The Justice Department is investigating whether the major television networks — ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC and Fox News — violated federal antitrust laws when the group briefly suspended their pooled coverage of President Trump, according to six people with knowledge of the department’s action. Officials from the Justice Department contacted networks on Friday and demanded communications and materials related to the White House TV pool, the people said. The pool is a longstanding system where the networks share the responsibility of providing footage of the president and distributing it to other news outlets.
Last month, the networks collectively suspended their pool footage of Mr. Trump for several days after the president barred CNN journalists from the White House grounds, which prevented CNN from participating in the pool. The inquiry by the Justice Department is a profound escalation of the Trump administration’s ongoing battles with the White House press corps.
It also follows a pattern of the Trump administration using the levers of government against its perceived foes in the media. The Justice Department has subpoenaed reporters from The New York Times and seized a laptop from a Washington Post journalist. A Justice Department spokeswoman, Emily Covington, said in a statement on Saturday: “Members of the television press pool have proudly boycotted covering White House events.
Group boycotts among commercial competitors can violate the Sherman Act,” a core antitrust law. The White House did not immediately respond to an inquiry on Saturday, and representatives for the five networks did not immediately comment. The latest skirmish was set off when Mr.
Trump, lamenting what he described as “purposely negative stories,” barred CNN, Politico and MS NOW from the White House on Sept. 18. The three news organizations sued, calling the president’s action a violation of their First Amendment rights; the administration argued that access to the White House was a “privilege.” A federal judge issued a temporary block on the ban, which is set to expire on Tuesday.
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