Three congressmen asked the government to disclose more about NSA spying in 2009. It said no.

Newly declassified letters show that three members of the House Judiciary Committee asked the Department of Justice to tell the public more about how parts of the Patriot Act were being used to justify bulk phone record collections -- and that Justice said no.

In identical letters from Dec. 17, 2009, addressed to then House Judiciary Chairman Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) and Reps. Bobby Scott (D-VA) and Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Assistant Attorney General Ronald Weich thanks each member for an Oct., 5 2009 letter "requesting that the Department of Justice work to provide additional public information on the use of 215 of the USA PATRIOT ACT"—the provision that the government contends allows dragnet collection of Americans' phone records. The letters go on to say that they will not be releasing further information to the public, citing national security concerns.