Justice Department Probes TV Networks Over White House Pool Coverage Suspension

The US Department of Justice launched an antitrust probe into five leading US broadcast news networks on Friday, investigating possible violations of federal antitrust laws.

The networks under investigation are ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC, and Fox News. The probe relates to the solidarity expressed last month after President Donald Trump's efforts to ban CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House grounds. In response to the ban, the other four broadcasters temporarily suspended their TV pool duty coverage. Justice Department spokesperson Emily Covington stated on Saturday that group boycotts among commercial competitors can violate the Sherman Act, an antitrust measure.

Ms. Covington added that the Antitrust Division is investigating to determine whether these news organizations violated antitrust laws. DOJ officials contacted the networks on Friday and demanded communications and materials related to the White House TV pool, according to The New York Times, citing six people with knowledge of the action. The networks paused pool coverage last month after the Trump administration dropped CNN from its scheduled pool assignment.

This boycott meant that some of President Trump's anticipated events, including the unveiling of his new White House helipad and portions of his summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, happened without the expected television coverage. A federal judge later lifted the ban, granting the three news organizations a temporary reprieve that is in place until Tuesday.

Television pool coverage of the White House has since resumed. Bruce Brown, president of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, said the Justice Department probe appears to be a pretext for seeking records from the networks about how they are covering daily White House events during a media ban the president himself put in place.

Jose Zamora, regional director for the Americas at the Committee to Protect Journalists, criticized the investigation, stating, "The government should not use antitrust investigations to intimidate news outlets defending press access." The White House announced in February that it was taking control of the press pool, which had been managed by the White House Correspondents' Association for over a century.