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Edward Walters

Former scientologist, Case Supervisor, Class VIII Auditor, left after 9 years.


Affidavit of Edward Walters (4 January 1982)

4. While a member of the Church of Scientology, I had frequent contact with Susan Reed, the Assistant Guardian, Matty Reese, the Assistant Guardian Public Relations Officer, and Chuck Reese, Assistant Guardian of Intelligence. Susan Reed often told me to be aware of "evil" and "suppressive" groups and organizations which were out to stop Scientology. She said "evil groups were as I remember, the United States Government, the American Medical Association, the Better Business Bureau, doctors, lawyers, and police agencies of any kind. She stated that the Guardian's Office was responsible for stopping these attacks against Scientology by any means available including electronic surveillance, infiltration, burglary and theft. The above named Guardian's Office personnel would tell me of the "wins" that they would have in their covert operations to stop or destroy those groups or individuals whom they considered to be suppressive. At this time Susan Reed introduced me to a fellow in her office and who told me his name was Randy. Randy said he was an intelligence agent working directly under Mary Sue and L. Ron Hubbard, and that he worked on the most sensitive and most secret of all Scientology's covert operations. He also stated that there was a need to do away with "suppressives" and groups attacking Scientology in whatever way necessary, including burglary, larceny, and "framing". He informed me how the Guardian's Office technology worked. For instance, he said that the Guardian's Office would plant dope on some "SP", then call the police and have the fellow arrested. The Guardian's Office would circulate word of the fellow's arrest and whatever the fellow said about Scientology would not be believed. It was in this way that they framed some of the SP's. He then told me that if Susan Reed wanted me to contact him that I should call the Los Angeles Guardian's Office and ask for either "Randy", "Bruce", "Raymond" or "Bruce Raymond". He then told me I was not to reveal what he had told me or who he was to anyone and that grave consequences could result to me if I divulged any of this.

Willamette Week (Jun. 1985): "Scientology on trial"

In his testimony and in a subsequent interview, Eddie Walters, a former member who had served as a special operative for Scientology's security and intelligence unit, known then as the Guardian's Office, and had also been a top-level auditor (counselor), discussed the process known as "culling" files."

"We [auditors] were instructed to tell them they could tell us anything," Walters said in the interview. "They were encouraged to be very open and honest . . . . No one would see his folders. Everything he says is between him and I, "However, Walters added, the Guardian's Office people violated that trust as a matter of policy: "They look for specific things. Things to use for blackmail such as sexual promiscuity, sexual problems, problems within the family, troubles with parents, any alcoholic problems . . . anything a person would not want others to know about." [...]

Walters testified that in the first level of TRs, individuals are required to sit totally still, with absolutely no body movements, including blinking. The drill, Walters added, is "almost physically impossible" and "some people did it for weeks." [...]

Walters told Willamette Week that members were often confronted with such material and that "the response was usually devastating." He described an example of how the tactic was used:

I saw a staff member who had a problem with masturbation, and they kept her up day and night washing floors, and she did that for two days. They brought her in and confronted her with her stuff in her files.

It just totally caved her in . . . . This person, believe it or not, had just not produced as much as they wanted. They felt she didn't work hard enough. Walters added that the fact that Scientology possesses records of its members' most intimate secrets is a powerful tool to keep them from leaving, or at least to keep them from criticizing the group if they do leave. [...]

Eddie Walters the former Guardian's Office special operative, told Willamette Week that "Hubbard believes that most media are either criminals or very weak people and that any attack will cave them in, they will back off."

Walters went on to describe how he remembered the subject of possible lawsuits being handled:

It's done in stages. First, it's implied, then it is threatened. We usually went to editors and mucky mucks, because when you talked about lawsuits they got nervous and were easy to manipulate. Very easy . . He goes with a watered-down story and thinks he has won, but he didn't know that's exactly what we attempted to do anyway.

Russel Miller (1987): "Bare-faced Messiah: Chapter 20 - Running Aground"

Quentin was cremated next day at Palm Crematory in Las Vegas. 'I knew he had homosexual problems,' said Ed Walters, 'but he was a good kid. He was just a young, soft boy, not the ruthless, hard-nosed type. He had wanted to get out of Scientology for some time, but you don't just leave something like Scientology. You quit and then instantly become an enemy. He knew his father violently attacked anyone who betrayed him and he knew that the Guardian's Office would be after him as a traitor. He had grown up in Scientology and would have been tremendously afraid of the world out there, full of wogs and evil people. I guess he just couldn't handle it.'

Russel Miller (1987): "Bare-faced Messiah: Chapter 21 - Making Movies"

Walters liked Ernie Hartwell and tried, over the next couple of days, to dissuade him from carrying out his threats. 'Next thing that happens,' he said, 'was that the GO sent some people to tell me to stay out of it. They were going to handle Hartwell. They were not going to allow Hubbard to be exposed by this man and they insinuated they would destroy him if they had to. Ernie was just a troubled old guy off the street who should never have been in Scientology in the first place. How could they think of destroying someone like that? Something just went off inside me.'

City of Clearwater Commission Hearing (1982): The Church of Scientology - Day 4, Edward Walters

MR. WALTERS: All right. This is what'll happen: This division over here will go through all the files that they have, covert and overt on you, and find out what they can use. This division will start a campaign written up to make it look like a beautiful church. This division will sue all of you individually, collectively, and probably the City of Clearwater.

MR. LeCHER: They've done that already.

City of Clearwater Commission Hearing (1982): The Church of Scientology - Day 4, Janie Peterson

He was, basically, unhappy with some of the things that were occurring and he was speaking out against them to other Scientologists. And investigations were being done, when I first went into the Guardian's Office, into Mr. Walters' background. They were looking for his so-called crimes. There's a policy by Mr. Hubbard in the Guardian's Office called "Attacking Scientology," where it says that if anyone says anything bad about Scientology, you look into their past, whether they have what is called "blood-dripping crimes." So, Mr. Walters' preclear folder, his auditing information, was to be gone through looking for that.

He was expelled and declared a Suppressive Person, and a list of people, including his wife and his stepchildren, was issued, stating that these people were called what's called Potential Trouble Sources; in other words, they were connected to Mr. Walters and either they — either had to disconnect from him or they would be also expelled from Scientology. There was a list of about thirteen or fourteen people.

Las Vegas Review Journal (Jul. 1980): "Scientology Church official quits"

[...] According to the source, she can testify the church has conducted spy operations against ex-Scientologists from Las Vegas and performed background checks on the Review-Journal's city editor and managing editor and the Donrey Media Group vice president. The Review-Journal is a Donrey publication.

The operations conducted against the dissidents were allegedly aimed at Eddie Walters and about 30 other former Scientologists in the Las Vegas area. Walters, who was at one time one of the most highly trained Scientologists in Las Vegas, left the church about two years ago with 14 other dissatisfied members. [...]

St. Petersburg Times (Apr. 1980): "For Some It Was Hard To Forsake Scientology" by Craig Roberton

Edward Walters of Las Vegas, also a nine-year former staff member, says in his affidavit that pre-clears are led to believe that the information they reveal in auditing is just between them and their auditors.

"But I know as fact," Walters says, "that the Guardian's Office has systematically, through the years, used pre-clear data as a tool against any pre-dear who would cause 'a flap' or who would threaten to go to the authorities or see a lawyer to sue or get his money back."

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