In one of the most shocking accounts of cult abuse, a lawsuit between the Church of Scientology and former church official Debbie Cook has finally ended today, according to a San Antonio local news website.

"We have decided to withdraw our request for an injunction at this time," Scientology lawyer George Spence Jr. told Judge Martha Tanner, reported MySA. "Going forward in the case this way will prevent the defendant from using the court as a pulpit for false statements."

The suit was sparked in early Jan. when Cook sent an email detailing the church's outrageous actions, to which they retailed by suing the former official for $300,000 in damages. Cook signed a contract in 2007 binding her to the church and forbidding her from revealing any information about the organization or its practices. In addition to the email that went public, Cook delivered a testimony yesterday detailing beatings, confinement, and forced confessions under direction of church leader David Miscavige.

[...]

the obvious question Is who did Miscavige Beat savagely over this latest footbullet yesterday...
updated

Scientology hearing ends abruptly
By John MacCormack
Updated 01:52 p.m

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_ ... 241791.php

[...]
The church gave me a statement on today's development. Here it is:

The only reason the Church brought suit against Debbie Cook and Wayne Baumgarten and sought a preliminary injunction was to uphold the agreement they made not to make disparaging statements about the Scientology religion, Churches of Scientology, its ecclesiastical officials and parishioners. The Church demanded such covenants from Cook for good and sufficient reason: Cook in the past had made similar false and misleading statements and the Church feared that she would do so again.


The Church of Scientology Flag Service Organization has withdrawn its motion for preliminary injunction to preclude the court being used further as a forum for the defendants to violate the rights of the Church and its members with more false and disparaging statements. At the same time, Church counsel is pleased that Ms. Cook has admitted to the facts confirming both her agreement and the irreparable harm caused to the Church through her actions. The Church will use this evidence to seek Summary Judgment against Ms. Cook and her husband.


Using the court to disparage dedicated Church officials who are not even part of this matter is yet another example of the bitter hate campaign Ms. Cook is engaged in, much like the apostates she has joined. It is also evident from her testimony that the entire purpose of violating her agreement is to extort the Church for more money. The Church refuses to let her continue under the guise of judicial privilege to falsely disparage the Church. Further statements in violation of their agreements by Cook and her husband will increase the damages they will ultimately have to pay. The extreme falsity of Cook’s statements is evident from the simple fact that, incredibly, in three hours of testimony she did not have a positive statement to make about anyone she ever encountered in her decades long Scientology career. Moreover, true or false, her statement about Church staff clearly violates the ministerial privilege. The Church fully intends to use its ecclesiastical procedures grounded in Church Scripture to expose both Cook’s false testimony and her ecclesiastical transgressions.


Cook’s agreement makes clear that all disputes Cook and her husband may have had were to be presented to the Church’s International Justice Chief for ecclesiastical resolution, and failing that, to arbitration. Cook failed to do either further breaching her agreement.


Cook and Baumgarten have improperly used the court proceeding to entangle the court in fundamental ecclesiastical matters that it must avoid under the First Amendment. Courts cannot interfere with ecclesiastical ethics and justice proceedings even were Cook’s one-sided revisionist history true. She has already been expelled from the Church and a court may not interfere with that without violating the First Amendment. For over a century, the Supreme Court has made clear that courts must abstain from examining matters, which concern church discipline. Just last month, in a unanimous decision in the Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. EEOC (132 S.Ct. 694, 704 (January 12, 2012)), the Supreme Court reaffirmed the prohibition of judicial interference with religious liberties and the power to determine matters of discipline, faith, internal organization and explained why it is blatantly unconstitutional.


The proceedings in this Court yesterday clearly violated these proscriptions.


Ms. Cook left the Church clergy over four years ago. Since her departure, the Church has expanded many times over – and particularly where she served in Clearwater. The expansion is coincident with her departure. She has no knowledge of the Church today. She has not attended Church in years as a parishioner and has become a squirrel or a heretic. It is evident that Ms. Cook is extremely bitter that she is no longer part of the Church.


The Church has always been true to L. Ron Hubbard’s teachings. Ms. Cook was expelled from the Church for violating Scripture. She and her fellow bitter apostates will never enter a Church of Scientology again.

You are watching
Church of Scientology backs down
After damaging testimony about its inner workings, the Church of Scientology withdrew from seeking a injuction to silence Debbie Cook. (February 2012) [Maurice Rivenbark | Tampa Bay Times]

Tampabay Times Video - Video of Cult Lawyer Shill backing down and bowing out during the court hearings

ABC 7 in LA just did a lengthy story on Debbie Cook complete with courthouse video and video with elliot abelson as she signed her life away. Good job ABC! Aired at 5:30 PM Wed. Feb. 15. This is a big deal. They RARELY mention Scientology ever and even this report took no sides and made no mention of the cult's various bad reps.

