You’ve seen us approach the subject of the Church of Scientology here at RedState quite a bit.

Let’s be clear, so that there’s absolutely no grey area, as to what Scientology is: It is a scam. It is a false philosophy, created by a science fiction writer named L. Ron Hubbard. The goal is not enlightenment, or to save the world, as they seem to push on their adherents. It’s a con of global proportions, aimed at siphoning money from the pockets of those they rope in, and enriching the hierarchy of the cult.

Along the way, they abuse, mistreat, mislead, and destroy lives. Because that’s what cults do. They are hungry to hang on to the power – and most importantly, the money – that this elaborate lie provides them.

I’m sure most of you guys are aware, so no further invectives are necessary.

Now, what does the Church of Scientology have to do with the #MeToo movement?

What we’re seeing is that the #MeToo movement has become something virulent and distorted. Some of the stories that are piggybacking the wave of accusations just seem – off.

An example would be the recently dropped tale of comedian Aziz Ansari.

As has been covered here, a young woman made a drunken play for Ansari at a party (while she was there with another date). They exchanged numbers, stayed in contact, and then went out on a date.

Things got steamy, she consented to certain activities, but later decided that it was what amounted to a bad date, so she contacted him to let him know she wasn’t “comfortable” with how things happened.

He apologized.

She went to the press with her #MeToo tale.

The way the #MeToo movement has evolved makes it easily weaponized, and the Church of Scientology, alleged to use any dirty tactic to destroy the lives of those who cross them (or who flee their ranks, taking their money with them), may be using it to destroy one of their former dupes.

Paul Haggis, an award winning film maker (He won Academy Awards for the film, “Crash”), is one of those refugees from Scientology. He’s been featured on the Leah Remini A&E series, “Scientology and the Aftermath.”

Haggis has been accused of raping a publicist and is part of a civil lawsuit. Several other women have also come forward to report sexual misconduct by Haggis.

Remini and her co-host on the series, Mike Rinder (both former Scientologists) aren’t convinced. They’ve written an open letter in support of Haggis and suggest that this smacks of the work of the Church of Scientology.

From Page Six:

In the letter, Rinder and Remini refer to the allegations as “suspect” due to their anonymous nature and the fact that the church of Scientology is known for targeting members who have left its congregation.

“Those who accuse without going to law enforcement, those who seek hush money to keep their stories secret, those who make accusations to the media anonymously — they are suspect,” the letter, posted to Rinder’s personal blog, reads. “And when the target of these tactics is someone who is a prominent critic of Scientology, it is very suspect.”

“Only a Scientologist can understand the pressure one feels to offer up even the slightest thing that the Scientology organization might consider a transgression of THEIR mores,” the pair wrote. “This information is used against anyone who departs Scientology and dares speak their mind. This is not imaginary. There is a documented history of such things. When someone is a declared an ‘enemy’ by Scientology, they are fair game.”

On the series, Remini and Rinder have spoken about files of information the church [cult] keeps on each member, and how often, should a member get out of line or question the authority of the church [cult] hierarchy, that information is used to either attempt to keep them in line, or to destroy them.

“We expect the next ‘revelations’ about Paul Haggis in this campaign to destroy him to be based on information culled from his Scientology files in the form of more ‘anonymous’ accusers,” the letter continues, “hiding behind a lawyer who will never have to disclose who is paying their bill.”

“In this time of heightened awareness of sexual predators, it is easy to remain quiet when an injustice is being perpetrated for fear of being tarred as politically incorrect. But more important to us than being politically correct is standing up for what we believe is right.”

Indeed. Another potential drawback to the #MeToo movement is that fear of being attacked for being “politically incorrect,” or an enabler of sexual abusers. Many might draw back from attempting to defend those falsely accused.

That’s not to say Haggis is innocent. He might be guilty in every way. Remini and Rinder might be defending him reflexively, given their experiences with Scientology and the corrupt operations of the leadership.

Haggis has denied all of the allegations through his lawyer, characterizing the three anonymous women, who came forward after an initial accusation from publicist Haleigh Breest, as part of a campaign “from the law-firm representing Ms. Breest … to try to harm him and continue their effort to obtain money.” He has also referred to his history as a former Scientologist in relation to the accusations against him. In a court filing against Breest, he wrote that as a prominent critic of the church, he is used to defending himself from false accusations.

So find out who the women are and what their connections to the church [cult] are. You could be right.