The Justice Department has opened an antitrust investigation into five of the nation’s largest television networks—ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC and Fox News—over claims they coordinated a boycott of events at President Donald Trump’s White House.
Federal investigators are examining whether the networks violated competition laws by jointly suspending their shared television coverage after the White House blocked CNN journalists from accessing the premises.
The inquiry marks a new escalation in Trump’s increasingly confrontational relationship with the news media. It could subject some of America’s most influential broadcasters to legal scrutiny for acting collectively in response to restrictions placed on one of their competitors.
Justice Department officials contacted the networks on Friday and requested internal communications and other records concerning their joint coverage arrangements, according to six people familiar with the investigation who spoke to The New York Times.
At the heart of the investigation is the White House television pool, a decades-old system in which broadcasters rotate responsibility for recording presidential appearances and sharing the footage with other news organizations.
That arrangement unraveled last month after Trump moved to limit access for CNN, Politico and MS NOW, accusing the outlets of consistently unfavorable coverage.
In response, the five networks temporarily halted their pooled coverage of the president. The decision meant that several major White House events went ahead without the customary shared video feed.
One of the events affected was Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Footage showing the two leaders greeting each other was not distributed through the major networks’ usual pool system.
The CNN broadcast booth on the White House grounds sits empty last month after Trump barred the network from the premises
CNN viewers were told on air by Betsy Klein that her press pass had been deactivated and she had been refused entry to the White House. She was instead required to report from across the street
Politico White House reporter Cheyenne Haslett also lost her White House credentials after President Donald Trump barred CNN, MS NOW and Politico
The networks’ apparent act of solidarity angered Trump, who accused them of intentionally ignoring what he considered a landmark diplomatic meeting.
The Justice Department is now assessing whether the coordinated withdrawal constituted an unlawful agreement between competing commercial broadcasters.
In a statement issued Saturday, department spokeswoman Emily Covington said the networks had “proudly boycotted covering White House events.”
“Group boycotts among commercial competitors can violate the Sherman Act,” Covington said.
“The Antitrust Division is simply investigating to determine whether these news organizations have violated the antitrust laws.”
The Sherman Act is one of the United States’ main antitrust laws. It bars certain agreements between businesses that improperly restrict competition.
The television networks compete aggressively for audiences, advertising dollars and exclusive reporting. At the same time, they have cooperated for years through the White House pool to ensure presidential events are filmed and made available to the broader news media.
The investigation will focus on whether that longstanding cooperation crossed a legal boundary when the networks jointly withdrew their coverage to protest the White House restrictions imposed on CNN.
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MS NOW reporter Akayla Gardner reported from across the street from the White House, left, while she appears smiling on the White House grounds, right
The networks’ coordinated suspension left major moments of Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping without the usual shared television coverage, infuriating the president
According to the Times, officials have been discussing a possible investigation for at least a week.
The inquiry remains in its preliminary stages and is being overseen by the Justice Department’s civil division, headed by Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward, a former White House lawyer.
Letters sent to the networks Friday sought communications between executives and other officials concerning their decisions about pool coverage.
Investigators also requested correspondence relating to the administration’s withdrawal of CNN’s access to parts of the White House operation.
The move comes after weeks of escalating confrontation between Trump and journalists covering his second presidency.
On September 18, the president barred CNN, Politico and MS NOW from the White House grounds, citing what he described as ‘purposely negative stories.’
The three organizations challenged the restrictions in federal court, arguing that the administration had violated their First Amendment rights.
Trump’s administration defended its position by insisting that access to the White House was a ‘privilege’ rather than an unconditional right.
A federal judge subsequently issued a temporary order restoring the organizations’ access, but it appears the dispute was far from over.
Although CNN journalists were again permitted onto the White House campus, administration officials continued preventing the network from carrying out its scheduled television pool responsibilities when Trump traveled aboard Air Force One.
In his Oval Office address, Trump claimed there was no particular reason for the ban
The other major networks eventually resumed their individual pool duties on September 25.
However, the shared television feed has continued to disappear on occasions when CNN would ordinarily have been responsible for providing coverage.
Trump made his frustration clear after the interruption affected coverage of his engagements with Xi.
Writing on social media, the president complained that some news organizations ‘refused to cover one of the Biggest and Most Beautiful Events to take place in many years.’
The Daily Mail reached out to ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC and Fox News for comment late Saturday night.