(Field Staff members, or agents) in the
"required areas or good access developed", and
further that "Pitts" (the code name for Nancy
Douglass - a GO agent who had infiltrated the
Drug Enforcement Agency) and "Silver" (Wolfe)
attempt to obtain employment at the Internal
Revenue Service Intelligence Division and Office
of International Operations respectively.

Ref: Stipulation of Evidence, United States of
America vs Mary Sue Hubbard et al, Oct 1979,
pp.70-71

* July 1975 The Church of Scientology brings a Freedom of
Information Act suit against the IRS. Raymond
orders Meisner to obtain information from the
office of Charles Zuravin, the IRS attorney who
would be defending the FOI case. This
establishes a pattern: Scientology
systematically sues the IRS and other Federal
agencies, then penetrates the agencies'
attornies' offices to steal the papers which
Scientology was trying to access through FOI in
the first place.

Ref: "A Piece of Blue Sky", Jon Atack (1992), p.
233

* 5 Dec 1975 L. Ron Hubbard orders the Guardian's Office to
establish an "Early Warning System" to alert him
of any moves by US Federal and State authorities
against Hubbard personally. This is to be
achieved through the planting of agents in
dozens of different official bodies. The
Assistant Guardian for Information (i.e.
intelligence) in Washington, DC is ordered to
"Place a separate agent into the IRS Office of
International Organizations (OIO) (as this
office has a case preparation or investigative
action going on LRH personally for income tax
evasion or something similar)."

Ref: Guardian Order 158, 5 Dec 1975

* 3 March U.S. Directorate Secretary World-Wide Michael
1976 Taylor informs Greg Willardson, that the IRS
London targets have been "handled."

Ref: Stipulation of Evidence, United States of
America vs Mary Sue Hubbard et al, Oct 1979, p.
21

* 11 June Meisner and Wolfe are caught by the FBI after a
1976 security guard at the US Courthouse becomes
suspicious of their (forged) IRS credentials.
Meisner escapes and is hidden from the FBI by
the GO, but eventually turns himself in.

Ref: "A Piece of Blue Sky", Jon Atack (1992),
237

* June 1977 Wolfe is convicted of the forgery of credentials
and is sentenced to probation and community
service.

Ref: "A Piece of Blue Sky", Jon Atack (1992), p.
240

* 7 July 1977 The FBI raids Scientology's headquarters in
Washington, DC and Los Angeles. The GO is taken
by surprise and tens of thousands of
incriminating documents are seized, including
complete records of the infiltration and
burglary of the IRS and other government
departments.

Ref: Various, including Los Angeles Times and
other newspaper reports

* October Eleven Scientologists, including Mary Sue
1979 Hubbard, are convicted of conspiracy and
imprisoned for between two and six years. L. Ron
Hubbard goes into hiding in California and does
not reappear again until his death in January
1986.

Ref: Various, including Los Angeles Times and
other newspaper reports


----------------------------------------------------------------------

1980s


* 1 Nov 1980 The IRS places a lien on the Scientology's Los
Angeles headquarters, the Cedars of Lebanon
complex.

Ref: "A Piece of Blue Sky", Jon Atack (1992), p.
262

* Mid-Nov Scientology appeals against the IRS tax
1980 assessment for the years 1970-72.

Ref: "A Piece of Blue Sky", Jon Atack (1992), p.
262

* October The corporate structure of the Church of
1982 Scientology and associated entities undergoes
radical restructuring. At a Mission Holders'
Conference held in San Francisco, Warrant
Officer Lyman Spurlock is introduced as the
"Corporate Affairs Director of the Church".
Spurlock starts his speech by saying "Prior to
the end of 1981, a few of us from the CMO got
together and took a look at the corporate
structure of the Church with the view in mind of
making it more defensible and more regular and
particularly not understandable by the
traditional enemies of the Church such as the
IRS, and to make an overall improvement" [my
underlining]. The phrases in italics are omitted
in the transcript, but exist in the tape of the
Conference.

Ref: Tape recording of the Mission Holders'
Conference, San Francisco, 1982

* 24 Sept Scientology loses its appeal over the IRS tax
1984 assessment for the years 1970-72. The Tax Court
judge documents in detail how huge sums were
moved out of Scientology accounts into those of
L. Ron Hubbard during the period in question.
The judgement also describes the obstructionist
tactics used by Scientology to thwart the IRS -
for instance, deliberately jumbling two million
pages of tax-related material, so that IRS
officials would have to sort it out at the cost
of a great deal of time and US tax-payers'
money.

Ref: "A Piece of Blue Sky", Jon Atack (1992), p.
345

* Late 1984 The Church's new intelligence agency, the Office
of Special Affairs (which superceded the
discredited Guardian's Office), strikes back at
the IRS with the creation of a front group -
"The National Coalition of I.R.S.
Whistle-blowers". According to ex-OSA member
Stacy Young, Scientology's aim was to undermine
the agency's credibility. The group's president,
Paul J. DesFosses, says Scientology provided
substantial financing, but denies that the
church ran the group, which helped fuel
Congressional hearings in 1989 into accusations
of corruption at the I.R.S. Kendrick L. Moxon, a
longtime church lawyer, acknowledges that the
coalition was founded by Freedom Magazine. He
says its work was well known and part of a
campaign by Scientology and others to "reform"
the IRS.

