US DOJ probes TV networks over Trump pool boycott

The US justice department is probing several television networks over allegations they may have violated federal competition laws by suspending their pool coverage of President Donald Trump. The DoJ has requested ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC and Fox News to provide communications pertaining to the White House TV pool, a system where networks cease covering the president and sharing footage with other media outlets.

The networks pulled out of this system in the previous month following the president's decision to block CNN, MS Now and Politico from the White House. Pool members share their information - photos and descriptions of the president's activities - with the broader media industry. According to the DoJ, commercial competitors' boycotts can be in breach of the Sherman Act, a federal law prohibiting monopolistic business practices.

The Antitrust Division is merely probing to ascertain if the news organizations have infringed upon antitrust laws. President Trump barred CNN, MS Now and Politico from the White House in the last month after accusing the organizations of publishing "fiction or lies" about his team. The White House later restored their access after a court ruling.

The three outlets had sued the Trump administration, contending that the restricted access infringed upon their First Amendment rights. The First Amendment prohibits the government from "abridging" the freedom of the press - a provision courts have typically interpreted as preventing the government from discriminating against the media based on the content of their reporting.

The Trump administration has launched multiple legal actions against news publications in the US, including lawsuits regarding coverage of the president. In February, the White House declared it was assuming control of the press pool, which has had access to Trump and has been overseen by the White House Correspondents' Association for over a century.

The same month, the administration sought to impede Associated Press (AP) reporters and photographers from areas where access is limited, such as the Oval Office or Air Force One, due to the outlet's use of the term "Gulf of Mexico" instead of "Gulf of America". AP subsequently filed a lawsuit, and the case is still pending.