The infamous recording of two top La Sierra University administrators, a part-time biology professor and a member LSU's board of trustees has been transcribed and posted on the Riverside Superior Court's website.
On April 20, 2011, former LSU board member Lenny Darnell inadvertently recorded a conversation between himself and Jeff Kaatz, Jim Beach and Gary Bradley when he forgot to turn off his phone recorder after secretly recording a meeting at La Sierra University Church. It was a closed meeting between North American Division's President Dan Jackson and Education Director Larry Blackmer and LSU faculty. Board members had not been invited.
The next day Darnell sent the recording to several people without knowing his compromising conversation with his friends was on the recording. The recording eventually landed in the hands of church leaders.
Two months later, Darnell, Kaatz, Beach and Bradley were forced to resign; however, feeling wrongfully terminated, Kaatz, Beach and Bradley took the case to court.
It was this recording that revealed that LSU was allegedly using WASC as leverage to lessen the church's influence through the board. According to Darnell, WASC emboldened LSU President Randall Wisbey. Darnell also suggested sending a memo to the WASC Commission that would tell them to tell LSU to demand that LSU dismantle its ex-officio structure on the board, or the problem would never go away (page 28 of document below; 02:21:53 on the recording).
Legend
V1 - Jim Beach
V2 - Gary Bradley
V3 - Jeff Kaatz
V4 - Lenny Darnell