READ THE STORY HERE: http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/national_world&id=8545654

Karin Pouw, spokeswoman for the Church of Scientology, released this statement on Friday, Feb. 10, 2012, regarding the lawsuit against Debbie Cook and the former church executive's claims:


The only reason the Church brought suit against Debbie Cook and Wayne Baumgarten and sought a preliminary injunction was to uphold the agreement they made not to make disparaging statements about the Scientology religion, Churches of Scientology, its ecclesiastical officials and parishioners. The Church demanded such covenants from Cook for good and sufficient reason: Cook in the past had made similar false and misleading statements and the Church feared that she would do so again.

The Church of Scientology Flag Service Organization has withdrawn its motion for preliminary injunction to preclude the court being used further as a forum for the defendants to violate the rights of the Church and its members with more false and disparaging statements. At the same time, Church counsel is pleased that Ms. Cook has admitted to the facts confirming both her agreement and the irreparable harm caused to the Church through her actions. The Church will use this evidence to seek Summary Judgment against Ms. Cook and her husband.

Using the court to disparage dedicated Church officials who are not even part of this matter is yet another example of the bitter hate campaign Ms. Cook is engaged in, much like the apostates she has joined. It is also evident from her testimony that the entire purpose of violating her agreement is to extort the Church for more money. The Church refuses to let her continue under the guise of judicial privilege to falsely disparage the Church. Further statements in violation of their agreements by Cook and her husband will increase the damages they will ultimately have to pay. The extreme falsity of Cook's statements is evident from the simple fact that, incredibly, in three hours of testimony she did not have a positive statement to make about anyone she ever encountered in her decades long Scientology career. Moreover, true or false, her statement about Church staff clearly violates the ministerial privilege. The Church fully intends to use its ecclesiastical procedures grounded in Church Scripture to expose both Cook's false testimony and her ecclesiastical transgressions.

Cook's agreement makes clear that all disputes Cook and her husband may have had were to be presented to the Church's International Justice Chief for ecclesiastical resolution, and failing that, to arbitration. Cook failed to do either further breaching her agreement.

Cook and Baumgarten have improperly used the court proceeding to entangle the court in fundamental ecclesiastical matters that it must avoid under the First Amendment. Courts cannot interfere with ecclesiastical ethics and justice proceedings even were Cook's one-sided revisionist history true. She has already been expelled from the Church and a court may not interfere with that without violating the First Amendment. For over a century, the Supreme Court has made clear that courts must abstain from examining matters, which concern church discipline. Just last month, in a unanimous decision in the Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. EEOC (132 S.Ct. 694, 704 (January 12, 2012)), the Supreme Court reaffirmed the prohibition of judicial interference with religious liberties and the power to determine matters of discipline, faith, internal organization and explained why it is blatantly unconstitutional.

The proceedings in this Court yesterday clearly violated these proscriptions.

CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY INTERNATIONAL

STATEMENT ON DEBBIE COOK BAUMGARTEN

15 February 2012

The real story is the explosive worldwide growth of the Church of Scientology.
Since 2010, in California alone, the Church has opened 4 new Ideal Churches of
Scientology: in Hollywood; Pasadena; Inglewood; and, just 2 weeks ago, in
Sacramento. In the past 5 years, the Church has additionally opened 25 new Ideal
Churches of Scientology in cities as diverse as London, Rome, Brussels, Moscow,
Melbourne, Quebec, Hamburg and all over the United States. In 2012, there are an
additional 15 new Churches of Scientology scheduled for Grand Opening,
including our spiritual mecca in Florida—a 375-thousand square foot facility to
minister to Scientologists from all over the world.

Additionally, in Los Angeles, in 2009 the Church established the largest and most
state-of-the-art all-digital publishing house on Earth, dedicated to the production of
our Founder’s scriptures. Since then, the facility has produced and disseminated
over 97 million books and lectures (on compact disc) world over. In 2010 the
Church further established the largest printing and manufacturing plant in the U.S.
solely dedicated to the production of humanitarian programs and materials.
Consequently, the Church’s Truth About Drugs and United for Human Rights
programs are now reaching tens of millions each year.

All of this expansion is date coincident with the removal of Ms. Cook and a few
other select individuals that make up their posse of apostates—a fact of which they
are well aware and extremely bitter. Ms. Cook failed to tell the actual story:

• That she left the Church more than 4 years ago;
• That she departed with substantial consideration;
• That when she burned through her money she began threatening the Church and
demanded “quid pro quo” to continue honoring her agreements;
• That she lied about her status to Scientology parishioners in an attempt to profit
financially from their goodwill;
• That she had joined a heretical (squirrel) group.

Ms. Cook and her husband were sued by the Church for violation of their legal
covenants. It is evident that their purpose in violating the agreement was to extort
the Church for more money. Her new, sensationalistic and revisionist stories of
“experiences” in the Church are belied by all of the above, as well as numerous
written and video statements by her which are in the Church’s possession. Any
further statements Ms. Cook or her husband make in violation of their agreements
will only increase the damages they ultimately will have to pay.

Ms. Cook and her husband are simply bitter, defrocked apostates, attempting to
spread falsehoods for personal gain. Both Ms. Cook and her husband are expelled
from the Church, are prohibited from calling themselves Scientologists or ever
again entering one of our Churches.

Accurate information about Scientology and its leadership is available for anyone
to see by visiting our website: Scientology.org.

oOo