![Bush credits Patriot Act for 200+ convictions in push for renewal](https://www.jurist.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/jurist-white-text.png)
[JURIST] As part of an administration effort to rally support for reauthorization of key provisions of the Patriot Act due to expire later this year [JURIST report], President Bush Thursday credited the Act with helping to secure the convictions of over 200 suspects [White House transcript] and denied that it impinged on civil liberties. In remarks at an Ohio police academy, he said that the flexibility of the Act [White House fact sheet] had led to the investigation and dissolution of terrorist cells in New York, Oregon, Virginia, and Florida. US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, who accompanied the President on his Ohio visit and who appeared before Congress in April to urge reauthorization [JURIST report], discussed the renewal of the Patriot Act Wednesday at greater length in a radio interview [RealPlayer audio]. AP has more.