MADELEINE BRAND, host: From NPR West, this is DAY TO DAY.  I'm Madeleine Brand.</s>MADELEINE BRAND, host: Coming up, does President Bush have the authority to authorize      eavesdropping on Americans without a court order?  The president talked      about that and other issues at a news conference earlier today.  More now      from NPR White House correspondent Don Gonyea.</s>MADELEINE BRAND, host: DON GONYEA reporting:</s>MADELEINE BRAND, host: The president used this year-end news conference to insist that he has      the constitutional authority to call for secret wiretaps without court      approval of communication between the US and foreign locations by      suspected terrorists and he had scathing criticism for the person within      the government who leaked the story to The New York Times.</s>MADELEINE BRAND, host: President GEORGE W. BUSH:  My personal opinion is it was a shameful act      for someone to disclose this very important program in a time of war.      The fact that we're discussing this program is helping the enemy.</s>GONYEA: The topic of US intelligence regarding Saddam Hussein's alleged      weapons of mass destruction also came up.  No such weapons were found.      The president was asked if that hurts US credibility around the world as      it confronts new threats.  He acknowledged that it does.</s>Pres. BUSH: Where it is going to be most difficult to make the cases in      the public arena, people will say, `You know, if we're trying to make the      case on Iran, you know, well, the intelligence failed in Iraq and,      therefore, how can we trust the intelligence in Iran?'</s>GONYEA: The news conference was the culmination of a recent push by the      administration to rebuild support for the mission in Iraq and to convince      Americans that the war is being won.  Don Gonyea, NPR News, the White      House.
In his third public appearance in three days, President Bush faced tough questions from the White House press corps and defended his use of secret wiretaps within the United States. He also scolded senators who voted against renewal of the Patriot Act, calling it an essential tool in the so-called "war on terror." NPR White House correspondent Don Gonyea reports.