<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The Justice Department is investigating whether major TV networks violated antitrust law last month when they briefly suspended their pool coverage of President Donald Trump after he blocked multiple news outlets from fully accessing White House grounds.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC, and Fox News were instructed on Friday to provide "communications and materials" related to the White House TV press pool, according to the New York Times, indicating an escalation against legacy media companies with which Trump has had longstanding conflicts.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The White House announced it had rescinded the credentials of journalists working for CNN, MSNOW, and Politico on September 18, citing national security concerns over the outlets’ reporting on the conflict in Iran. The five networks that comprise the TV press pool, which documents the president’s daily travels and distributes video footage, subsequently announced they would withhold their coverage of Trump’s summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in solidarity. Trump later remarked that the moment was “made for Television” but that the “Fake News” did not want to cover it.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“Members of the television press pool have boycotted covering White House events,” Justice Department spokesperson Emily Covington stated on Saturday. “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 Sherman Act is a federal law enacted in 1890 aimed at ensuring free competition and prohibiting monopolistic business practices.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“The public has a vital interest in receiving accurate, independent information about its government,” the five networks said in a joint statement regarding their decision. “No administration should reject a news organization because it objects to its reporting.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The credentials of the three newspapers were restored after Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly granted a temporary restraining order against the ban following a joint lawsuit. The Trump administration has continued to bar CNN and Politico from the Oval Office and Air Force One.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Trump has characterized his political rise as a struggle against legacy media companies that he believes cover him unfairly. His criticism of the “Fake News” has become a defining aspect of his 2016 presidential campaign, resonating with voters who distrust established institutions.</p>