OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Republican presidential contenders Jeb Bush and Chris Christie are heartily endorsing the Patriot Act and mocking those who say the intelligence overhaul encroaches on civil liberties.
At the Southern Republican Leadership Conference in Oklahoma City on Friday, Bush said there's ample evidence the act has kept Americans safe.
Christie served as a U.S. prosecutor before being elected New Jersey governor and told the same crowd that the Patriot Act helped him win convictions of defendants tied to the 2001 terrorist attacks.
Bush contends there's no evidence civil liberties have been violated by the act.
But the Justice Department inspector general has identified dozens of incidents it blamed on the FBI of improper or unauthorized use of the act to collect telephone logs, email records or credit reports.