Editing David Miscavige (section)

==1986–2009: leadership of Scientology organization==
When Hubbard died in 1986, Miscavige announced his death to Scientologists at the [[Hollywood Palladium]].<ref>{{cite book| first=Janet |last=Reitman |chapter=Inside Scientology |title=The Best American Magazine Writing 2007 | title-link =The Best American Magazine Writing 2007 | publisher = Columbia University Press | year = 2007 |pages=311, 323 | isbn = 978-0-231-14391-2 |ol=23104250M}}</ref> Shortly before his death, an apparent order from Hubbard circulated in the Sea Org that promoted Scientologist [[Pat Broeker]] and his wife to the new rank of Loyal Officer, making them the highest-ranking members; Miscavige asserted this order had been [[forgery|forged]].{{r|atack|page=362}} After Hubbard's death, Miscavige assumed the position of head of the Church of Scientology and, according to the organization, "ecclesiastical leader of the Scientology religion."<ref name="Succession"/><ref>{{cite book| last=Gallagher |first=Eugene V. |author2=W. Michael Ashcraft |title=Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America | url=https://archive.org/details/introductiontone00gall | url-access=limited | publisher = Greenwood | year = 2006 |pages = [https://archive.org/details/introductiontone00gall/page/n114 98], 120, 173 |isbn=0-275-98717-5}}</ref> Within the Sea Org, Miscavige holds the title of "captain of the Sea Organization" and is its highest-ranking member.{{r|reitman|page=139}}

Since Miscavige assumed his leadership role in Scientology, there have been numerous accounts of illegal and unethical practices by the Church and by Miscavige himself. A 1991 ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine cover story, "[[The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power]]," described Miscavige as "ringleader" of a "hugely profitable global [[Racket (crime)|racket]] that survives by intimidating members and critics in a [[Mafia]]-like manner."<ref name="Behar" /> Miscavige stated in a 1992 interview on ''[[Nightline]]''{{mdash}}his only live televised interview to date{{mdash}}that the publication of the article resulted from a request by [[Eli Lilly and Company|Eli Lilly]], because of "the damage we had caused to their killer drug [[Prozac]]".<ref name="Nightline">{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/story?id=2664713&page=1|title=Scientology Leader Gave ABC News First-Ever Interview (transcript)|work=[[Nightline|ABC News Nightline]] |first=Ted |last=Koppel |author-link=Ted Koppel |date=February 14, 1992 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061120235552/https://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/story?id=2664713&page=1 |archive-date=November 20, 2006}} ([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exzmE3vW_Tw video])</ref> Scientology filed a suit against [[Eli Lilly and Company|Eli Lilly]], [[J. Walter Thompson]], [[Hill & Knowlton]] and the [[WPP plc|WPP Group]]. Scientology agreed to [[legal settlement|settle]] the case shortly before it went to trial.<ref>{{cite web |last=Garcia |first=Wayne |date=July 7, 1994 |title=Church of Scientology settles suit with PR firm |url=https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1994/07/07/church-of-scientology-settles-suit-with-pr-firm/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080401045138/https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/sptimes/access/51847739.html?dids=51847739:51847739&FMT=FT |archive-date=April 1, 2008 |publisher=[[St. Petersburg Times]]}}</ref>{{r|rinder|pp=132-133}}{{r|wright|pp=217-218}}

