US Justice Department is investigating TV networks over Trump pool coverage
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The networks under investigation, according to the newspaper, are ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC and Fox News.
PHOTO: NYT
David McCabe, Michael M. Grynbaum, Benjamin Mullin, Lauren Hirsch and Glenn Thrush
- The US Justice Department is investigating ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC and Fox News over a brief pooled coverage boycott of President Donald Trump, six people said.
- Officials asked for pool-related communications on Oct 9. The probe may test whether the networks broke the Sherman Act.
- The dispute began after Trump barred CNN journalists from the White House. CNN, Politico and MS NOW sued, and a judge temporarily blocked the ban.
AI generated
WASHINGTON - The US 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 Donald Trump, according to six people with knowledge of the department’s action.
Officials from the Justice Department contacted networks on Oct 9 and demanded communications and materials related to the White House TV pool, the people said.
The pool is a long-standing system where the networks share the responsibility of providing footage of the president and distributing it to other news outlets.
In September, the networks collectively suspended their pool footage of Trump for several days after the president banned 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 spokesperson, Emily Covington, said in a statement on Oct 10: “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 Antitrust Division is simply investigating to determine whether these news organisations have violated the antitrust laws,” Covington added.
The White House did not immediately respond to an inquiry on Oct 10, and representatives for the five networks did not immediately comment.
The latest skirmish was set off when 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 organisations 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 Oct 13. NYTIMES
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.