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.