If you’ve ever followed the efforts to expose the Church of Scientology for the abusive cult that it is, you know how the church inserts itself into any legal proceeding regarding one of its celebrity members, even if the case doesn’t directly involve Scientology.
It has come to light that Scientology attorneys got their hands on criminal discovery material in the rape trial of Scientologist and former sitcom star Danny Masterson. Masterson, who starred in “That ’70s Show,” faces accusations of raping three women in the early 2000s.
“Deputy District Attorney Reinhold Mueller told the trial judge on Wednesday that a tranche of criminal discovery material has ended up in the hands of The Church of Scientology, even though it is not a party in the case,” reports the Daily Mail.
Actress and former Scientologist Leah Remini, who has become one of the leading whistleblowers about the church and its abuses, wrote about the case extensively in an Instagram post on Thursday.
“In the rape trial of celebrity Scientologist Danny Masterson yesterday, the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office revealed that Scientology has covertly obtained a significant amount of criminal discovery materials,” Remini wrote. “Scientology has no reason to have criminal discovery materials in its possession. No reason at all. Scientology, which should be a co-defendant in this trial, has repeatedly lied, saying it has no covert involvement in this trial.”
Scientology attorney Vicki Podberesky emailed the district attorney’s office to address what the church perceived as poor treatment of the church at the hands of the DA. (In other words, the prosecution was telling the truth rather than buying Scientology’s spin.) But Podberesky made what Remini refers to as “a colossal error” and “a grave error.”
Podberesky “included a link in her email,” Remini reports. When the DA’s office clicked on that link, they were shocked to see “a massive amount of their criminal discovery.”