Key facts
- The Justice Department is investigating TV networks over pool coverage of President Donald Trump.
- ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC, and Fox News are reportedly among the networks being investigated.
- The probe concerns whether the networks violated federal antitrust laws by suspending pool coverage.
- The networks had temporarily suspended pool coverage after the Trump administration blocked CNN, MS Now, and Politico from the White House.
- The Sherman Act, which bars monopolistic business practices, is referenced by the Justice Department.
The U.S. Justice Department has launched an investigation into several major television networks concerning their pool coverage of President Donald Trump, according to a report by The New York Times. The agency has requested communications from ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC, and Fox News related to the White House TV pool system.
The investigation appears to stem from the networks' temporary suspension of pool coverage last month. This action was taken after the Trump administration blocked access for CNN, MS Now, and Politico from the White House. The pool system allows rotating journalists to cover presidential events and share the material with other news organizations.
A Justice Department spokesperson indicated that "Group boycotts among commercial competitors can violate the Sherman Act," the federal law prohibiting monopolistic business practices. The agency is examining whether the news organizations' actions contravened these antitrust laws.
Previously, the Trump administration had engaged in several legal actions against news publications. In February, the White House announced it would take control of the press pool, which had been managed by the White House Correspondents' Association for over a century. The administration also moved to bar Associated Press reporters from certain spaces due to their use of the term "Gulf of Mexico" instead of "Gulf of America."