WASHINGTON

PENTAGON SENDS OFFICIAL TO MEET WITH LAWMAKERS ABOUT SECRET UNIT

The Pentagon sent its top intelligence official to Capitol Hill yesterday to explain the mission and makeup of a secret battlefield intelligence group that some lawmakers suggested may have skirted congressional oversight and not been coordinated fully with the CIA. Some Democrats pressed for hearings, but Republicans said they were in no rush.

At the Pentagon, two senior defense officials told reporters that members of Congress had been fully briefed on the intelligence group during last year’s budget deliberations. They said lawmakers may not recognize it now because the group’s name was changed after their briefings. The group, now called Strategic Support teams, was previously called Humint Augmentation teams, the officials said, speaking on condition that they not be further identified. Humint refers to human intelligence, or information provided by spies.

The teams, each comprising about 10 mostly civilian linguists, case officers, interrogators, and debriefers, are designed to provide the military’s conventional and special operations forces with more sustainable battlefield intelligence to support combat and other activities.

The defense officials said this is not a new mission for military intelligence; rather, they said, it is being structured in a new way so that it can be provided to battlefield commanders in a more regularized manner.

The chief spokesman for Defense Secretary Rumsfeld, Larry Di Rita, acknowledged that the group exists and said it was managed by the Defense Intelligence Agency’s Human Intelligence Service. “There is a desire to connect better intelligence to battlefield operations,” Mr. Di Rita said, and the DIA unit is an example of a way to support commanders in the field.

– Associated Press

ASA HUTCHINSON RESIGNS FROM HOMELAND SECURITY DEPARTMENT POST

A top Homeland Security Department official resigned yesterday after he was passed over twice by the Bush administration to be secretary of the agency.

Undersecretary Asa Hutchinson, in charge of border and transportation security issues, submitted his resignation to the White House early this morning. He is a former Arkansas congressman and former federal drug czar who is considering a run for Arkansas governor next year.

“With confidence in the work that has been done and in the team that is being assembled for your second administration as president, I am satisfied that I can in good conscience take leave of administration service and pursue other responsibilities,” Mr. Hutchinson wrote to President Bush.

Mr. Hutchinson ended his letter by thanking “the people of Arkansas who have faithfully supported me in my journey through public service.” His resignation is effective March 1.

Earlier this month, Mr. Bush tapped federal appeals court judge Michael Chertoff as his second nominee to head the Homeland Security Department and its 180,000 employees. Outgoing Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge plans to leave his office February 1.

– Associated Press

WEST

SENATOR CLINTON’S EX-CAMPAIGN FINANCE DIRECTOR PLEADS NOT GUILTY

LOS ANGELES – A former campaign finance director for Senator Clinton pleaded not guilty yesterday to charges of filing false reports with the Federal Election Commission. David Rosen entered his plea before U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephen J. Hillman and was released on his own recognizance. The four-count indictment unsealed earlier this month involves allegations that Mr. Rosen filed reports that misstated contributions for a Hollywood fund-raising gala for Mrs. Clinton as she ran for a Senate seat from New York. The case was assigned to U.S. District Judge A. Howard Matz and was given a date of March 22. Prosecutor Peter Zeidenberg estimated the trial would last one week. Defense attorney Paul Sandler said, however, that he will file a change-of-venue motion and try to have the trial moved to Washington, D.C. The case involves an August 12,2000,dinner and concert supported by more than $1.1 million in “in-kind contributions” – goods and services provided for free or below cost. The FBI has alleged it has evidence the campaign understated its fund-raising costs so it would have more money to spend on Mrs. Clinton’s campaign. While the event allegedly cost more than $1.2 million, the indictment said, Mr. Rosen reported contributions of about $400,000.

– Associated Press