BB-5-K-1
Report on meeting with Daniel Sheehan October 1977
REPORT ON DANIEL SHEEHAN
JEAN B., OCTOBER 12, 1977
DANIEL SHEEHAN, 2300 City National Bank Tower, Oklahoma City, OK 73102 PHONE: IN OKLAHOMA (405) 239-2379, in D.C., (202) 462-0400
I called saying TB [Teri Buford] had left town and suggested that I call, she’d say he was working on affidavits and would not be able to talk until Wednesday (today). He will be in Oklahoma for several more weeks.
When I described the situation with the media smear and the links with the T [Treasury] Dept he said there is a way of dealing with it. What is happening to us is not unprecedented. He made the analogy of the authoritative parent telling the child to be home at a certain time. You cannot argue on the adult’s terms, because he/she is irrational. Therefore, you go ahead and stay out anyhow, because there is no way you can successfully argue on their grounds and do what you want to do. Where the parent is coming from is an irrational assertation of authority.
Said he has seen this with clients who are “highly principled.” He said he himself is a “highly principled attorney.” People who are principled encounter extraordinary opposition, especially in the form of authoritative and regulatory institutions. Said he has seen this with cases he has worked on with F. Lee Bailey, and it was true with Scientology. (I am not sure what he means by principled – it could be a range of things.)
The way you deal with this type thing is to kick back. Since the other side is not rational, not principled, you take them on with wits. Said (another analogy) a small fighter can’t take on a welter weight fighting square, has to fight back by slipping through the blows. The media hate people about as much as people hate them. You should treat them openly, candidly, honestly, giving them nothing to hold on to. Then they feel satisfied. The worst way or responsing is to cut them off. Then they get twice as hostile. What we need is an extraordinarily adroit PR person. His best advice would be to get someone, not a P.T. person, who could deal with the press, interpret us to the press. He said NIXON cut the press off, and it was the press that destroyed him. Like a wild dog, they bite when they smell fear.
I told him that what I had described as a media smear was at this point our secondary concern. We had lived through that and were continuing to function, but that the truth was the media persons (named Jim Clancey) were admittedly working in collusion with government agencies (T-dept) to destroy the temple. Now we were concerned how to counter this obvious conspiracy of governmental agencies. He siad that is the way it works, and usually one agency (i.e. Treasury, IRS, or some other) leads the way. His advice was to first write to him exactly why we think this is beoing done to us. Not to fictionalize, to know the source of our problem, to deal with it, he will have to know what is triggering this governmental response. He mentioned a case in Florida with a guy named Glen Turner – a thing going called “Dare to Be Great” in which he had enormous training sessions for businessment of some sort. Said that the A.C.’s met from 49 states and determined to undo this guy. (He didn’t say why, but the point was clear what he meant by the source of the problem.)
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Then he asked me to correspond with him, and a personal visit might also be useful. But first, I am to try to mail something to him using cover. He bluntly told me he figured I would know that that meant to mail a safe way: use another agencies letterhead on the envelope, mail from another city (he said where your mail gets picked up is in the city where it is mailed), surround all the edges with tape and make a mark under the tape which would show when and if the tape were removed. Then he said to call him to identify the letter that would be coming, tell him the letterhead to look for and the mark. I am to send general mail first. He will let me know from that end whether it is safe to use similar methods in mailing crucial contents.
I liked the guy. I think he could help us.
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BB-5-L
Report on phone call with Daniel Sheehan, October 1977
PHONE CALL TO D. SHEEHAN, FRIDAY 10/14
REPORTS FROM JEAN BROWN
He was very friendly , said that he had not received the mail he had instructed me to mail yet. Tom just mailed it Thursday morning. We talked about the reasons for our persecution, as he had asked. When I mentioned the word, he immediately said, “Well, that would do it.” Said we are in good company, some of his best friends have the same problems as I described for that reason. Said he has known that the Socialist Workers Party has been bothered for years with this kind of tactic. He will work over the week-end, so made himself available to us. Said he is working now on taking dispositions against the FBI for domestic surveillance. Will wait for the mail to arrive (he asked for “safe” mail, so I sent Peoples Forum and [Berkeley] Barb articles, statements why we were undergoing this and so forth). He will call back the first of the week, unless I call him. He asked for specific questions to deal with, how he could be of help. (As per our radio conversation of Friday, I will tell him full background and about Jeremie’s and Minnie’s situation and why. Also will mention Bonnie’s project and ask what he recommends be done.)
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BB-5-J-1
Letter to Daniel Sheehan re: conspiracy, October 1977
Copy of letter sent to Sheehan w/book
October 24, 1977
Dear Mr. Sheehan:
This is about as completely as we have documented the conspiracy to date. Perhaps the background will help you make sense out of the things I have been telling you over the phone. Enclosed in the envelope are two articles which refer to the child custody case I talked to you about most recently. They are not included in the “book” because the fact that Jim is the father of John has not yet been made public. (You will note that the articles make no mention of the fact.) We may take the initiative on that by holding a press conference in the near future.
Our questions are many, and they have to do mostly with the options we have in fending off the kind of continued attack we face now in Guyana. Just this week we got a letter from an attorney who represents the parents of two youths in Guyana; one (Bruce) Oliver is 19 and married, and the other (Billy) will be 18 in two months. The attorney tells us that both young men must be returned to the parents. We are not too worried about this, for obvious reasons. But the law partner of the attorney is also commentator on a local Oakland radio show. We were informed by Mr. Holmes and Mr. Warden that if we did not return the “children” immediately, the radio station would be very hard on us via Warden’s radio show. If we did, their program would go very well for us. By the way, the Olivers have been in touch with the same Joseph Mazor.
