From 1982 until his 2007 departure, Mike Rinder served as a senior Church of Scientology executive and led its Office of Special Affairs, which handled legal, public-relations, and internal investigative work. In interviews with the St. Petersburg Times, CNN, and the BBC, Rinder said the organization targeted critics through physical surveillance, online vilification, intimidation, and lawsuits. He specifically described efforts against journalist John Sweeney and critic Bob Minton, while acknowledging that he had helped carry out these operations. Rinder also alleged that Scientology auditing sessions were secretly recorded and used to obtain sensitive personal information; those claims are attributed to him and other former members.
The organization’s broader record includes Operation Snow White, an illegal infiltration of 136 government agencies that was uncovered by the FBI and led to prosecutions of senior Scientology officials. After the 1991 publication of Time magazine’s investigation, “The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power,” Scientology reportedly spent about $7 million attacking the article and its publisher in litigation. The resulting discovery process exposed internal litigation strategies, while the 1993 Church of Scientology International v. Fishman and Geertz case placed secret doctrinal material into the public record. Rinder’s 2009 disclosures and later documentaries helped move these allegations into the internet and social-media era, making suppression efforts more difficult to contain.
