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PASTOR'S REPORT, June 18, 1979
Page 13
Summary of the Lawsuit
In order to summarize for the audience where we are in the lawsuit, Mr.
Rader read a statement he had prepared, which he also enlarged upon as it
was read. We have reproduced the essence of that statement below:
The war rages on. The last few months have witnessed a new effort by
the Attorney General to establish his dominion and control over the
Church. The Attorney General claims that the state owns the Church
property (he has stated that again). He has said the Church has no
proprietary interest in its own assets, its own records (all of which,
of course, is absurd!). He has claimed that he may require us to
justify our expenditures at his whim, without orobable cause. And he
has attempted to bolster these desperate claims through waves of legal
maneuvers all designed to force us to surrender our constitutional
rights, which we will not do. Mr. Armstrong said there will be no
compromise.
He /the Attorney General/ will not succeed. Two days ago, a dissident
ex-member who originally was one of the parties who instigated this
travesty, admitted under oath that he, as a member, was aware of all
the facts that the state claims we concealed from the members, and
that he had become unhapp� an� acted as he did only after Ted Armstrong
and Ted Armstrong's son LMar�/ spoke to him and bitterly condemned us.
Other dissident instigators have been compelled to testify and shortly
will do so, which
1
expect will result in further admissions that the
charges made against us are baseless, and as Mr. Herbert Armstrong has
thought for some time--as a matter of fact, from the very beginning-
was all the result of Ted Armstrong's efforts. (His son, as you recall,
stood over him in Tucson back in July, and said, "I will destroy you,"
or words to that effect, threatening him with his fist in his face.)
We are now beginning to launch our own offensive in forcing the state
to disclose what Church documents it possesses in violation of our
rights. We are getting to the bottom of the conspiracy which resulted
in this mockery of the Constitution.
In short, progress is slow, and sometimes painful, but progress is
being made. The credit belongs to you people here today and to the
brethren out there in the field who have worked and fought for what
is right and continue to support Christ's Work. He is directing it and
we'll all be led to victory.
State Clings to Hope of Making Its Point
Through the whole "procedural grind," as the pre-trial stage of the lawsuit
has been described, the legal battle is one of exchanging of papers, jockey
ing for position and appearances in court. Not very exciting, but tactics
which are very important to both sides. Mr. Rader mentioned how the state
is trying to "lift itself up by its own bootstraps" ...meaning that they
cannot prove what they have alleged. "/So/ they are hoping that they can
prove something else--which they won't-be able to--but now they are in this
peculiar position...They want to be able to at least establish from this
lawsuit that even if they are wrong vis-a-vis us, they still had a right
to do what they did.