The US Justice Department has launched an investigation into five of the country's largest television news networks for possible antitrust violations, examining how they operate a shared television pool covering the White House.
The investigation concerns the television pool, a longstanding arrangement under which ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News, and NBC share responsibility for filming presidential events and distributing footage to other news organizations. The arrangement allows a single television crew to cover events where access is restricted, such as meetings in the Oval Office or presidential trips.
The issue arose after US President Donald Trump barred CNN from entering White House grounds last month. After the network's exclusion, the then-chairman of the television pool announced that because CNN could not fulfill its scheduled coverage duties, no replacement crew would be assigned.
As a result, shared television coverage of Trump's events was suspended for several days, until a federal judge issued a temporary order blocking the exclusion of CNN, MS NOW, and Politico.
The legal proceedings are ongoing, with the Justice Department defending the Trump administration's decision.
Justice Department investigating television network pool
The department has now launched a separate investigation into the networks' conduct within the television pool. According to two sources familiar with the matter, lawyers representing the networks received requests to provide documents concerning the establishment of the arrangement and how it has operated recently.
A Justice Department spokesperson confirmed the investigation, saying that "members of the television pool boycotted coverage of White House events" and that "group boycotts among commercial competitors may violate the Sherman Act."
The spokesperson said the department's Antitrust Division was examining whether the news organizations had violated the law.
The five networks, which have made up the television pool for decades, have not issued any significant public response.
The arrangement itself is considered essential to White House coverage, partly because it eliminates the need to station multiple television crews at events where space is limited. The networks take turns filming events and share live broadcasts and recorded footage with other news organizations.
Networks release joint statement criticizing CNN White House ban
After CNN's exclusion, the five networks issued a rare joint statement saying "the public has a vital interest in receiving accurate and independent information about the government" and that "no administration should restrict a news organization because it is unhappy with its coverage."
Press freedom organizations criticized the investigation, arguing that news organizations' efforts to defend their First Amendment rights have nothing to do with antitrust law.
The investigation could also become part of the ongoing legal proceedings CNN, MS NOW, and Politico brought against the administration. In that case, the news organizations would argue that the White House excluded them in retaliation for the nature of their coverage.