DOJ Probes TV Networks Over White House Pool Boycott

The Justice Department is investigating whether the five major U.S. television networks violated federal antitrust law with their response to President Trump's decision to bar three news organizations from the White House. The department confirmed the inquiry on Saturday.

The investigation, first reported by The New York Times, covers ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News and NBC — the five networks that make up the White House television pool. At issue is their decision last month to briefly stop providing pooled coverage of the president after the administration pulled the credentials of CNN, Politico and MS Now.

“Group boycotts among commercial competitors can violate the Sherman Act,” a Justice Department spokesperson said. “The Antitrust Division is simply investigating to determine whether these news organizations have violated the antitrust laws.”

The television pool is a small, rotating group of journalists that covers the president's events and shares the footage with the larger press corps. When Trump banned CNN from the White House grounds, the pool chair at the time said there would be no replacement pool coverage.

There was no pooled television coverage of Trump's events for several days. Coverage resumed after a federal judge issued an order temporarily halting the ban on CNN, MS Now and Politico. That litigation is still going, and the Justice Department is defending Trump's ban in court.

The new inquiry comes about two weeks after Trump ally Laura Loomer publicly encouraged the Justice Department to bring an antitrust case against the networks over the boycott.

A leading First Amendment group called the investigation nonsensical, according to CNN. Representatives for the five networks declined to comment or did not respond to requests for comment on Saturday.