Justice Department Investigates Five TV Networks Over Trump Pool Coverage Suspension

The dispute began with President Donald Trump's decision to revoke White House access for CNN, MS NOW and Politico. According to Le Monde, their journalists were readmitted on September 24 under a judge's order, six days after their credentials were revoked without notice.

The television networks responded by briefly suspending shared coverage through the White House TV pool. Deadline Hollywood reported that the five networks suspended participation in protest of the ban. That response is now the subject of a federal antitrust investigation.

By October 3, the Justice Department was urging a federal judge to reject the three barred organizations' request for a longer order preventing Trump from excluding their journalists, according to Livemint.

At the October 8 hearing, a lawyer representing the organizations argued that Trump had made clear the ban was prompted by critical coverage, the Guardian reported. That was the organizations' argument to the court, not a final judicial finding.

The judge pressed government lawyers about the different justifications offered for the ban, according to Deadline Hollywood. He said he would rule by Tuesday on whether to continue blocking it.

Meanwhile, the judge briefly extended the order allowing the journalists onto White House grounds until Tuesday, Livemint reported on October 8. The extension preserved access while he considered a longer reprieve.

On Friday, October 9, major television networks were notified that the Justice Department was examining whether their suspension of pool coverage violated antitrust laws, according to The New York Times.

The department confirmed the investigation on Saturday, October 10, Reuters reported. Subsequent coverage identified the five networks as ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC and Fox News, according to Deutsche Welle.

Two separate proceedings are now underway. The court case concerns the White House's exclusion of three news organizations. The Justice Department investigation concerns whether competing television networks broke federal competition laws by jointly suspending pool coverage, according to the BBC.

A department spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter that "Group boycotts among commercial competitors can violate the Sherman Act." That statement explains the department's stated legal concern. The reported investigation has not established that the networks violated the law.

The access ban remains temporarily blocked under the October 8 extension. The New York Times reported that the judge promised to decide by Tuesday whether to extend that protection further.

The immediate pending decision is whether the judge will keep the three organizations' White House access protected while their legal challenge continues. The brief extension is not a final resolution of the ban, according to Livemint.

Separately, the antitrust inquiry must determine whether the networks' temporary suspension of shared coverage amounted to unlawful conduct. NBC News described the investigation as examining potential violations, rather than announcing a finding against the networks.