The Tupac Amaru Shakur Record Collections Act of 2005

 

A legend in her own mind H.R. 4210 - The Tupac Amaru Shakur Record Collections Act of 2005 U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney has never been mistaken for the brightest star in the congressional firmament. You'll remember the Georgia Democrat as the lawmaker who called for an investigation into whether President Bush and other government officials had advance notice of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks yet did nothing to prevent them. Even her fellow Democrats couldn't hang with her on that one. McKinney's latest addition to the history book of failed legislation came this month when she filed a bill that would require the National Archives to establish the Tupac Amaru Shakur Records Collection. HR 4210 is based on the premise that "all Government records related to the life and death of Tupac Amaru Shakur should be preserved for historical and governmental purposes." Gosh, I wish I were joking about this, but there it is, in the congressional record for all to see. Tupac was a hip-hop artist who was gunned done in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas in 1996. He may have been an iconic figure in the rap world, but one has to wonder whether the government records related to his life and death (guess that would include his arrest and prison records) merit the same consideration as, say, the JFK assassination or Watergate files.

November 2, 2005

Talking Points from the Office of Rep. Cynthia McKinney ·  Tupac Shakur was murdered in Las Vegas, Nevada in 1996 and his murder has not yet been solved. Rep. McKinney called for release of files on Shakur at a Congressional Black Caucus panel this September because there are many parallels in his life and death to the attacks and deaths carried out by the FBI in their COINTELPRO program against political musicians and activists since the 1950s. McKinney said of the late artist’s unsolved death: “His family and his family of fans have the right to know what happened on that fateful night. The public has the right to know because he was a well-known figure. There is intense public interest in the life and death of Tupac Shakur.” <?xml:namespace prefix = o />  ·  “Basically we would model the Tupac legislation on the MLK legislation [H.R. 2554] which I introduced earlier this year. We know that in 1999 a jury determined that there was a conspiracy to kill Dr. King that included our own government. To the extent that there are files available on the life and murder of Tupac, they too should be released for public inspection,” McKinney noted recently.   ·  There is a compelling public interest in prompt public disclosure of records for historical and government purposes, and to fully inform the American people about the history surrounding the life and death of Tupac Amaru Shakur.   ·  This Act is necessary because records might be lost or destroyed which are not yet released. The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) has prevented full disclosure. Executive Order #12356 on “National Security Information” prevents timely disclosure. Most related records do not involve national security, and only in rare cases are there legitimate reasons to protect them from release.   ·  The primary purposes of this Act are: the expeditious disclosure of records relevant to the life and death of Tupac Amaru Shakur, the preservation of all such records for historical purposes. This act will secure a presumption of disclosure to fully inform the public and establish an independent and accountable process for public disclosure.   ·  The Act will disclose a broad range of related records on the life and death of Tupac Amaru Shakur that have been created, obtained by or came into the possession of Government agencies, including all executive and independent federal agency offices and all state and local law enforcement agencies that kept records.   ·  This Act will create a Tupac Amaru Shakur Records Collection at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), and a copy at an archive approved by the Tupac Shakur Arts Center in Stone Mountain, Georgia.   ·  No related record may be withheld indefinitely, and there is a strong presumption of release based on weighing the public interest against the gravity of the threat posed by release to the military defense, intelligence operations, or conduct of foreign relations of the United States. Clear and convincing evidence is necessary to create grounds for temporary postponements of release or redaction or records. These grounds are limited to threats to a living intelligence agent whose identity currently requires protection, an intelligence source or method currently in use which has not yet been officially disclosed, disclosures of sources and methods that would interfere with the conduct of current intelligence activities, and any other matter that would demonstrably impair the national security of the United States.   ·  An independent Citizens Advisory Committee will be appointed by the Archivist from nominations sent by the civil rights, civil liberties, African-American and entertainment communities, to assist the Archivist in carrying out provisions of the Act. All nominees to the Citizens Advisory Committee must be impartial private citizens, not presently employed by any branch of the government, and who have not been involved with any official investigation or inquiry into the life and death of Tupac Amaru Shakur conducted by any federal, state or local government, and who also have not been previously employed by any intelligence or law enforcement agency relating to Tupac Shakur. These nominees will include at least three professional experts in current history, three attorneys from the civil liberties community, three members of the civil rights community, and at least one member of the immediate family of Tupac Amaru Shakur.   ·  The Archivist and the Citizens Advisory Committee will share the power to direct government offices to locate and organize related records and transmit them for review or release. They may also investigate the facts surrounding the transmission or possession of records, and take testimony of individuals in order to fulfill their responsibilities.   ·  The Archivist and the Committee can request the Attorney General to subpoena private persons or government employees to compel testimony (or subpoena records in the case of the Archivist), and require agencies to account in writing for any previous or current destruction of related records. The Archivist and the Committee can receive information from the public about the identification and disclosure of related records, and hold hearings, administer oaths or subpoena witnesses.   ·  The Citizens Advisory Committee can also request that the Attorney General petition any court in the United States or abroad to release any sealed information or physical evidence relevant to the life or death of Tupac Amaru Shakur, and to subpoena such evidence if it is no longer in the possession of the government. A similar request can be made for release of any information held under the injunction of secrecy of a grand jury. ·  The Act will terminate no later than 3 years from passage of the Act. All records still pending postponement decisions by the Archivist upon termination will be presumed available for release and transmitted to the Archivist for release within 60 days of its termination. One year after termination any additional related records postponed by the Archivist will be fully released. Any related records discovered after termination of the Act will be released under terms of this Act, and not the Freedom of Information Act, or other legislation or executive orders concerning declassification.