CIA Director John Deutch gave his final testimony yesterday to the Senate Intelligence Committee. Senator Bennett Johnston of Louisiana questioned Deutch about his investigation into charges raised in The San Jose Mercury News that the CIA helped facilitate the flow of crack cocaine into Los Angeles in the 1980s in order to fund the Nicaraguan Contras.

Sen. Bennett Johnston: “You have no reason to suspect that there was that” —

John Deutch: “That’s exactly right, Senator. I have no reason to suspect, and I have no information that leads me to suspect, such an involvement.”

Sen. Bennett Johnston: “And none has ever — no credible allegation has really ever been made, to your knowledge, has it, about such involvement?”

John Deutch: “Up 'til now, there's no allegation that I’ve heard which I find credible.”

While Deutch testified in Washington, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department reported that it uncovered no evidence of CIA involvement in drug trafficking in Southern California. But that report isn’t sitting well with Congresswoman Maxine Waters or with demonstrators who took to the streets in San Francisco yesterday.

Protesters: “Investigate! Don’t hesitate! Stop the CIA! Investigate! Don’t hesitate! Stop the CIA!”

A couple dozen protesters spilled a trail of flour, meant to symbolize cocaine on the streets of San Francisco yesterday. The trail began at the Federal Building, then weaved to the building where the Nicaraguan Consulate is housed, then to the Tenderloin district, an area marked by intense poverty and drug abuse. The demonstration was meant to illustrate the connections between the CIA, the Contras and crack addiction in the United States. One of the participants was San Francisco City Supervisor Tom Ammiano.

Supervisor Tom Ammiano: “You know, I’m particularly here because of my position as an elected official, because I know a lot of us are frustrated with what elected officials do. But Maxine Waters is doing the absolute right thing, and I would like to say she is showing the most extreme bravery and integrity by taking on our government and taking on some of the corruption that exists. You know, I used to be on the school board. I was a teacher in the public schools for 22 years. I saw what the crack epidemic has done to our children. Maxine is right. We should all be ashamed. Today I read a study of the L.A. County sheriff saying there is no connection between the CIA and crack cocaine. Yeah, sure! Right. Yeah. They’re to justice what ValuJet is to airline safety. So hang in there, folks. You can always count on me and Maxine Waters. Thank you so much.”

And that is, of course, Maxine Waters. That was San Francisco City Supervisor Tom Ammiano.

Statistics suggest poor and older Americans will take a broadside if the government ratchets down its inflation gouge. Last week, a Senate advisory panel said the Consumer Price Index overstates inflation by more than 1% and should be replaced by a more accurate measure. The proposal would rein in cost-of-living increases for many federal benefits and the earned income tax credit for the working poor.

Michael Ovitz may be leaving his position as president of the Walt Disney Corporation, according to published reports. He’s had talks with Sony Corporation about taking a job there, this according to The New York Times and the New York Post. We’ll have more on Disney tomorrow. We’ll be devoting the morning on Democracy Now! to Disney and anti-Disney week.

An Army panel wants a Black soldier accused of painting swastikas on barracks doors to be discharged. The administrative board decided Wednesday that Sergeant Robert Washington painted the swastikas. He was very upset and very disappointed, his lawyer said. The panel recommended a general discharge, which falls somewhere between an honorable and dishonorable discharge.

The new Congress will line up 227 to 207, as Steve Stockman loses. Democrats shaved the Republicans’ margin in the House on Tuesday as they defeated freshman Congressmember Steve Stockman, the Republican of Texas, one of the top targets of the party and its allies in organized labor. In other Texas runoff elections, freshman Congressmember Ken Benson, a Democrat, easily defeated a moderate Republican opposed by anti-abortion forces in her own party. And in a battle between two Republicans, state Congressmember Kevin Brady, a moderate, beat Gene Fontenot, a physician backed by Christian conservatives.

And this news from Oregon: In an era when politicians accuse each other of spending millions of dollars to deceive voters, one has actually been indicted for lying. A Marion County, Oregon, grand jury indicted freshman Congressmember Wes Cooley on charges he lied about his military service in official state voter guides.