Feinstein Seeks Answers on Pentagon Protest Log

WASHINGTON —  Sen. Dianne Feinstein on Thursday asked for answers about an obscure Pentagon agency that included reports on student antiwar protests and other peaceful civilian demonstrations in a database meant to detect terrorist activities.

“Under what circumstances can peaceful protests at universities or by antiwar groups be monitored?” the California Democrat asked in a letter to Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld.

“What authorities, and under what regulations, do military counterintelligence units have to conduct investigations on U.S. persons?” Feinstein asked.

At issue is a classified database of information about suspicious people and activity inside the U.S. that is maintained by the 3-year-old Counterintelligence Field Activity agency, whose size and budget also are classified.

The database, which a Pentagon fact sheet says is meant to capture information “indicative of possible terrorist pre-attack activity,” came to light a month ago when NBC News obtained details on its contents.

The Pentagon acknowledged including information on antiwar activities and other meetings that should have been removed.

The Pentagon announced a review of the program, and Feinstein’s office has been told that all inappropriate records have now been removed.

Among the reports until recently maintained in the database was one on an April protest at UC Santa Cruz, by UCSC Students Against the War, Feinstein said Pentagon officials have confirmed to her staff.

Pentagon spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Greg Hicks said Thursday the review was ongoing. Hicks said he had not seen Feinstein’s letter but that Rumsfeld would respond to it after reviewing it.