The Justice Department said Saturday it is investigating whether ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC and Fox News violated federal antitrust laws when they temporarily stopped White House pool coverage of President Donald Trump last month.
The department asked the five networks on Friday to provide communications and materials concerning the television press pool. A Justice Department spokesperson said the inquiry was examining whether the news organizations had violated antitrust law, noting that coordinated boycotts by commercial competitors can breach the Sherman Act.
The networks paused coverage for several days after the White House withdrew credentials from reporters at CNN, MS Now and Politico, according to the BBC. The pool system generally has member networks share presidential footage with other media outlets, the New York Times reported.