Minister Benjamin Chavis was subpoenaed by the
state Lobbying Commission, seeking to find out how $300,000 in funds were spent,
in an effort to change New York’s Rockefeller drug laws.
According to the New York Post, the subpoena
was issued after talks between the commission’s executive director David Grandeau
and a lawyer for Simmons and Chavis failed.
Chavis, who heads up the non-profit Hip-Hop Summit
Action Network, denied any wrong doing.
"The fact is, we have not engaged in lobbying
at all, but have worked to raise public awareness about the unfairness of the
Rockefeller drug law," Chavis said in a statement.