The department refused to make public some of its answers, saying the information is classified and would go instead to the intelligence committees of Congress.

One example: The department declined to say how many times the government had used its expanded authority under the law to obtain "roving" wiretaps on suspected individuals.

Nor would it say how many U.S. citizens had been subject to the new surveillance powers provided in the law.

In other cases, officials were more specific.

For instance, the Justice Department said that on 40 occasions, it had shared grand jury information involving foreign intelligence with other federal officials. Such intelligence sharing among different government agencies was liberalized under the new law.

Some of the department's disclosures about its new powers are anecdotal.

One provision of the new law allows Internet service providers to disclose communications to the government if they believe they are saving someone from death or injury by doing so.

The department said that had happened "several times" but said it could not be more specific.

But it described one case in which a high school canceled classes and bomb-sniffing dogs went through the halls after someone claiming to be a student "posted a death threat to an Internet message board in which he singled out a faculty member and several students to die by bomb and gun."

According to the Justice Department, the Internet provider, when the change in the law was explained, disclosed information that led to a student's arrest. The student confessed to making the threats, said the department.

....Asked if the answers demonstrate to him that the government's new powers are being used properly, Sensenbrenner said: "I can't say for sure the act is not being abused. That's why I fully intend right when the new Congress is seated . . . to draft another set of questions."

Back to the ACLU release:

David Sobel, General Counsel to the Electronic Privacy Information Center, emphasized that the FOIA request does not seek any information that could compromise a terrorism investigation. "Much of the information that the Justice Department claims is classified consists of statistical information whose release could not possibly endanger national security or any other legitimate government interest," he said.