well, they have been for a while. okay. although president trump did invoke barr s name in the phone call with the ukrainian president, the justice department maintains barr has never communicated with ukrainian officials. however, doj s dismissal of the whistle-blower complaint is raising new questions about barr s independence, at least from the white house. joining me now is new york times justice department reporter katie brenner. thank you for being here. okay. so, katie, in your article on attorney general barr, you report that the department s involvement in the case has actually been overwhelmingly positive for trump. not only did the department advise the acting director of national intelligence to keep the whistle-blower complaint from congress, it also ruled out the possibility of criminal conduct on the part of the president. so how is this whistle-blower complaint actually raising questions or concerns about barr s independence? sure. i think that for the justice