Federal officials are examining whether five major networks breached antitrust laws by temporarily halting shared coverage of President Donald Trump.
The Department of Justice has opened an antitrust investigation into five major television networks after they temporarily halted shared White House pool coverage to protest the exclusion of three news organizations, CBS News reported.
The inquiry focuses on ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News and NBC, the broadcasters that take turns operating the White House television press pool. Federal officials are examining whether the networks’ decision to suspend pool operations last month violated federal competition laws, according to NBC News.
The antitrust inquiry
The Justice Department began sending out civil investigative demands on Friday, an official told NBC News. The New York Times was first to report that the inquiry was underway.
Justice Department spokesperson Emily Covington said in a statement on Saturday that pool members boycotted White House events. Covington said, “Group boycotts among commercial competitors can violate the Sherman Act. The Antitrust Division is simply investigating to determine whether these news organizations have violated the antitrust laws.”
The Sherman Act is a federal statute designed to prevent monopolistic behavior and preserve business competition, Al Jazeera reported. It wasn’t immediately clear how the department is defining the networks’ joint action as a violation of that statute.
ABC News said it had not received a formal notification but expects to, while NBC, CBS and CNN declined to comment, and Fox News didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. Press freedom advocates criticized the inquiry. Bruce D. Brown, president of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, said the First Amendment shields coverage choices and called the probe “another and even more brazen attempt to try to intimidate journalists.” Jose Zamora, Americas director for the Committee to Protect Journalists, posted on X that the government shouldn’t use antitrust inquiries to intimidate outlets defending press access.
How the media dispute began
The conflict began in mid-September when President Donald Trump barred journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico from White House grounds, Deadline reported. Trump announced the ban on Sept. 18, accusing the outlets of reporting fake news. The White House stated on Sept. 19 that covering the president was a privilege rather than a right.
The administration sent letters to CNN, MS NOW and Politico asserting that specific articles posed national security threats and breached standards of professionalism and decorum. The letters pointed to reporting about a new White House ballroom, the ongoing war with Iran and the Republican midterm convention.
CNN, CBS, ABC, NBC and Fox News have rotated pool duties for decades under an arrangement recognized by administrations from both parties. Under that system, the networks take turns filming and recording the president during public events and travel, sharing expenses and distributing video and audio feeds to other outlets, including international broadcasters, C-SPAN, Newsmax and One America News Network.
The coverage suspension during Xi’s visit
After CNN was removed from the rotation, the other four pool members announced on Sept. 21 that they would step back from their rotation duties in solidarity. The suspension lasted about four days.
The stoppage coincided with Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Washington, leaving television stations with very little video footage of ceremonies and public events tied to the visit. Trump later complained that CNN and MS NOW didn’t cover the visit, without mentioning his administration’s ban against them.
While the joint pool service stopped, individual networks, including NBC News, kept reporting on open White House events on their own.
Court challenges and ongoing access limits
CNN, MS NOW and Politico filed a federal lawsuit alleging the exclusions violated their First Amendment and due process rights. On Sept. 24, U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly issued a temporary restraining order directing the White House to reinstate their press passes after finding the ban was likely unconstitutional.
The original restraining order was set to expire on Thursday, but Judge Kelly extended it through Tuesday while considering whether to issue a preliminary injunction that would block longer-term exclusions.
Even with their passes restored, the White House continues to deny CNN and Politico entry into the Oval Office and has barred CNN from flying aboard Air Force One during presidential travel. A separate dispute involving the Associated Press is currently before the D.C. Circuit after the White House removed the wire service from the pool over its refusal to adopt the administration’s renaming of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.
