Washington. Leaders of the Church of Scientology considered the American Medical Association and the National Institute of Mental Health enemies and infiltrated the AMA as part of an effort to discredit it, according to documents made public yesterday.
The documents show that the church planted spies and had a "doom program" aimed at the American Medical Assn. Church leaders also planned to "take over control" of the National Institute of Mental Health near Washington, the documents reveal.
Several medical organizations have criticized the church for its program of "dianetics," which the church calls a therapeutic technique to treat certain mental and psychosomatic illnesses.
The documents, seized in an FBI raid on two Los Angeles Scientology offices in 1977 also reveal that Scientologists had copies of communications from former CIA director William Colby and reports of confidential conversations among U.S. attorneys trying a civil case against the church, files on federal judges and copies of tax returns filed by Los Angeles Mayor Tim Bradley and singer Frank Sinatra. [Editor’s Note: The evidence also shows that Scientology offices kept files on people in CFF and related organizations.]
According to an article in Chicago Sun Times, 11/3/79, during a legal fight with leaders of the Hare Krishna religious sect, the Scientologist plotted to obtain grand jury minutes by placing a church member in a job as a stenographer with a New York firm that transcribes the minutes. "We have had some success [limited] in the past with getting this type of data," said a 1977 church memo. A later memo listed under a "completed" column, "grand jury meeting minutes-Queens." [Shapiro-Kreshower Hare Krishna case].
The article further states the church also made a number of contacts with officials at the CIA. On church memo quoted a CIA employee as saying a number of Scientologists were employed by the agency.
