Justice Department Opens Antitrust Probe Into TV Networks That Halted Trump Coverage

The Justice Department has opened an antitrust investigation into the television networks that halted coverage of President Donald Trump last month, Al Jazeera reports - the latest turn in a press-access fight that has already been to federal court once. A department spokesperson said Saturday that investigators are examining whether the networks violated federal antitrust laws by acting together to boycott coverage.

The networks under investigation are the five that make up the White House television pool: ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC and Fox News, department spokesperson Emily Convington said. 'Group boycotts among commercial competitors can violate the Sherman Act,' she said, referring to the federal antitrust law. 'The Antitrust Division is simply investigating to determine whether these news organizations have violated the antitrust laws.' The five pool networks share the costs of covering the president, take turns organising coverage, and share the footage with outlets around the country - the arrangement the department is now treating as potential coordination among competitors.

The boycott itself grew out of the White House's September move against three outlets. After the administration barred CNN, MS NOW and Politico - saying on September 19 that covering the president was a 'privilege - not a right' - all five pool networks suspended coverage in solidarity and refused to provide replacement coverage. The excluded outlets sued, alleging the ban violated the First Amendment and retaliated against their reporting. On September 24 the White House reinstated the credentials after U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly ruled the ban was likely unconstitutional and ordered the administration to 'immediately return, reinstate, and restore' access - though disputes over access to specific events and pool assignments have continued since.

The networks did not immediately comment on the investigation, and the announcement drew a quick rebuke from press-freedom advocates. Jose Zamora, the Committee to Protect Journalists' Americas director, criticised the decision on Saturday: 'The government should not use antitrust investigations to intimidate news outlets defending press access. The public's right to know depends on that access.' An investigation is not a charge, and nothing in the reporting read this cycle says the department has reached any conclusion about whether the Sherman Act was broken. What is established is the sequence: credentials pulled, a joint suspension, a court order restoring access - and now a federal antitrust inquiry into the suspension itself, aimed at the country's biggest broadcasters, including networks whose coverage the president has both praised and attacked.