Washington, D.C. ? Attorney General Alberto Gonzales conceded Wednesday that he used confusing language in describing national security efforts in recent Senate testimony.

His letter to Senate Judiciary Committee leaders stopped short of an apology as the Bush administration pushed to expand eavesdropping on suspected terrorists.

But in response, the committee’s top Republican, Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, joined Democrats who said Gonzales should not have sole authority to approve the warrantless interception of messages between foreign terrorists overseas.