Justice Department examines networks’ White House pool coverage halt

The US Justice Department is investigating five television networks over their brief suspension of White House pool coverage of President Donald Trump in September, after CNN, Politico and MS NOW were barred from the White House on Sept 18. Justice Department officials contacted networks on Oct 9 seeking communications and other material concerning the television pool, according to reports published on Oct 11.¹²⁴

Antitrust inquiry

The department’s Antitrust Division is determining whether news organisations violated antitrust laws, according to Justice Department spokesperson Emily Covington. In a statement, she said, “Group boycotts among commercial competitors can violate the Sherman Act, a core antitrust law.” The department is examining the television press pool’s decision to stop coverage of Trump, reports said.¹²³

The five broadcasters under investigation were identified as ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC and Fox News, according to CNA and The Straits Times. The networks collectively stopped distributing pooled Trump footage for several days in September, The Straits Times reported. According to The Washington Post, at least one broadcaster was informed of the inquiry; ABC said it had received no such notice.¹²⁴

Access dispute

CNA and The Straits Times reported that the pause in coverage came after Trump excluded CNN, Politico and MS NOW from the White House on Sept 18. CNN was unable to take part in the pool because its journalists had been excluded from White House grounds, The Straits Times reported. CNA said the five broadcasters halted pool coverage in solidarity with CNN.¹²

The three organisations challenged the access restriction in court, according to the reports. The Straits Times said they argued that the action infringed First Amendment rights, while the administration described White House access as a “privilege”. A federal judge temporarily blocked the ban, with that order due to expire on Oct 13, according to The Straits Times; CNA reported that a federal judge later reversed the access ban.¹²

Pool system and response

The Washington Post described the White House television pool as a shared system under which networks rotate filming the president and provide the resulting video to other outlets. The Justice Department’s request for material related to that system places the networks’ joint coverage decision at the centre of the inquiry.¹²⁴

Bruce D Brown, who leads the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, said the inquiry seemed intended to obtain networks’ records of their day-to-day White House reporting during an access ban imposed by the president. He added that editorial coverage decisions are protected by the First Amendment. The Justice Department has said its inquiry is intended to establish whether antitrust laws were breached.¹²