DOJ Antitrust Division Opens Sherman Act Probe of ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC and Fox Over White House Pool Suspension

The Justice Department is investigating the five networks that make up the White House television pool, asking whether they broke antitrust law when they stopped covering the president together last month.

A department official said civil investigative demands went out Friday, Oct. 9, to ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC and Fox News. They ask for communications related to the pool. The department confirmed the probe Saturday.

"Members of the television press pool have boycotted covering White House events," Justice Department spokeswoman Emily Covington said. "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 New York Times first reported the investigation.

How the pool suspension happened

In mid-September, Trump announced his administration was pulling White House credentials for journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico. His stated reason was "their constant 'reporting' FAKE NEWS!"

The White House also sent each outlet a letter. The letters said certain articles, on subjects including the new White House ballroom, the war with Iran and the Republican midterm convention, were threats to national security and violated standards of "professionalism and decorum." Al Jazeera reported that the White House said on Sept. 19 that covering the president was a "privilege – not a right."

The five pool networks then suspended their coverage for several days. The pause overlapped with Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to Washington.

In a joint statement at the time, the networks said: "The public has a vital interest in receiving accurate, independent information about its government. No administration should reject a news organization because it objects to its reporting."

That is the networks' position. They framed the suspension as a response to government action against specific outlets over their content, not as a commercial arrangement.

The DOJ's theory

The pool is a rotating arrangement. One network covers the president's events and travel, then shares the video and audio with other outlets. The networks share the costs.

The Justice Department's argument rests on that structure. These are commercial competitors, and the department says they acted together to boycott White House coverage. Section 1 of the Sherman Act, signed into law in 1890, targets agreements among competitors that restrain trade.

It was not immediately clear how the Justice Department is defining the move as a violation of the Sherman Act. The department has not announced any finding or charge, and whether the inquiry leads to enforcement action remains unclear. Civil investigative demands are a fact-gathering tool, and receiving one is not evidence of wrongdoing.

ABC News said it had not received notice from the Justice Department but expects to. NBC, CBS and CNN declined to comment. Fox News and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Jose Zamora, the Committee to Protect Journalists' Americas director, criticized the investigation on X. "The government should not use antitrust investigations to intimidate news outlets defending press access," he said. "The public's right to know depends on that access."

The court fight over the ban

CNN, MS NOW and Politico sued right away, arguing the ban violated the First Amendment and was retaliation for their coverage. U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly granted a temporary restraining order Sept. 24, and the credentials were reinstated.

Access is still limited. The White House has kept CNN and Politico out of the Oval Office and off Air Force One, even with credentials restored.

Kelly's order was due to expire Thursday. He extended it to this coming Tuesday, Oct. 13, while he weighs the case.

The courts have traditionally read the First Amendment's bar on "abridging" press freedom as preventing the government from discriminating against media based on the content of their coverage.

A longer fight over the pool

The antitrust probe lands after months of friction over who controls presidential press access.

In February, the White House announced it was taking control of the press pool, which the White House Correspondents' Association had managed for more than a century. That same month, the administration moved to bar Associated Press reporters and photographers from restricted spaces such as the Oval Office and Air Force One because the AP kept using "Gulf of Mexico" instead of "Gulf of America." The AP sued, and that case is still pending.

What comes next

The five networks have not said whether they will comply with the demands or challenge them. Kelly's order is set to expire Tuesday, Oct. 13, unless he extends it again.

The Justice Department has not given a timeline for the probe.