11.   Mayor Anthony Williams of Washington defended the agency.

12.   Ms. Reinecke defended the agency.

13.   Patrick Wood III, the chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, defended the agency against criticism that it has failed to do its job policing electricity markets.

14.   Publicly, he has defended the agency as a guarantor of order and, for better or worse, a talented executor of commands from higher-ups.

15.   Rodriguez, however, was greeted with hostility on his return to Mount Carmel, especially when he defended his former agency.

16.   Standing alone before a committee of the state House of Representatives, a lawyer struggled to defend his agency against skeptical lawmakers.

17.   Tenet sought to defend the agency, saying CIA work had stopped terrorist operations over the past year.

18.   Through all the finger pointing, Williams has defended his agency in closed door meetings, according to witnesses, but has made no public statements or appearances.

19.   To defend the agency against the lawsuit, Tenet would have had to submit a sworn affidavit saying that disclosure would seriously damage national security.

20.   Weiner WASHINGTON -- Seattle Mayor Norm Rice joins Housing and Urban Development Secretary Henry Cisneros in defending the agency from GOP attempts to eliminate it.