The US justice department says it is investigating whether several television networks broke federal competition law when they recently paused their coverage of President Donald Trump. The department’s antitrust division is looking into whether the networks’ joint decision violated antitrust rules.
Last month, five networks halted their presidential coverage for several days after the administration withdrew press credentials from reporters at , MS NOW and Politico. The department has now asked ABC, CBS, , NBC and Fox News to hand over communications related to the press pool, the group of reporters whose material is usually shared with the wider media.
Antitrust concerns over the network boycott
The department argues that the boycott could breach the Sherman Act, a law that prohibits companies from engaging in monopolistic business practices. A department spokesperson said the antitrust division is simply trying to establish whether the news organisations violated those laws.
The networks had not yet responded publicly to the allegations and the inquiry.
Blocked reporters and the court ruling that followed
Last month, Trump barred , MS NOW and Politico from the White House, accusing them of producing “fiction or lies” about his team. The White House later restored their access after a judge ruled in the outlets’ favour. The three outlets had sued, arguing that the restrictions infringed their First Amendment rights.
The First Amendment bars the government from curbing press freedom, and courts have traditionally read it as preventing officials from treating media differently based on what they publish. The Trump administration has also taken several other legal actions against US news publications, including lawsuits over coverage of the president.
White House control of the press pool and AP dispute
In February, the White House announced it would take control of the press pool, a role the White House Correspondents’ Association had managed for more than a century. The same month, the administration moved to bar Associated Press reporters and photographers from restricted areas such as the Oval Office and Air Force One. The move followed the agency’s use of the term “Gulf of Mexico” rather than “Gulf of America”. The AP sued, and that case remains ongoing.
