Distinguished Scientology whistleblower Mike Rinder informed a New York jury Friday how the Million Greenback Child author emerged as one of many Church of Scientology’s top-three public enemies following his public defection in 2009.
Rinder testified Friday on the trial of director Paul Haggis, who’s on trial for allegedly sexually assaulting a publicist in 2013.
The Crash author—and fellow former Scientologist—who’s accused of raping and forcing oral intercourse on ex-publicist Haleigh Breest at his New York SoHo loft following a film premiere in 2013, has long-accused the church of fabricating the accusations in retaliation for publicly renouncing the controversial faith in 2009.
Rinder, 67, took the stand inside a New York State Supreme Court docket shortly earlier than 4 p.m. Friday and fielded quite a lot of questions from Haggis’ authorized workforce about his immersion into—and “escape”—from Scientology, in addition to a spread of controversial practices the church allegedly employs.
Rinder, who grew to become a Scientologist on the age of 5, and was a church member for 35 years, served as one of many high lieutenants to church chief David Miscavige, till his public exit in 2007. He served as Scientology’s worldwide spokesperson, head of its Workplace of Particular Affairs, and sat on the Board of Administrators of Church of Scientology Worldwide from its inception in 1983 till his departure in 2007. Rinder has since gone on to accomplice with fellow former Scientologist Leah Remini on the Emmy-winning A&E collection Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath. The pair are at present co-producing the podcast Scientology: Honest Recreation.
Haggis’ counsel questioned Rinder about varied Scientology insurance policies, together with “disconnection,” “auditing,” “suppressive individuals,” “crops” and “Honest Recreation” — the doctrine conceived by Scientology founder and science fiction author, L. Ron Hubbard, which dictates members retaliate by no matter means needed in opposition to enemies or critics of the church.
“Who would the Honest Recreation techniques be aimed toward?” Haggis’ lawyer, Seth Zuckerman requested.
“Anybody that was perceived as an enemy. In Scientology—the Scientology world—an enemy is somebody who’s doing insane issues that Scientology believes hinders their capacity to save lots of all of mankind. In order that may very well be somebody who leaves and speaks to the media, it may very well be a reporter, it may very well be the IRS, there was plenty of enemies in Scientology,” Rinder mentioned.
“By way of suppressive individuals, does Scientology have an inventory or rating of its greatest enemies?” Zuckerman requested Rinder.
“Informally,” Rinder said.
“And the casual enemies that you just’re conscious of, the place do you [stand]?”
“Primary or quantity two,” Rinder mentioned.
“Who else is within the top-three?” Zuckerman adopted up?
“Leah Remini and Paul Haggis,” Rinder said.
Rinder, testified he was concerned with “lots of” of Honest Recreation missions, wherein he together with different clergy members stalked, harassed, and intimidated “suppressive individuals” and different enemies of the church.
“It’s a coverage that was written by L. Ron Hubbard within the mid-sixties concerning the enemies of Scientology the place he mentioned they might be injured, have their property taken, lied, tricked, sued with no penalty for any Scientologist that engaged in these issues.”
Mike Rinder, proper, is seen leaving court docket with Paul Haggis, heart.
Dorian Geiger
Rinder additionally described on the witness stand how his whole household “disconnected” from him after he left the church roughly 15 years in the past.
“It’s referred to as disconnection,” Rinder defined. “My spouse and kids, my mom, my brother, my sister — everyone that I’d ever identified, I grew to become useless to them.”
Rinder testified he routinely used “crops,” or spies to affect and manipulate the church’s critics—whereas concurrently divulging how he, too, was routinely spied on, slandered and bodily attacked by clergy members after leaving the faith.
Following a 2007 incident, the place seven Scientology members allegedly attacked him in a car parking zone, Rinder informed the court docket that the church concocted an organized marketing campaign to smear him as a “spouse beater.” Rinder mentioned the church additionally ordered his daughter, who remains to be a Scientologist, to talk out about her father at #MeToo protests.
“We’re liars, we’re thieves, we’re criminals, we’re spouse beaters, no matter,” Rinder mentioned.
Rinder testified that he knew Haggis as a celeb determine contained in the Church who had achieved OT VII—or Working Thetan—standing, the best tier potential throughout the faith, noting the Church’s obsession with recruiting Hollywood stars.
“[Haggis] was a celeb,” Rinder mentioned. “Celebrities have nice standing inside Scientology, they’re handled as vital folks to get—[and] acquire credibility—for Scientology, to get new folks to be drawn to it and are available.”
