they knew about this. >> yes. >> reporter: rather than review the causes of sudden acceleration they decollided to exclude two crucial area as. >> they say longer duration incidents involving uncontrollable acceleration where the brakes didn't work are are not within the scope of this investigation. >> reporter: that decision was made after discussions with santucci and another toyota official who also worked for nhtsa. he was deposed in december. >> we discussed the scope, nhtsa's concerns about the scope and ultimately led to a decision by the agency to reduce that scope. >> reporter: was toyota effectively calling the shots? were they telling the federal government what they should and should not be looking for? >> i wish i knew the answer. >> reporter: is that what you believe? >> i don't know. that's why we filed this lawsuit. >> reporter: a toyota spokesman