US Justice Department probes ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC and Fox over Trump pool coverage
The US Justice Department is examining whether ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC and Fox News broke antitrust law when they paused shared White House pool coverage of Trump in September.
Antitrust probe launched
The US Justice Department is investigating whether ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC and Fox News violated federal antitrust law when they briefly suspended their shared coverage of President Donald Trump. The New York Times first reported the probe on Saturday, citing six people with knowledge of the department's action. Variety, citing two people familiar with the matter, reported that the department plans to examine whether the suspension violated antitrust rules. According to the New York Times, Justice Department officials contacted the networks on Friday and demanded communications and materials related to the White House TV pool. The five networks did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
How the pool was suspended
The White House pool is a cost-sharing arrangement in which the five networks rotate the job of filming the president's daily activities and share the footage with other outlets. Last month the networks suspended pool coverage for several days after Trump barred CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House, accusing the organisations of writing 'fiction or lies' about his team. El País dates the ban to 18 September. During the suspension, the White House's own footage was the only television coverage of presidential events, a feed with more limited picture and sound quality. The three outlets sued the administration in late September, arguing that the restricted access violated their First Amendment rights. A federal judge then ordered the White House to restore their access, and the networks resumed pool coverage.
- Trump bars CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House
- Networks suspend pool coverage of Trump for several days
- CNN, MS NOW and Politico sue Trump and administration officials
- Justice Department contacts networks and demands pool-related communications
- New York Times reports the Justice Department investigation
Justice Department statement
A Justice Department spokesperson, named by the Washington Post as Emily Covington, said that group boycotts among commercial competitors can violate the Sherman Act, a core federal antitrust law. The department's position rests on that statement, which the spokesperson framed as follows.
The Antitrust Division is simply investigating to determine whether these news organizations have violated the antitrust laws.
The networks had not publicly responded to the investigation at the time of reporting, and the department has not announced any charges.
Wider clash with the press
In February the White House announced it was taking control of the press pool, which had been managed by the White House Correspondents' Association for more than a century. The same month, the administration barred Associated Press reporters and photographers from spaces with limited access, such as the Oval Office or Air Force One, over the outlet's use of the term 'Gulf of Mexico'. The AP lawsuit over that restriction remains ongoing. The Pentagon has fired Stars and Stripes staff who criticised political influence on the military newspaper, and federal prosecutors have served subpoenas on reporters from several outlets, including The Washington Post and the New York Times. In January federal law enforcement served a search warrant at the home of a Washington Post reporter and seized several of her work and personal devices.
