professional standards is totally without merit. and nhtsa says our record reflects that safety is our singular priority. the scope of the investigation was appropriate because, quote, longer duration incidents involve the possibility that the wrong pedal was used, which could mask a vehicle-based defect. >> that was ridiculous for the agency to agree to that. >> reporter: joan claybrook's consumer group successfully sued toyota in 2007, forcing it to disclose which vehicles had been involved in crashes. >> they should require more information to be submitted, not less, and they should require all the complaints of the agency itself can do an evaluation of what is a problem and what is not. >> reporter: as for the alleged conflict of interest, employees interviewing for jobs outside the government are not supposed to engage in any business between their current agency and their potential employer. once they leave government, as long as they're not with the executive or legislative branches, that no longer applies.