Ref: New York Times, 9 March 1997

* Summer 1989 Scientology hires private investigators to
investigate the personal lives (and, as L. Ron
Hubbard's theories on "suppressives" would have
it, the "crimes") of senior IRS officials
involved in the ongoing Scientology litigation.
According to Octavio Pena, a private
investigator in Fort Lee, N.J., a Scientologist
identifying himself as Ben Shaw visits him in
the summer of 1989 to explain that the church
was concerned about IRS corruption and would pay
$1 million for Pena to investigate IRS
officials. Pena refuses.

Two more PIs, Michael L. Shomers and Thomas J.
Krywucki work for Scientology for at least 18
months in 1990 and 1991. Working from his
Maryland office, Shomers sets up a phony
operation, the Washington News Bureau, to pose
as a reporter and gather information about
church critics. He infiltrates IRS conferences
to gather information about officials who might
be skipping meetings, drinking too much or
having affairs. Scientology lawyer Kendrick
Moxon - one of those cited in the Snow White
scandal in 1979 - admits the use of private
investigators but claims that they are needed to
counter lies spread by "rogue government
agents".

Ref: New York Times, 9 March 1997


----------------------------------------------------------------------

1990s


* October Scientology leader David Miscavige and Marty
1991 Rathbun, another senior Scientology official,
claim to have held an unscheduled meeting with
IRS Commissioner, Fred T. Goldberg Jr. Miscavige
offers to drop all the suits against the IRS if
Scientology is given tax exemption. Goldberg
agrees and creates a special five-member working
group under Howard M. Schoenfeld to resolve the
dispute, bypassing the agency's exempt
organizations division, which normally handles
those matters - an exceptionally unusual
arrangement.

Ref: New York Times, 9 March 1997

* 19 Jan 1992 John E. Burke, the assistant commissioner for
exempt organizations, agrees to Scientology's
demand that its the bulk of its financial
details should be kept secret.

Ref: New York Times, 9 March 1997

* June 1992 The US Claims Court upholds the IRS'
longstanding denial of a tax exemption for
Scientology's Church of Spiritual Technology.
The ruling strongly supports the agency's
concerns over the commercial nature of
Scientology and other matters. It states that
the corporate structure of Scientology was
"something of a deceptus visus. Real control is
exercised less formally, but more tangibly,
through an unincorporated association, the Sea
Organization..."

Scientology claims that the ruling has ignored
the facts and is filled with "gratuitous
comments".

* 13 Aug 1993 The IRS agrees to grant tax exemptions to every
Scientology entity in the United States, plus
foreign entities based in the UK and Cyprus. The
Church files new applications for exemptions as
part of the agreement.

* 10-14 Sept Two IRS tax analysts write internal memoranda
1993 saying that they have been instructed to ignore
substantive issues in reviewing the new
Scientology applications.

Ref: New York Times, 9 March 1997

* 1 October The agreement comes into force. Scientology pays
1993 the IRS $12.5m in back taxes and drops all the
lawsuits brought by Church entities and
individual Scientologists against the IRS.

Ref: Closing agreement on final determination
covering specific matters, 1 Oct 1993

* 8 October David Miscavige holds a "victory rally" attended
1993 by 10,000 cheering Scientologists in the Los
Angeles Sports Arena. He declares that "the war
is over" and explains that he has defeated the
secret "master plan" of the psychiatrists - or
rather, the "pea-brained psych-indoctrinated
mental midgets" - namely, to use the IRS to
destroy Scientology.

Ref: Speech of David Miscavige to the
International Association of Scientologists, 8
Oct 1993

* 15 October In Washington DC, the IRS formally announces
1993 exemptions for about 150 Scientology entities.
Remarkably, this includes at least one body
which is an explicitly for-profit commercial
organisation: the IRS accepts that the
publication of Hubbard books by Bridge
Publications is a charitable activity. The IRS
declares the agreement secret, despite its legal
obligation under Internal Revenue Code section
6104 to disclose information submitted to the
IRS by tax-exempt organizations.

Ref: Closing agreement on final determination
covering specific matters, 1 Oct 1993

* 10 Nov 1993 The consumer affairs group Tax Analysts submits
a Freedom of Information request to obtain the
exemption agreement.

Ref: Tax Analysts press release, 26 June 1995

* 7 Feb 1994 The IRS refuses the FOI request, and Tax
Analysts files suit.

Ref: Tax Analysts press release, 26 June 1995

* 15 March The U.S. District Court for the District of
1996 Columbia orders the IRS to release to Tax
Analysts field service advice memorandums (FSAs)
prepared by the IRS Office of Chief Counsel.

Ref: Tax Analysts press release, 21 Mar 1996

* 30 Dec 1997 The secret agreement is leaked to the Wall
Street Journal, which promptly puts it on its
Web site and leads with a front-page story.
Newspapers across the United States report the
story.

Ref: Wall Street Journal, 30 Dec 1997

* 31 Dec 1997 The IRS announces that it is to hold an internal
inquiry into how the agreement was leaked. The
Church of Scientology denounces the leak.
Scientologists accuse unnamed participants in
the Internet newsgroup alt.religion.scientology
of being involved.

Ref: IRS press release, 1 Jan 1998,
alt.religion.scientology