The FBI Files on the WCG
Have you ever wondered what information on the WCG might be found in the files of the FBI? Kentuckian Gene Bailey has. And his curiosity prompted him to contact FBI offices around the country to request copies of their files on the WCG under provisions of the Freedom of Information Act ("FOIA," 5 USCA Sec. 552).
Unfortunately, while the FOIA seems to hold out much promise for investigators, utilizing it can be time consuming. Bailey has had to wait well over a year to receive the first release of documents since his initial request. And utilization of the FOIA is not without financial costs. The FBI has charged Bailey plenty just for photocopying and he has also incurred attorney's fees. Furthermore, the FOIA does not really make all government held information accessible. The FOIA provides numerous loopholes or exceptions whereby the government may withhold information at its own discretion. For example, the government may withhold information when it feels its release would jeopardize an ongoing investigation, national security, or the concealment of a confidential informant. The government may also withhold information which it feels impinges on a living citizen's privacy rights. Where files contain information about a living individual, the government generally will not release that information without the individual's permission. Thus, in order to get the FBI's files on Joseph W. Tkach, one would have to obtain Tkach's written permission. Bailey has written to Tkach requesting such permission, but "The Apostle" never responded or cooperated in any way.
In spite of the numerous exceptions and restrictions built into the law, Bailey has discovered much by utilizing the FOIA. For instance, the FBI's office in Los Angeles has admitted that they have seven main files pertaining to Herbert W. Armstrong and two main files pertaining to the WCG. One of those files originated in and was coordinated by the FBI's Atlanta office. Other filed investigations were reported to FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C.
So far, the FBI's Los Angeles office has given Bailey 72 pages of information. Most of those pages are heavily censored with blacked-out sections. The Los Angeles office also informed Bailey that they are withholding 164 pages of information in their entirety. The FBI has not even hinted what those 164 pages contain.
In addition to the Los Angeles office, other FBI offices have files on the WCG. The FBI's Washington, D.C. office has informed Bailey that their office has about 500 pages of information about HWA and the WCG. There is an additional 112 pages dealing with Ambassador College, the Plain Truth, the World Tomorrow, and Stanley R. Rader. The government originally told Bailey he should have all the documents he requested by March. But they have now informed him that it will take another three to four months for the government to decide how much, if any, of the remaining files can be released. The government has stated that the large file on HWA is designated as "classified" for national security reasons. Whether or not it will be declassified and released to Bailey remains to be seen.
It is not surprising that the FBI should have taken an interest in HWA. While we were never able to verify the allegation, it was rumored for years that certain members of HWA's entourage were smuggling illegal drugs into the U.S. by concealing the powdery substances in sealed canisters of World Tomorrow video tape and in the bulkheads of the WCG's corporate jet.
But Bailey has learned from the FBI that other federal investigative agencies have had files on the WCG. Those agencies, the FBI said, include the Air Force's Special Investigations Office and the Central Intelligence Agency. Regarding the latter, one CIA employee told Bailey that after each meeting with foreign leaders during the 1970s and early 1980s Herbert Armstrong and his Jewish attorney-accountant Stanley R. Rader had probably been debriefed by the CIA and that there would be files on those debriefings. But now, however - months after being told by the government that the CIA had files on the WCG - Bailey has been told by the CIA that no such files can be found!
In addition to contacting numerous federal agencies, Bailey has written to the secretaries of state for the 50 states in an attempt to ascertain exactly who the corporate agents of record are for the Worldwide Church of God, Inc. and the Church of God, International, Inc. in each of the separate states. As a result, Bailey made some startling discoveries. In a number of states, the agent for both the WCG and the CGI are the same individual - a current WCG minister. In one case the agent listed for the CGI was never in the CGI headed by Garner Ted Armstrong and is now deceased. For Minnesota, there are two agents listed for CGI: an individual who is no longer in either CGI or the WCG, and Ralph Helge who is actually the chief attorney for the WCG. Even more curious is the fact that in some states (Utah, for example, in a state filing dated April 19, 1982) the list of CGI directors includes the names of such WCG luminaries as Ralph Helge, Ellis LaRavia, and Raymond McNair and their addresses are all listed as 300 West Green Street, Pasadena, California. It is difficult to fathom what possible excuse can be given for the maintenance of such legal confusion. Certainly one has to suspect some kind of chicanery is involved. While we reported back in 1978 (AR 6) how the WCG was trying to tie up the name "Church of God, International" so that Garner Ted Armstrong's new church would be inconvenienced, since then GTA's Tyler, Texas organization has clearly become known everywhere as "the Church of God, International." With WCG people in Pasadena still registered as doing business under the same name it is quite conceivable that property left by will to Garner Ted's CGI could eventually wind up in one of Worldwide's CGI shells.
Bailey is continuing his investigations and says he hopes that by mid-September all his requests for documents from the various government agencies he has contacted will be processed. He also says he would be willing to provide a photocopy set of all those documents to anyone who will send him enough to cover his printing and mailing expenses. Ralph Helge has already sent in a check. Those interested should write to: Gene Bailey, _______, _____, KY. However, Mr. Bailey emphasizes that at this time he has no way of knowing exactly how much information will be contained in the government files yet to be reviewed. It may turn out that very little will be released.
Hopefully, within four months we will have had a chance to look over those documents ourselves. We hope to provide our readers with a synopsis of their contents in a future issue of Ambassador Report.
