The Justice Department is investigating whether ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC, and Fox News violated federal antitrust laws (Sherman Act) when they briefly suspended the shared White House television press pool in September.The networks halted pooled coverage for several days after President Trump barred CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from White House grounds (preventing CNN from participating in the pool). This left some events, such as a meeting with China’s Xi Jinping, without major network footage.
DOJ officials contacted the networks on Friday with civil investigative demands for communications and materials related to the pool. A DOJ spokesperson described the action as a “proudly boycotted” group boycott among competitors and said the Antitrust Division is examining potential violations.
“The decisions news organizations make about coverage are protected by the First Amendment, and summoning antitrust authority, on top of the retaliatory actions the White House has already taken to bar certain outlets, is another and even more brazen attempt to try to intimidate journalists,” Brown said in a statement.
The probe widely viewed as a sharp escalation in the administration’s tensions with the press. Related litigation by the barred outlets continues, with a temporary court pause on the ban