GOP senator defends phone records collection

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A Republican senator is defending the practice of collecting millions of telephone records in the ongoing war on terror.

South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham told reporters on Thursday that he had no problem with the ongoing practice, saying it was imperative in the war on terror.

Graham said - quote - "If we don't do it, we're crazy."

Later at a hearing with Attorney General Eric Holder, Graham said he is a Verizon customer and it doesn't bother him at all if his number was part of the NSA program. He said the goal of the program is to track connections between known terrorist groups and any U.S. phone numbers.

The White House earlier Thursday defended the National Security Agency's need to collect telephone records of U.S. citizens, calling such information "a critical tool in protecting the nation from terrorist threats." (See earlier story. Link below.)