DOJ Opens Antitrust Probe of Five TV Networks Over White House Pool Boycott
The Justice Department's Antitrust Division is investigating whether ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox News and CNN violated the Sherman Act when they suspended White House pool coverage last month in solidarity with CNN after the outlet was banned by the administration.
WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice is conducting an antitrust investigation into the five television networks that make up the White House press pool, after they suspended their pool coverage last month in solidarity with CNN, which President Donald Trump had banned from the White House.
“Members of the television press pool have proudly boycotted covering White House events,” the Justice Department said in a statement. “Group boycotts among commercial competitors can violate the Sherman Act. The Antitrust Division is investigating to determine whether these news organizations have violated the antitrust laws.”
The probe is the latest escalation in the administration’s pressure campaign against the White House press corps. The five networks — ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox News and CNN — share the costs of covering the president, take turns organizing coverage and distribute broadcast feeds of White House events to other outlets around the country. The New York Times reported that all five are under investigation; the networks did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The ban that triggered the walkout
The television pool announced its decision to suspend coverage on Sept. 21, with the pool’s chair saying in an email that it followed “the White House’s position preventing CNN from fulfilling its assigned pool duties.” The networks have since resumed pool coverage.
Trump said Sept. 18 that he was banning CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House complex, complaining about their coverage of him. The media outlets sued, arguing the ban violates their constitutional rights to free speech. A federal judge temporarily blocked the administration from enforcing the ban in a Sept. 24 ruling, issuing a restraining order requiring the White House to reinstate the outlets’ press passes for two weeks. A final decision in the case is still pending.
On the same day the television pool halted coverage, outlets with still photographers in the White House pool — including Reuters, Getty Images, The New York Times and the Washington Post — agreed not to publish or distribute any photos taken on Sept. 21 until midnight the next day.
Reporting based on coverage by USA Today and the New York Times.