The Scientology organization also brought a [[libel]] lawsuit against the piece's publisher [[Time Warner]] and its author [[Richard Behar]], seeking damages of $416&nbsp;million.<ref name="frantz">{{cite web |first=Douglas |last=Frantz |title=An Ultra-Aggressive Use of Investigators and the Courts |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/03/09/us/an-ultra-aggressive-use-of-investigators-and-the-courts.html |website=[[The New York Times]] |date=March 9, 1997 |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308060210/https://www.nytimes.com/1997/03/09/us/an-ultra-aggressive-use-of-investigators-and-the-courts.html |archive-date=March 8, 2021 |access-date= October 25, 2007 |page=31}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last= Kumar |first= J.P. |title= 'Fair Game': Leveling the Playing Field in Scientology Litigation |journal= The Review of Litigation |volume= 16 |page= 747 |date=Summer 1997}}</ref> All counts of the suit were dismissed by the court, and the dismissal upheld when Scientology appealed.<ref name=courtpasses>{{cite news |title= Court Passes on Scientology Libel Case |url=https://apnews.com/article/6759ebd9b8f8abfda186dd46a8dec8aa|work= Associated Press News |date= October 1, 2001}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last= Staff |title= Time Magazine wins approval of libel suit dismissal |work= [[Atlanta Journal-Constitution]] |date= January 13, 2001 |page=F2}}</ref> Similar lawsuits in Switzerland, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Germany were dismissed as groundless.<ref name=carmody>{{cite news |last= Carmody |first= Deirdre |title= Reader's Digest Defies Court |work= The New York Times |pages= D6 |date= October 2, 1991 |url= https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE3DD1239F931A35753C1A967958260 |access-date= October 25, 2007}}</ref>

In 1987, the [[BBC]] ''[[Panorama (TV series)|Panorama]]'' program ''Scientology: The Road to Total Freedom?'' featured an interview with former member Don Larson, who served as the church's $25-per-week "finance ethics officer" and who described Miscavige's physical violence towards a staff member: {{blockquote|It was about 15 of us. We went out and rented three limos, drove up to an organization in San Francisco and did a practice beat-'em-up kind of meeting, you know. We took the CDB Org—the commanding officer of that org, organization. He got thrown into the filing cabinets, he was sec-checked on the meter and, um, you—that's where you, what, you have to tell the truth. And there's a whole row of people around the guy, right? And he's sitting there hanging onto the cans and—this is nothing to do with religion any more, right? This is, 'Where's the money, Jack? I want the money! Where did you put the money?' And he said, 'I, you—I don't know! I don't have the money.' David Miscavige comes up, grabs him by the tie and starts bashing him into the filing cabinet. And he's thrown out in the street; his tie is ripped off. Um, this is just a warm-up kind of bash.<ref>{{Cite episode| title = Scientology – The Road to Total Freedom?
| series = Panorama| airdate = April 27, 1987}}</ref>}} 

In a 1995 interview for [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]], [[Stacy Brooks Young|Stacy Young]], Miscavige's former secretary and the ex-wife of Hubbard's former spokesman, [[Robert Vaughn Young]], asserted that Miscavige emotionally tormented staff members on a regular basis. "His viciousness and his cruelty to staff was unlike anything that I had ever experienced in my life," she said. "He just loved to degrade the staff."<ref>{{cite news| title=Inside the Cult |work=The Big Story |publisher=[[ITV plc|ITV]] |year=1995}}</ref> Though Miscavige and Scientology have been the subject of much press attention, he has rarely spoken directly to the press. Exceptions include the 1992 interview on ''Nightline'',{{r|Nightline}} a 1994 print interview with weekly Austrian news magazine ''[[Profil (magazine)|Profil]]'',<ref name=voice>{{cite web|url=https://tonyortega.substack.com/p/first-time-in-english-rare-interview|title=First time in English: Rare interview David Miscavige gave during Germany crisis|first=Tony |last=Ortega |date=May 15, 2024 |author-link=Tony Ortega|work=The Underground Bunker}}</ref> a 1998 newspaper interview with the ''St. Petersburg Times'',{{r|sptimes1998}} and a 1998 appearance in an [[A&E Network|A&E]] ''Investigative Reports'' installment called "Inside Scientology."<ref>{{cite news |title=Inside Scientology |work=Investigative Reports |publisher=A & E |date=December 14, 1998}}</ref>{{r|Nightline}}

