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A strange thing about Alex Gibney’s

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“documentary” on the Church of Scientology,

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he interviewed no actual Scientologists.

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In fact, for the two years he spent
secretly working on the video,

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Alex Gibney went out of his way
to avoid contacting the Church,

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visiting a Church or speaking
to any of its members.

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Instead choosing to interview
a small group of individuals

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he well knew were expelled by the Church
for malfeasance,

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incompetence and violence.

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In other words, precisely the sort of people
that don’t represent the Church.

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It wasn’t until his film was in the can

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that Alex Gibney even bothered
to mention it to the Church.

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The Church immediately responded.

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On November 6th, 2014,
Church officials sent him this letter

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asking for any specific allegations
and who made them.

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But no response from Alex Gibney.

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On November 11th,
the Church sent him another letter.

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But again no answer from Alex Gibney.

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November 14th, another one,

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again, no response.

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December 16th, no answer.

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December 24th, no answer.

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January 7th, no answer.

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January 13th, no answer.

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January 16th, no answer.

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Two on January 20th, no answer to either one.

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January 21st, no answer.

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January 23rd, nothing.

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A dozen attempts to reach Alex Gibney,
no response,

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except for one curt email
from Alex Gibney, declaring:

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“I don’t provide the names of my sources
in advance of the film’s premiere.”

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But Gibney wasn’t the only one
stonewalling the Church.

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There was also Sheila Nevins,
HBO’s president of documentaries.

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She too was sent letter after letter

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reminding her of HBO’s editorial obligations.

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This one on December 16th.

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Then another on December 24th.

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Another on January 20th.

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And another on February 18th.

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One on February 19th.

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One on February 20th.

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Another on February 24th.

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February 25th.

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March 3rd.

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And two more on March 12th.

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The response from Nevins.

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So, the Church was left
to guess who Gibney’s sources were

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for his so-called “documentary.”

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The only clue being
that it was based on a book

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by Gibney’s pal, Lawrence Wright.

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A book that had long been discredited
by such falsehoods

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as Wright quoting as a source
someone who had actually

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never been interviewed
or even heard of Wright.

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Nevertheless, guessing at
which of Wright’s disreputable

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and discredited sources
might appear in his buddy’s film,

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friends, families and former colleagues
also sent letters

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asking HBO to listen to them
because they had evidence

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utterly refuting the credibility of Wright’s
sources that might now be Gibney’s actors.

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There were even letters
from the Church’s attorneys,

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who played integral roles
in the Church’s many legal victories

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against religious discrimination.

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But all of these requests from the Church,
its attorneys and its parishioners,

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four dozen in all, fell on deaf ears-

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without a single response or answer
from Gibney or Nevins.

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However, there was one communication,

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less than two months before the film’s
first scheduled showing,

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not from Gibney or Nevins,
but from an HBO lawyer:

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“…if you have individuals
with first-hand knowledge

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“who were personally involved
and are willing to share their experiences,

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“we encourage you
to make them available immediately.”

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But because both HBO and Gibney still refused
to tell the Church any content of the film,

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the Church again had to guess
at who might be “personally involved”

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and have “first-hand knowledge” of what
Gibney was keeping a mystery.

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Nevertheless, the Church wrote back,
accepting the offer.

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And so, 25 people “personally involved”
with the disreputable individuals

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the Church was guessing
were Gibney’s sources –

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traveled from across the country
to see Gibney and HBO.

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The Church wrote and e-mailed Gibney
and HBO weeks in advance

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that they would be coming.

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Yet, when they arrived,
Gibney and HBO refused to meet —

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even though they well knew these individuals
had come great distances to see them.

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These 25 people waited for the meeting
in offices just a block from HBO headquarters.

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Gibney and HBO knew they were there

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and knew precisely where they were located.

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But refused contact.

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Gibney refused to answer the phone.

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Gibney refused to answer e-mails.

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Gibney and HBO refused to meet, let alone
hear anything the Church had to say.

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But as it turns out, the Church had correctly
guessed who Gibney’s sources were -

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though Gibney refused to confirm it.

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The 25 people Gibney refused to meet
couldn’t have been more relevant

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in responding to Gibney’s
one-sided hatchet job:

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The wife and daughter of Mike Rinder -
Gibney’s primary source -

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a family he abandoned and a wife he beat up

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and put in the hospital
after she tried to reconcile.

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The wife of Marty Rathbun, who he
abandoned after putting a fist in her face.

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And the wife of Tom DeVocht, who he
dragged across the ground by her hair

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after being caught out on a criminal
million-dollar real estate scam.

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Three violent men expelled from the Church
for their misconduct,

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quoted without scrutiny by Alex Gibney —

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yet Gibney deemed the
3 victims of their abuse “irrelevant."

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As were the husbands, wives,
brothers, sisters and children

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of no less than 7 out of the total
of 8 sources Gibney used for his video.

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Gibney also refused to meet senior
Church executives, including:

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The Trustee and Executor
of the Church Founder’s Estate.

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A half-dozen senior Church executives,

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all of whom presided over the justice
proceedings expelling these miscreants.

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As well as another dozen co-workers,

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ALL deemed “irrelevant” to a
Gibney propaganda production.

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In total, the Church sent Gibney and HBO
volumes of documentary evidence —

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sworn statements, court documents and court
rulings proving his propaganda utterly untrue.

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Alex Gibney used none of it.

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He refused to even hear from anybody
except bitter, long-expelled apostates

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and, instead, in an affront to
legitimate journalists everywhere,

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Alex Gibney ran with blatant bigotry
told by self-admitted liars.

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Of course, considering Gibney's "pedigree",
this is no surprise.

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His father, Frank Gibney,
was on the face of it, a “journalist.”

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But according to a Congressional Report
and the New York Times,

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Frank Gibney was part
of a covert CIA operation

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to release propaganda
through book publishing and the media.

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Obviously, the apple doesn't
fall far from the tree.

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Because just like other propagandists,

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Alex Gibney told the story he wanted to tell.

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Truth be damned.

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I think we got the story that we wanted.

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The story he wanted.

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It’s not truth. It’s Alex Gibney. On HBO.