DOJ Investigates News Organizations for Antitrust Violations After White House TV Pool Halted Trump Coverage
Key Takeaways
- •The Justice Department's Antitrust Division is investigating whether the White House television press pool's halt in presidential coverage amounted to an illegal group boycott, according to spokesperson Emily Covington.
- •The five-network television pool, comprising ABC, CBS, CNN, FOX, and NBC, stopped covering the president after the administration barred CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House.
- •CNN, MS NOW, and Politico sued over their exclusion, and a judge's reprieve, which remains in effect until Tuesday, led to the ban being lifted and pool coverage resuming.
- •Television pools operate because space at presidential events is limited, with member journalists covering events on behalf of the broader press corps and sharing the resulting material.
- •Committee to Protect Journalists regional director Jose Zamora criticized the investigation, arguing that the government should not use antitrust probes to intimidate news outlets defending press access.
The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating whether the White House television press pool's decision last month to halt coverage of President Donald Trump violated antitrust law, an agency spokesperson said Saturday.
Emily Covington, a spokesperson for the department, said group boycotts among business competitors may violate U.S. law. “The Antitrust Division is simply investigating to determine whether these news organizations have violated the antitrust laws,” she said. An investigation is an inquiry into whether a violation occurred, not a finding of wrongdoing; under U.S. antitrust doctrine, group boycotts — coordinated refusals by competitors to deal — are a category of conduct courts have long treated as a serious restraint of trade.
The announcement followed the decision by the television pool of five broadcasters to cease presidential coverage last month, after the administration barred CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House. Pools exist because space at presidential events is limited, with member journalists covering events on behalf of the wider press corps and sharing the resulting footage and reporting.
Messages seeking comment were sent late Saturday to the five outlets: ABC, CBS, CNN, FOX and NBC.
The White House press pool — a rotating group of news outlets that covers the president — has become a proxy in the wider fight over whether the president, or anyone, can control the content of news reports, a form of free speech considered a pillar of American democracy.
Last month's developments marked an extraordinary escalation in Trump's efforts to restrict reporters and outlets he views as insufficiently supportive. CNN, MS NOW and Politico sued over the days-long ban, which was lifted after a judge granted the three news organizations a reprieve that remains in place until Tuesday. Television pool coverage of the White House has also resumed. With the reprieve set to lapse after Tuesday, that date stands as the next one to watch in the dispute.
Jose Zamora, the Committee to Protect Journalists' regional director for the Americas, criticized the administration's decision to investigate on Saturday.
“The government should not use antitrust investigations to intimidate news outlets defending press access,” Zamora said on X. “The public's right to know depends on that access.”
This story was originally reported by Fortune.