In the aftermath of the [[September 11 attacks]], David Miscavige published a message to all Scientologists entitled "Wake Up Call", urging them to redouble their efforts to use Scientology. Miscavige asserted that [[World War II]], [[Hitler]], [[Attack on Pearl Harbor|Pearl Harbor]], the [[Cold War]], the [[September 11 attacks|9/11 attacks]], and "endless world conflicts can be traced to a lack of real technology of the mind and reliance on false mental therapies of psychiatry and psychology." Miscavige declared that Scientology "work[s] to reform the field of mental health" and "we have the technology and organization to overcome any obstacle facing this planet today" and "we have the technology to pull it off."<ref>{{Citation |title=Wake-up Call : The Urgency of Planetary Clearing |first=David |last=Miscavige |date=September 11, 2001 |publisher=[[Religious Technology Center]] |series=Inspector General Network, Bulletin 44}}</ref>{{r|westbrook|p=189-90}}

=== Relationship with the IRS ===
{{main article|Tax status of Scientology in the United States}}
In 1991, Miscavige, together with [[Marty Rathbun]], visited the [[Internal Revenue Service]] (IRS) headquarters in Washington, D.C. to arrange a meeting with [[Commissioner of Internal Revenue|Commissioner]] [[Fred T. Goldberg, Jr.]] For more than two decades, the IRS had refused to recognize Scientology as a nonprofit charitable organization. Before this meeting, Scientology had filed more than fifty lawsuits against the IRS and, according to ''[[The New York Times]]'':

{{blockquote|Scientology's lawyers hired private investigators to dig into the private lives of IRS officials and to conduct surveillance operations to uncover potential vulnerabilities... [and] taken documents from an I.R.S. conference and sent them to church officials and created a phony news bureau in Washington to gather information on church critics. The church also financed an organization of I.R.S. whistle-blowers that attacked the agency publicly.<ref name="query.nytimes">{{cite news |first=Douglas |last=Frantz |title=Scientology's Puzzling Journey From Tax Rebel to Tax Exempt |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/03/09/us/scientology-s-puzzling-journey-from-tax-rebel-to-tax-exempt.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=March 9, 1997 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230110012741/https://www.nytimes.com/1997/03/09/us/scientology-s-puzzling-journey-from-tax-rebel-to-tax-exempt.html |archive-date=January 10, 2023 |url-access=subscription |access-date=January 22, 2008}}</ref>
}}

At the meeting with Goldberg, Miscavige offered to cease Scientology's suits against the IRS in exchange for [[tax exemption]]s.<ref name="query.nytimes" /> This led to a two-year negotiating process, in which IRS tax analysts were ordered to ignore the substantive issues because they had been resolved prior to review. In 1992 Scientology was granted recognition as a nonprofit organization in the U.S., which creates a tax exemption for the Church of Scientology International and its subsidiaries, and tax deductions for those who contribute to their programs.<ref name="query.nytimes" /> 

[[Scientology officials]] and the IRS later issued a statement that the ruling was based on a two-year inquiry and voluminous documents that, they said, showed the organization was qualified for the exemptions.<ref name="query.nytimes" /> To announce the settlement with the IRS, Miscavige gathered a reported 10,000 members of Scientology in the [[Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena]], where he delivered a two-and-a-half-hour address and proclaimed, "The war is over!"<ref name="query.nytimes" /> The crowd gave Miscavige an ovation that lasted more than ten minutes.{{r|sptimes1998}}