Paul Haggis, who received Oscars for Greatest Image and Greatest Unique Screenplay for the film Crash.
Toni Anne Barson Archive
Rinder testified that he considers Haggis one the top-three public enemies of the Church, grouping himself and actress-turned-Scientology whistleblower Leah Remini, into the identical class.
Rinder, who mentioned he considers Haggis a good friend, additionally recalled the second he discovered the Canadian screenwriter publicly break up with the church in 2009.
“I used to be happy that he had seen the sunshine as I had seen the sunshine and I used to be additionally notably happy that he had the braveness of his convictions and that he spoke up about it,” Rinder mentioned.
Two years later, Rinder mentioned he felt “very comfortable” after studying The New Yorker’s groundbreaking 2011 expose, “The Apostate,” by Lawrence Wright, which dived into the Canadian screenwriter’s departure from the church.
“I used to be very comfortable that the larger image and the larger story that Paul was in search of to inform had been informed by Larry Wright,” Rinder informed the jury. “That was a primary. It was essentially the most in-depth, in depth interview-driven article that had ever been.”
Haggis’ legal professionals additionally confirmed the jury parts of The New Yorker article, wherein Haggis predicted the church would in some way search revenge in opposition to him, apparently suggesting Breest’s accusations have been a manifestation of hypothesis.
“These folks have lengthy reminiscences,” Haggis informed Wright in 2011. “My wager is that, inside two years, you’re going to learn one thing about me in a scandal that appears prefer it has nothing to do with the church.”
Rinder declined to touch upon the case as he left court docket Friday afternoon.
“No, I’m not going to make any feedback, sorry buddy,” Rinder informed The Day by day Beast earlier than entering into an elevator.
Court docket Hears Oscar-Winner Paul Haggis Used His Fame to Prey on Ladies
Rinder and Remini beforehand spoke out in protection of Haggis.
“We count on the subsequent ‘revelations’ about Paul Haggis on this marketing campaign to destroy him to be based mostly on info culled from his Scientology information within the type of extra ‘nameless’ accusers, hiding behind a lawyer who won’t ever must disclose who’s paying their invoice,” they mentioned in an announcement.
Remini, together with actress Susan Sarandon, are additionally rumored to probably testify at trial. Haggis is predicted to take the stand subsequent week, his legal professionals mentioned.
In September, Hon. Choose Sabrina Kraus dominated Haggis may argue that the Church of Scientology was behind the case. Haggis’ attorneys have argued the Church manufactured the allegations—and was bankrolling—the case in opposition to him.
Throughout her opening statements final week, Priya Chaudhry, one other lawyer representing Haggis, described the Church of Scientology as a “world-famous felony group.”
“We don’t must affirmatively show that Scientology is behind this as a result of we don’t have the burden of proof right here,” Chaudhry informed the jury final week. “However as you will notice, the circumstantial proof of Scientology’s involvement right here will likely be highly effective.”
Haggis has long-maintained the incident involving Breest was consensual.
Breest’s legal professionals, in the meantime, who assert that Haggis compelled Breest to carry out oral intercourse on him earlier than raping her in 2013, honed in on Rinder’s assertion in court docket that he “is aware of nothing,” of the incident, portray him as an unreliable witness who spent a long time mendacity on behalf of the Church of Scientology.
“Have you ever ever requested [Haggis] what occurred that evening?” Ilann Maazel, Breest’s lawyer, requested Rinder throughout cross-examination.
“No,” Rinder replied.
Paul Haggis’ Rape Accuser Tells Court docket ‘He Appeared Just like the Satan’
Breest’s workforce have characterised Haggis’ authorized technique involving Scientology as “nonsense.”
“[It’s] pathetic, absurd, ridiculous, embarrassing,” Breest’s lawyer Ilann Maazel informed The Day by day Beast outdoors court docket on Friday afternoon. “This whole Scientology concept is an effort to distract the jury from the precise case, the precise proof. This isn’t a case about Scientology. This can be a case about what Paul Haggis did to Haleigh Breest.”
The Church of Scientology has additionally denied accusations concerning their involvement within the case.
“The Church has nothing to do with the claims in opposition to Haggis nor does it have any relation to the attorneys behind the case of the accusers,” Karin Pouw, a spokesperson for the Church, informed The Day by day Beast in an announcement. “The Church has nothing to do with the claims in opposition to Haggis nor does it have any relation to his accusers.”
Trial proceedings are anticipated to renew Monday morning.
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