Basic HTML Version
PASTOR GENERAL'S REPORT, February 22, 1980
Page 5
"So they're nice little issues for the lawyers to fool around with, and
we will exhaust every possibility [to prevent the Attorney General from
receiving those papers]. What I don't want to happen, frankly, is this:
when and if any of those papers are released, some of my friends out there
will say, 'Aha, Mr. Rader wanted those papers to be released. He's always
wanted to tell everybody the whole story.' That's what you'll hear from
some quarters.
"But let's remember now that we've fought for well over a year to keep
those papers private. At least everybody in this auditorium today ought
to remember it. We've done everything we could for 14 months to protect
the privacy of this church, to protect the privacy of the people who have
been involved in the Church. And although I, for example, have been some
what in a 'Catch-22' situation, where you're damned if you do and damned
if you don't, let's all remember and not let anybody twist you around on
that score.
"We have had the finest lawyers in the country trying to keep the privacy
of this church intact. If any of it comes out, just remember I didn't let
it out. That I did not throw that first stone. Do you all understand
that? I did not throw it.
I did everything I could to prevent anybody
from throwing it, as has Mr. Armstrong, as has Mr. Helge and everybody
else involved in the action to thwart the State from destroying our pri
vacy."
State's Futile Quest for Wrongdoing
Mr. Rader put these comments into perspective with the following reminder:
11
The State got itself into a lawsu�t and if you read carefully all of the
documents that are part of the public record prepared by the State, you
will see the State has said 'Well, we don't know of any wrong; we've only
been told there is some wrong. And acting upon what we have been told,
we started this whole thing and now we're still trying to find some evi
dence of wrongdoing.'
"That's really what this case has been about. Moving on what is called,
in lawyers' language, 'information and belief,' which are just lawyers'
words for rumor and gossip... They filed a lawsuit based upon that. Ever
since that time they've had a tiger by the tail!
"We are the ones who have had control of the record base, the Church
itself, and the record base was never in the administration building
which they raided that day with detectives and armed guards, finqer
printing experts, [even] probing into the ceiling for gold bullion! I
mean think about it; the whole thing is just absurd--just ridiculous� In
other words, if it hadn't happened and I told you it were to happen, you
wouldn't believe it. You'd laugh. Anyone would laugh if it weren't such
a serious thing."
U.S. Justice Department Viewed Documentary
The U.S. Justice Department is taking our case seriously. Mr. Rader
answered in the affirmative a query about whether that federal agency
viewed the documentary as planned. He said they were very impressed with
it. .
He also said our attorneys in Washington D.C. are continuing to work
very' closely with the U.S. Attorney General's office, feeding them infor-