Press groups slam DOJ probe of TV networks as court ruling nears
Press freedom groups say the Justice Department's antitrust probe of ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC and Fox News is an attempt to intimidate journalists. The department says the networks' pause in White House pool coverage after CNN was barred may be a group boycott that breaks the Sherman Act. A judge's order keeping banned outlets' access runs through Tuesday.
The Justice Department has opened an antitrust investigation into ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC and Fox News. The five networks share the White House television pool. A department official said demands for records went out on Friday.
"Group boycotts among commercial competitors can violate the Sherman Act," department spokesperson Emily Covington said Saturday. The Sherman Act is an 1890 law against business deals that limit competition.
The fight began last month. The White House barred CNN, MS NOW and Politico, and the Washington Examiner reports the bar was imposed on Sept. 18. The White House cited national security concerns. The other networks then sat out pool duty for the start of President Donald Trump's summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
"No administration should restrict a news organization because it objects to its reporting," the five networks said at the time.
The pool lets networks share the cost of covering the president in tight spaces, such as Air Force One. The pool's video also goes to outlets like Newsmax, C-SPAN and foreign broadcasters.
Press groups condemned the probe. Bruce Brown of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press called it "another and even more brazen attempt to try to intimidate journalists." Cornell law professor Michael Dorf asked why the pool itself would be legal if a joint decision not to cover the White House is not.
CNN, MS NOW and Politico sued over the ban. A judge ordered their access restored for now, and that order runs through Tuesday. ABC News said it had not been notified of the probe but expects to be. NBC, CBS and CNN declined to comment, and Fox did not respond.
The outlets describe the pause in different terms. NPR says the networks still refuse to fill in for CNN on days the White House blocks it. NBC News describes the pool pause as brief.
What we know: The Justice Department sent records demands to five networks, and a court order on the media ban runs through Tuesday.
What we don't: Whether the probe leads to charges or a lawsuit, and how the judge will rule this week.
Where outlets agree NPR, NBC News and the Washington Examiner all report that the Justice Department is investigating five networks under the Sherman Act over their pool coverage pause.
Where they differ NPR says the five networks still refuse to fill in for CNN when the White House blocks it, while NBC News describes the pool pause as brief.