The Justice Department is investigating whether the major TV networks violated antitrust law last month when they briefly suspended their pool coverage of President Donald Trump after he blocked multiple news outlets from fully accessing White House grounds.
ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC, and Fox News were told on Friday to provide “communications and materials” related to the White House TV press pool, according to the New York Times, in an escalation against legacy media companies with which Trump has long feuded.
The White House announced it had rescinded the credentials of journalists working for CNN, MSNOW, and Politico on Sept. 18, largely citing national security concerns over the outlets’ reporting on the conflict in Iran. The five networks that make up the TV press pool, which documents the president’s daily travels and distributes video footage, then announced they would withhold their coverage of Trump’s summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in an act of solidarity. Trump would later lament the moment was “made for Television” but the “Fake News” didn’t want to cover it.
“Members of the television press pool have boycotted covering White House events,” Justice Department spokesperson Emily Covington said Saturday in a statement. “Group boycotts among commercial competitors can violate the Sherman Act. The Antitrust Division is simply investigating to determine whether these news organizations have violated the antitrust laws.” The Sherman Act is a landmark federal law passed in 1890 that seeks to ensure free competition and prohibit monopolistic business activity.
“The public has a vital interest in receiving accurate, independent information about its government,” the five networks said in a group statement when explaining their decision. “No administration should reject a news organization because it objects to its reporting.”
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The three newspapers’ credentials were restored after Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly granted a temporary restraining order against the ban following a joint lawsuit. The Trump administration has continued to bar CNN and Politico from the Oval Office and Air Force One.
Trump has long cast his political rise as a battle against the legacy media companies that he believes cover him unfairly. His rallying cry against the “Fake News” became a defining feature of his initial 2016 presidential campaign, helping him garner support among voters who distrust established institutions.