The Justice Department has launched an investigation into whether five major networks violated antitrust laws by suspending participation in the White House TV pool in protest of Donald Trump’s ban on CNN.
Justice Department spokeswoman Emily Covington said in a statement, “Members of the television press pool have boycotted covering White House events. A group boycott between commercial competitors could violate the Sherman Act. The Antitrust Division is only investigating to determine whether these news organizations violated antitrust laws.” The New York Times first reported on the investigation.
After Trump announced a ban on CNN, Politico and MS Now from the White House grounds on September 18, CNN was also banned from the TV pool. As part of a long-running arrangement, CNN, CBS News, ABC News, NBC News and Fox News take turns in pool duty providing technical, video and reporting coverage of the President, then distributing the feed to the other networks.
Following CNN’s closure, other members of the TV pool jointly announced on September 21 that they would sit off their rotation turns, a move to protest the White House’s effort to block the news network.
“The public has a vital interest in receiving accurate, independent information about their government. No administration should restrict a news organization because it objects to its reporting,” the five networks said in a statement at the time.
The suspension lasted for about four days, but it came during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to the White House. This meant that there was a lack of video coverage of major ceremonies and other events surrounding his visit. Trump later complained that CNN and MS Now did not cover Xi’s visit, without mentioning his efforts to ban the two outlets from the White House grounds.
The ABC confirmed that it had not received any notification of the investigation but was hopeful. Other networks in the pool did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The White House continues to ban CNN from certain operations, including flying on Air Force One on presidential trips.
Following Trump’s ban on CNN, Politico and MS Now from the White House grounds, those three media outlets sued, claiming violations of their First Amendment and due process rights. A federal judge imposed a temporary restraining order that will last until Tuesday, forcing the White House to renew access to dozens of journalists. Judge Timothy Kelly is expected to rule by then on whether to grant news outlets a preliminary injunction that would prevent the White House from denying access for a long time.
The issue of access to the White House grounds is separate, yet related, to the issue of whether the administration can also exclude members of the pool because the President does not approve of their editorial decisions. A separate case involving the Associated Press is on appeal in the D.C. Circuit. The AP was banned from the White House pool because its style guidance did not follow Trump’s decision to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of the United States.