Hearing Wrap Up: Government Should Restore Americans’ Trust in Its Record-Keeping by Promoting Transparency and Accountability

WASHINGTON-Yesterday, the Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets held a hearing titled "Declassified MLK Records: What They Reveal and Why They Matter." During the hearing, members examined why significant records concerning Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. remain sealed and redacted and compared the federal government's surveillance tactics in the mid-20^th century to the modern-day surveillance state. Members also explored how the government's lack of transparency for decades has fueled conspiracy theories and undermined Americans' confidence in the federal government.

Key Takeaways:

President Trump's Executive Order 14176 allowed significant records relating to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination to be unsealed, but some records still remain redacted.

• Stuart Wexler, Author and Investigative Researcher, testified that "There is still one major body of evidence that needs to be released. It's the House Select Committee on Assassination files on Martin Luther King's assassination. Nearly every single page of the concurrent investigation into the JFK assassination has been released. Zero has been released on the Martin Luther King assassination."

Throughout the 1950s and 60s, the FBI extensively surveilled and harassed Dr. King, his family, and his associates, which raises concerns about infringements on First Amendment rights and the modern-day surveillance state.

• Authorities have investigated Dr. King's murder five times since his assassination in 1968.
• Dr. Alveda King,Chair of The American Dream at America First Policy Institute, and niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., testified that "[My] own family experienced what we call 'wiretaps,' and their excuse for taping or tapping all of us…So they ended up being in files not only on Martin Luther King, but our whole family. And you could [hear] in those days, the wires would crackle and you could hear the wiretaps, and we would know that somebody was listening."

Congress should work to restore the American people's trust in the government's record keeping and put harmful conspiracy theories to rest.

• Dr. Alveda King testified that "The release of the files related to the assassination of my uncle, Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., represents a meaningful and historic step towards faith and truth and justice. Especially difficult truth has a way of getting and setting us free. Transparency invites trust, and trust is essential for national healing."
  
• Mr. Wexler testified that "I'd love to reframe the focus of this committee, not to the legacy necessarily specifically of Dr. King, but the focus it on very specifically what the Executive Order that Donald Trump put into effect. I think almost a year ago to this day. And that's releasing files very specifically related to his assassination. There is a misconception that the material that was released in June was derogatory material towards Martin Luther King. No, [The House Oversight Committee] and the [National Archives] actually did an amazing job of focusing the material that was released on his actual murder and the investigation of his murder. The material that was released was something called the "MURKIN Files." That's an abbreviation the FBI gave it. It's murder of Martin Luther King. Every single field office in the United States was involved in the investigation of the murder that happened afterwards. And you folks got released virtually every single one of those files, including headquarters files. There's a handful I can talk about that need to be put in, but almost all of them were released."

Member Highlights:

Task Force Chairwoman Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) inquired about information in the MURKIN Files that reveals the federal government's use of wiretaps on Dr. King and various members of his family and violations of their privacy.

Task Force Chairwoman Luna: "[When] Dr. King was going through all this, I know with some of the files that have come out, we know that the FBI was suggesting that he kill himself and was using a smear operation, even going as far as sending information to his wife. But you being, you know, a little girl at the time, do you specifically remember-can you speak to what you remember and how that impacted your family? From a personal perspective?"

Dr. Alveda King: "I can certainly, definitely. I certainly do remember-I've had 75 years of these experiences. So I was born in 1951. Around 1956 or so, my uncle, Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Jr., my father, Reverend Alfred Daniel Williams King, they were brothers. They were preachers together, young fathers, family men together so very loosely. We and my own family experience what we call 'wiretaps' and their excuse for taping or tapping all of us. Uncle Emil and daddy, they were brothers. They were in and out of each other's houses, shared each other's telephones. So they ended up being files not only on Martin Luther King, but our whole family. And you could in those days, the wires would crackle and you could hear the wiretaps, and we would know that somebody was listening. I don't know if you can imagine this, but I was a young girl, [in 1963], I was 12, [during] the "I Have a Dream' speech. I grew up, had little boyfriends and things, and got married the year after Martin Luther King, Jr. was killed. So I became an adult young woman, and so my own little private conversations were being listened to under the excuse of, 'we've got to hear what Martin Luther King Jr. is doing.' So this is not secondhand information for me. It happened to our whole family."

Task Force Chairwoman Luna also asked about the Loyd Jowers trial (1999) that revealed the federal government's role in the conspiracy to assassinate Dr. King and how the lack of transparency impacted Americans' trust in the government.

Task Force Chairwoman Luna: "Dr. [Alveda] King, there was famously a hearing where the King family was awarded, I think it was a nominal [sum]. I think it was like a dollar or something for basically admission that there was a conspiracy to assassinate Dr. King. Based on what I'm reading here, the FBI did investigate and follow up with three specific witnesses, but I don't know that the DOJ ever followed up after that. And for whatever reason, whether it was racially motivated or not. This investigation, which I think is a pretty important thing based on what I'm seeing in these documents, was not, I guess, closed out fully. Can you please speak to that hearing and then also or that settlement and then also to how the lack of transparency surrounding the murder of Dr. King impacted public's trust in government?"

Dr. Alveda King: "Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. As a point of privilege, let me first, thank you for making it easier for people to access and that number, that the file number, where we can get the information. We really appreciate that. Also, I wanted to mention an individual's humanity does not diminish their impact on the world because I've heard little subtle thoughts about that. But as human beings, we want the world to be a better place. Also, the King family really appreciated the 45th Administration and now the 47th Administration in focusing on what really happened without all of the other issues and things that people want to hear, the salacious things. We are very grateful for the way that this administration is handling that…But I think transparency and truth are so important. You know, this is a time when our nation feels deeply divided, and this moment offers an invitation to unity, to prayer, renewed commitment to those ideals that bind us together."

Rep. Eric Burlison (R-Mo.) inquired about ways for Congress to initiate the release of more MLK files without causing harm to the King family.

Rep. Burlison: "Just looking at this-and I've read some of your testimony that you're kind of trying to draw a line here-that you there is a way to legitimately release these documents without harming, without violating, the interest of or releasing material that might be harmful to the King family?"

Mr. Wexler: "One hundred percent there is."

Rep. Burlison: "And can you explain [what] that is?"

Mr. Wexler: "The stuff that I'm most interested is the stuff that [Congress] are the ones who are the only people who can release. President Trump can't release it. Courts can't release it because it's sealed by the Congress. In the late 1970s, there was a concurrent investigation of both the assassination of JFK and MLK. We have almost all of the JFK files from that investigation. We have basically zero from the MLK assassination. There's a misperception that there's this absolute seal on the material, but there was a letter that went with the seal, and that letter that went with the seal gave the clerk at any given time, the Clerk of the House of Representatives the discretion to release files. Now, I believe the Clerk should direct the archives. Legislative Archive Center in D.C…Those are almost exclusively located within files under the FBI classification code, with 100 and 105 under Section E of the final report, you just say to the Legislative Archive, 'expedite the release of all of the material on the assassination.' The staff interviews, staff reports, Executive Session testimony from people who actually have information on the assassination. But we could take our time. We could do a much more deliberative process, however long it takes with these 100 and 105 files."

Click here to watch the hearing.