===Church of Scientology initiatives===
{{See also|Church of Scientology#Ideal Orgs}}
According to Scientology, Miscavige initiated a long-term project of issuing unreleased and corrected editions of Hubbard's books and restoring Hubbard's lectures, including translating many works into other languages. Another initiative by Miscavige, launched in 2003, is to build new or remodeled Scientology locations, called "Ideal Orgs,"<ref>{{cite web |title=New Churches of Scientology |url=https://www.scientology.org/churches/ideal-orgs/ |website=Scientology |access-date=July 19, 2018}}</ref> in every major city worldwide. Since then, over seventy<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.scientologynews.org/press-releases/church-openings/grand-opening-silicon-valley.html |title=Where Spirituality Intersects With Human Brilliance: The New Church of Scientology Opens in Silicon Valley |publisher=Scientologynews.org |date=February 18, 2018 |access-date=June 19, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | first = Will | last = Payne | title = The Church of Scientology Responds to 'The Tip of the Spear' | date = January 20, 2014 | url = http://www.lamag.com/thejump/2013/01/04/the-church-of-scientology-responds-to-the-tip-of-the-spear | work = Los Angeles Magazine | access-date = January 30, 2014 | quote = More than 30 new Ideal Churches opening in major cities throughout the United States and around the world. This year those new Churches opened in Hamburg, Germany; Florence, Kentucky; Sacramento, Orange County, San Jose and Los Gatos, California; Phoenix, Arizona; Denver, Colorado; Buffalo, New York; Padova, Italy; and our first in the Middle East, in Tel Aviv, Israel. | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140202100152/http://www.lamag.com/thejump/2013/01/04/the-church-of-scientology-responds-to-the-tip-of-the-spear | archive-date = February 2, 2014 | url-status = dead | df = mdy-all}}</ref> new or remodeled locations have been opened, including facilities in Washington, D.C.,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHuvMLJSaC0  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/fHuvMLJSaC0| archive-date=December 12, 2021 |url-status=live|title=Founding Church of Scientology, Washington, D.C., Ribbon Cutting |date=November 3, 2009 |via=YouTube |access-date=August 15, 2012}}{{cbignore}}</ref> [[Madrid]], New York City, London, Berlin,<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article1975105.ece | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081013010829/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article1975105.ece | url-status = dead | archive-date = October 13, 2008 | title = 'Church' that yearns for respectability | access-date=April 27, 2011 | location=London | work=The Times}}</ref> [[Mexico City]],<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2010/07/12/scientology-opens-new-national-organization-mexico-city-palaces/#ixzz1KcD863d3 | title = Scientology Opens New National Organization for Mexico in The City Of Palaces | website = [[Fox Business]] | access-date = April 27, 2011 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120927051304/http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2010/07/12/scientology-opens-new-national-organization-mexico-city-palaces/#ixzz1KcD863d3 | archive-date=September 27, 2012 | df = mdy-all}}</ref> [[Rome]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna33498755 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230716015619/https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna33498755 |url-status=live |archive-date=July 16, 2023 |title=Scoop: Scientologists not anti-gay, official says – Entertainment – The Scoop |date=October 28, 2009 |publisher=[[MSNBC]] |access-date=August 15, 2012}}</ref> [[Tel Aviv]],<ref>{{cite news | first = Matthew | last = Kalman | title = Scientology comes to Israel | date = November 11, 2012 | url = https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/scientology-comes-to-israel-8305019.html | work = The Independent | access-date = January 30, 2014 | location=London}}</ref> [[Atlanta]],<ref>{{cite web|author=Fox|url=http://www.fox5atlanta.com/local-news/georgias-first-ideal-scientology-church-opens |title=Georgia's first ideal Scientology Church Opens {{!}} WAGA |date=April 4, 2016 |publisher=Fox5atlanta.com |access-date=June 19, 2018}}</ref> Miami,<ref>{{cite web|last=Rodriguezrrodriguez |first=Rene |url=http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/coconut-grove/article147941904.html |title=Church of Scientology opens massive new facility in Miami |publisher=Miami Herald |date=May 1, 2017 |access-date=June 19, 2018}}</ref> and [[San Diego]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Stone |first=Ken |url=https://timesofsandiego.com/life/2016/11/24/inside-scientologys-new-church-at-old-san-diego-home/ |title=Inside Scientology's New Church at Old San Diego Home |publisher=Times of San Diego |date=November 24, 2016 |access-date=June 19, 2018}}</ref> Until the late 2010s, Miscavige worked primarily from Scientology's [[Gold Base]] near [[Hemet, California]].<ref name=Reitman>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/inside-scientology-103288/ |title=Inside Scientology |date=February 8, 2011 |orig-date=February 23, 2006 |first=Janet |last=Reitman |author-link=Janet Reitman |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |url-status=<!--archived version is better--> |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180502021124/https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/inside-scientology-20110208 |archive-date=May 2, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last = Streeter | first = Michael | title = Behind Closed Doors | publisher = New Holland Publishers (UK) Ltd | year = 2008 | page = [https://archive.org/details/behindcloseddoor0000stre/page/230 230] | isbn = 978-1-84537-937-7 | url = https://archive.org/details/behindcloseddoor0000stre/page/230 }}</ref>

