Scientology Lies

Scientology officials visit the North Carolina offices of the company that owns the Clearwater Sun newspaper. Scientology had planted an infiltrator at the Sun, and she had uncovered an investigative report the Sun was planning. The purpose of the visit, a church document states, was "to halt the CW Sun publication by bypassing up the Org (organization) board to the very top ... meeting with officials there and obtaining their aid in stopping the CW Sun, which they own, from printing a booklet on Scientology." The church team met with Howard Holderness, chairman of the corporation, and later with their associate general counsel, Robert H. Koonts. Steve Heard, director of Branch I public relations for Flag, wrote Fred Rock, assistant guardian for public relations for Flag, that the team gave Koonts a copy of what the Sun had written and told him the church was not anxious to sue. [Editor's note: They had a copy of the story already!] According to Heard's report, the company's attorney "... again brought up such things as handling the 'direction of the Sun' re Scientology and added for us not to worry about the booklet." Heard concluded: "It appears that he will stop the Sun from putting out the booklet."