But the case with the child Joh in Guyana is a very serious one. Your advice on how to protect ourselves from attempts to take this child, from a possible planeful of hostile relatives gathered up by this same bunch (Mazor, Mertles, etc.) and ultimately from attempts to try to take our leader, is very much appreciated. We do not see an end to the concerned efforts to dislodge or “de-stabilize” our group in Guyana, nor to get Jim, on any pretext they can come up with, into the courts. You said in our first conversation that when the attacker is irrational, you do not try to defend yourself with rational means. We identify with that very closely.
I think it might help to explain to you that our congregation is made up of people from all ages, all races, all walks of life; & all of these, especially now with the move to Guyana, Jim has taken responsibility for. Many are elderly, and most are black. We are a people
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who have suffered or who have identified with the suffering of lifetimes of oppression and deprivation. It is difficult to describe the pathos of the situation. For the first time in the lives of many who are there, they have a home, land, the best in schooling and medical attention, and – as one black sister said, for the first time in her life she could walk down the street and not be called “nigger.” Now we find ourselves under the continued attack of this conspiracy of media, reactionaries, and government agencies in the States. In our evolvement together, we have become many things: a family, a people with a purpose to live and build a socialist life, and in most cases fiercely loyal to the leader who has cared for the rejects of capitalist society and given us, individually and collectively, the context for life worth living. Without Jim’s vision and determination and love for us, nothing would have been accomplished.
I have enclosed for you, too, a copy of a letter received from a member of our group in Guyana, which we have made into a press release. Sharon is the mother of three racially mixed children, a highly educated and highly paid social worker and consultant. Her enthusiasm for life there needs little explanation.
Thank you for your concern. Any help you can give us by way of legal alternatives, a safe place for the child in dispute, or any creative ways to combat the continued intrusion – we are appreciative and look forward to your reply.
Very truly yours,
/s/ Jean Brown
Jean Brown
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BB-5-M-1
Report on phone call with Daniel Sheehan, March 1978
INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM
To Dad
From Jean
3/6/78
Subject: REPORT ON DAN SHEEHAN
Finally got ahold of DAN SHEEHAN this morning (Monday). He is in Oklahoma taking affidavits against the FBI, traveling all over until March 15 when he will return to New York. He asked about the nature of the proceedings in the Guyanese courts. Said in regards to TOS being in Washington that State Department and Congressperons respond more readily to public pressure than to “principle.” Ultimately the outcome of the custody situation will be determined by politics, and what Guyana chooses to respond to – his feeling was that pressure from State Department and Congress would have an effect on behalf of TOS. I told him of our excellent rapport there, and about Dr. Fernandes. He was pleased at that. Began to explain about the group of 10 freshman congressmen who came in together, including Wirth, Dellums, Mossett, Pattison and some others who share staff, share communications systems, and generally try to make themselves open to common problems and “justice” issues. Said since TOS has talked to them what we should do is call one of their staff personnel, ask for the names and districts of all 10, and get a story on our own behalf to the major media in their areas. Said congressmen respond directly to press in their own districts. Called them “absolute relativists.” Then not only will there be that pressure on them, but also if they are inclined to see both sides, it will give something to back up their opinions. He said mainly we can deal with staff, find out the major media, and strengthen our hand in those districts which will have an effect.
Again he asked what were the proceedings in the Guyana court based on. Said there was a decision in the local court here that TOS had legal and physical custody. He said then the court has communicated that to Guyana for a decision on the local court level there. Again he said ultimately the politics in Guyana would determine the outcome, and he felt that they could be influenced either direction. He just got appointed to the National Council of Churches committee on Church and Civil Rights. Said his main concern will be IRS harassment of “unpopular churches.”
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[Handwritten in margin: “they are doing this”] When I told him about our letter from IRS he responded immediately that we should keep him posted and write a 3-page introductory letter to the chairman of the committee, Penn Kelley, 475 Riverside Drive, New York, and explain the harassment of the IRS we are receiving and the work we are doing. We can use his name in this letter. Sheehan will be raising the issue of Church of Scientology to the Supreme Court, also a defense of two Puerto Rican nation[als] who were thrown in jail for bombs, called them socialists. He is going to New York at the middle of March. Said if we have our letter in by then, the chairman will know of us and Dan will follow up by discussion of our situation with him, among others. Said he has a growing number of church groups who have complaints about IRS harassment and this will be his special area of concern.
Another thing about [flaw in paper blocks word] Wirth. Said he is in tight with Jerry Brown, working to get him in office as President, along with Hart and some other Colorado people. Said they are more cautious [flaw in paper blocks word] because of elections. (I did not get the meaning of his point, I think he [flaw in paper blocks words] will be more approachable to a broad-based appeal.)
Said in our [flaw in paper blocks words] we should mention general references, church set-up, types of harassment, information for their files. He will chat with Kelley about us. Had talked to some Jesuits who were interested in Guyana. (No clear comment on this, though it was mentioned in [flaw in paper blocks word]) of reporters who might possibly go for a story on our mission. Could follow [illegible], knows personally BARRY LANDO, CBS director of 60 minutes, said we should [flaw in paper blocks word] they would be interested in doing a story on us. He is direct supervisor of Mike Wallace. Also said ABC is starting a special news magazine with CHUCK LEWIS, directly under Sander Van Ochre(?). Mention Sheehan’s name in both, they may be intertwined. Middle of the month he will be back in N.Y. – asked again that we keep in touch. Interested in IRS events.
[Handwritten addition] 1. Send Our World aid to congress.
2. Tell them Wirth drew back
3. Tell Peoples World about the New Times article
4. Tell Sheehan about The World