====Flag Building====
[[File:Super Power building.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Flag Building]] in [[Clearwater, Florida]], is one of Miscavige's flagship projects. The building contains a Sea Org museum and training facilities.]]
One of the largest projects of Miscavige's career is the [[Flag Building]], originally called the "Super Power Building," which is described as the spiritual headquarters of Scientology.<ref>{{cite news|last=Stacy |first=Mitch |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2007-09-23-clearwater_N.htm |title=Fla. town comes to terms with status as Scientology mecca |publisher=Usatoday.Com |date=September 23, 2007 |access-date=August 15, 2012}}</ref> The largest of Scientology's properties in [[Clearwater, Florida]], the {{convert|377,000|sqft|adj=on}} structure<ref>{{cite web |first=Eric |last=Goldschein |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/scientology-super-power-building-2012-1 |title=The Scientology Building Where Members Will Receive 'Infinite Power' Is Finally About To Open |work=[[Business Insider]] |date=January 12, 2012 |access-date=August 15, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120311020318/https://www.businessinsider.com/scientology-super-power-building-2012-1 |archive-date=March 11, 2012}}</ref> is reportedly outfitted with custom-built equipment designed to administer the supposedly perception-enhancing "[[Super Power Rundown]]" to high-level Scientologists.<ref>Farley, Robert (June 6, 2006). "Scientology nearly ready to unveil Super Power." ''St. Petersburg Times''.</ref><ref>"Cornerstone Newsletter," Church of Scientology Religious Trust, undated but published 2007</ref> The building was scheduled for completion in 2003, but underwent ten years of delays and re-designs as Scientology completed two other major construction and restoration projects in the same area ahead of it, the [[Fort Harrison Hotel]] and the Oak Cove Hotel.<ref>{{cite web |first=Mike |last=Brassfield |url=http://www.tampabay.com/news/religion/article986057.ece |title=Scientology church gives Clearwater's Fort Harrison Hotel a $40M makeover|work=Tampa Bay Times|date=March 21, 2009 |access-date=January 31, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130119062614/http://www.tampabay.com/news/religion/article986057.ece |archive-date=January 19, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Miscavige inaugurated the Flag Building on November 17, 2013.<ref>{{cite news|title=Stars come out for dedication of Scientology's 'Super Power' building in Clearwater|url=https://www.tampabay.com/news/scientology/thousands-will-get-first-look-today-at-scientologys-super-power-building/2152907/|access-date=January 31, 2014|newspaper=Tampa Bay Times|date=November 17, 2013|author=Joe Childs|author2=Charlie Frago}}</ref><ref name="ABC-dedicates">{{cite news|url=https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2013/11/church-of-scientology-dedicates-145-million-super-power-building/|title=Church of Scientology Dedicates $145 Million 'Super Power' Building|work=ABC News|date=November 18, 2013|access-date=January 30, 2014}}</ref> He reportedly took up permanent residence at the Flag Building in the late-2010s.<ref>[https://tonyortega.org/2021/03/11/new-scientology-magazine-boasts-that-david-miscavige-is-now-a-florida-fixture/ New Scientology magazine boasts that David Miscavige is now a Florida fixture]. Ortega, Tony. ''The Underground Bunker''. March 11, 2021. Retrieved June 9, 2023.</ref>