PODCAST: Mark Bunker on Scientology’s sabotage of progress in Clearwater

Thanks to the intrepid work of Tampa Bay Times reporter Tracey McManus, we learned this past week that Scientology continues its old tricks in Clearwater, the Florida city whose downtown was taken over by the church in a surreptitious takeover 45 years ago.

The latest kerfuffle, which had yet another developer being chased out of town by Scientology’s style of intimidation, resulted in some fireworks at a public meeting, thanks to the one city councilman in that town paying attention.

So we thought we’d invite that city councilman on this program, not only because of the vital work he’s doing in Clearwater, but also because he happens to be an old friend.

We go way back with Mark Bunker, a/k/a ‘Wise Beard Man,’ and it was a treat to catch up with him and talk about the challenges still facing the people of Clearwater.

Today, we’re releasing the fourteenth episode of The Underground Bunker Podcast to our paid subscribers at Substack. You should receive it presently at your email inbox if you’re on the list.

Not a paid subscriber? Well, we have something for you, too. Last week’s episode was with Jesse Prince, who at one time was the third-highest-ranking official in Scientology, and later become one of its biggest headaches. In the weeks before, we talked to Paulette Cooper, Michelle ‘Emma’ Ryan, Jefferson Hawkins, Marc Headley, Patty Moher, Geoff Levin, Pete Griffiths, Sunny Pereira, Jeffrey Augustine, and Claire Headley.

Those first thirteen episodes are now free to all of our subscribers, paid and unpaid. All of our podcast episodes can be found here.

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Paul Haggis will be able to introduce his Scientology past at trial

Yesterday, Judge Sabrina Kraus ruled that Paul Haggis will be allowed to bring up his history as a high-profile Scientology defector when his trial against former publicist Haleigh Breest begins on October 11 in New York.

As you read here, Breest had asked that Haggis not be able to discuss his Scientology history or that he had predicted to New Yorker writer Lawrence Wright in 2011 that Scientology would find a way to ensnare him in a scandal after he became such a prominent and public critic of the church.

“The jury is entitled to be informed of any possible motive Plaintiff may have and about The Church’s efforts to discredit Haggis. Haggis should have the opportunity to present evidence will show that The Church was, in fact, seeking to embroil Haggis in ruinous, false allegations regarding women prior to Breest’s allegations here,” Judge Kraus ruled.

This should lead to some very interesting testimony in the trial from the Haggis legal team, as we spelled out previously.

Judge Kraus also ruled that Breest won’t be able to bring in evidence about Haggis’s arrest in Italy earlier this year, a case that rapidly fell apart. But Haggis won’t be able to bring in evidence about his financial situation. So Kraus gave both sides something, but the Scientology ruling does seem like a big one.

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Thank you for reading today’s story here at Substack. For the full picture of what’s happening today in the world of Scientology, please join the conversation at tonyortega.org, where we’ve been reporting daily on David Miscavige’s cabal since 2012. There you’ll find additional stories, and our popular regular daily features:

Source Code: Actual things founder L. Ron Hubbard said on this date in history

Avast, Ye Mateys: Snapshots from Scientology’s years at sea

Overheard in the Freezone: Indie Hubbardism, one thought at a time

Past is Prologue: From this week in history at alt.religion.scientology

Random Howdy: Your daily dose of the Captain

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