"if runners reach the top of the building, they'll find Tom Cruise." - What if they go to the basement? Will they find David Miscavige's wife?
"Scientology is an official religion"
+ Scientology was not a recognized religion in the U.S. until 1993.
+ Before that their members still wrote their donations off their taxes as "religious deductions".
+ IRS charged them penalties.
+ Several Scientologists filed lawsuits against the IRS.
+ Members of the House/Senate were worried donations to their campaign from Scientology members would be made public if those IRS cases came to court.
+ Solution: They were given religious status and the lawsuits were dropped.
So, why was it so important elected officials wouldn't want to be tied to Scientology? Because of Operation: Snow White.
WIK: "Operation Snow White was a criminal conspiracy by the Church of Scientology during the 1970s to purge unfavorable records about Scientology and its founder, L. Ron Hubbard. This project included a series of infiltrations into and thefts from 136 government agencies, foreign embassies and consulates, as well as private organizations critical of Scientology, carried out by Church members in more than 30 countries. It was one of the largest infiltrations of the United States government in history, with up to 5,000 covert agents."
"Mary Sue Hubbard, Cindy Raymond, Gerald Bennett Wolfe, Henning Heldt, Duke Snider, Gregory Willardson, Richard Weigand, Mitchell Herman, Sharon Thomas, Jane Kember, and Mo Budlong, all high-ranking Scientologists, were convicted; prison sentences were as long as six years, though no defendant served that amount. L. Ron Hubbard was named by federal prosecutors as an "unindicted co-conspirator" and went into hiding for the rest of his life."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
And yet, Charles Grassley (R-IA) still spearheaded the move to give them official religious status.
