Justice Department opens antitrust investigation into five TV networks over White House press pool suspension

The US Department of Justice is investigating whether the five television networks that make up the White House TV press pool — ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC and Fox News — violated federal antitrust law when they suspended pooled coverage of President Donald Trump in September, according to a Justice Department statement issued on Saturday, Oct 10, 2026. Justice Department spokeswoman Emily Covington said the Antitrust Division was examining whether group boycotts among commercial competitors breached the Sherman Act. NBC Connecticut, citing a Justice Department official, and The Straits Times, citing people with knowledge of the action, both report that civil investigative demands were sent to the networks on Friday, Oct 9. The New York Times first reported the investigation, according to NPR, NBC Connecticut, CBS News and The Straits Times.

The press pool is a longstanding rotating arrangement in which the networks share the duty of recording the president at public appearances and travel and then distribute video and audio to other outlets. NBC Connecticut reports the system has been recognised by administrations of both parties for decades and that its subscribers include Newsmax, One America News Network, C-SPAN and international outlets. The networks share the costs of coverage and take turns organising it, according to The Guardian.

The dispute began in September when Trump announced that journalists from CNN, MS NOW (also written MSNOW) and Politico were being barred from the White House, citing what he described as their constant reporting of 'FAKE NEWS'. The Straits Times dates the move to Sept 18, The Guardian to 19 September and CBS to mid-September. According to The Guardian, the White House said covering the president was a 'privilege – not a right'. CBS reports that letters sent to the three outlets said articles on subjects including the new White House ballroom, the war with Iran and the Republican midterm convention were threats to national security and breached standards of 'professionalism and decorum'. NPR reports the administration stripped White House press passes from more than 70 journalists, and that the Justice Department cited national security grounds in court for the decision.

The five pool networks jointly announced they would suspend pooled coverage in solidarity, a suspension that coincided with Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to Washington, according to CBS. NPR reports that as a result of the ban on CNN the networks did not cover an event Trump held with Xi Jinping, and that the five agreed not to substitute for CNN on days the administration blocks it while handling decisions day to day. NBC Connecticut reports that individual networks, including NBC News, continued to cover White House events open to the press outside the pool.

CNN, MS NOW and Politico sued over the ban, claiming a violation of the First Amendment. CBS names US District Judge Timothy Kelly as the judge who granted a temporary restraining order against the ban, which led to the credentials being reinstated. The order was due to expire on Thursday but Kelly extended it to Tuesday, Oct 13, while he continues to consider the case, according to CBS; NPR reports the judge said he would make a more enduring decision by Tuesday evening; The Guardian describes a reprieve in place until Tuesday. CBS also reports that despite the restored credentials, the White House has continued to refuse CNN and Politico access to the Oval Office or Air Force One. The Guardian reports television pool coverage of the White House has resumed.

The Justice Department's statement, as quoted by several outlets, said members of the television press pool had boycotted White House events and that group boycotts among commercial competitors can violate the Sherman Act, adding that the Antitrust Division was simply investigating to determine whether the news organisations had broken antitrust law. NBC Connecticut reports ABC News said it had not received any notification from the department but expected to, that representatives for NBC, CBS and CNN declined to comment, and that Fox did not immediately respond to a request for comment. NPR reports the five networks did not comment. The Guardian reports messages were sent late Saturday to the five outlets seeking comment.

Advocacy and legal reaction: Bruce Brown, president of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, called the move another and even more brazen attempt to intimidate journalists, according to NPR and NBC Connecticut; Seth Stern, chief of advocacy at the Freedom of the Press Foundation, told NPR the investigation is nonsense and that outlets standing up for constitutional rights has nothing to do with antitrust law; Jose Zamora, the Committee to Protect Journalists' regional director of the Americas, said on X that the government should not use antitrust investigations to intimidate news outlets defending press access, according to The Guardian.

Legal commentary: Michael Dorfman, a professor of constitutional law at Cornell University's law school, told NPR that political motivation on the part of the president or the Justice Department would not shield the networks from legal repercussions, but that the matter would turn on whether their actions were reasonable — which, he said, they were. He also questioned what he called an oddity: if the networks agreeing not to cover the White House is illegal, why the press pool itself would not be, suggesting limited space at particular venues necessitates pool cooperation and that standing up to protect the free press is at least as important a justification.

Wider context reported by NPR: ABC and its parent company Disney are suing Trump's chief broadcast regulator over a mandated immediate review of whether it should hold all eight of its local TV station licences, with a judge weighing whether to intervene; Disney calls the review retaliation over content on The View and Jimmy Kimmel Live, and FCC chief Brendan Carr says it is a question of upholding 'the public interest'. NPR also reports that under Carr the FCC has launched investigations of all other major broadcast networks including NPR, with the exception of the Fox broadcast network owned by Trump ally Rupert Murdoch, that Trump is personally suing the New York Times, BBC News and the Wall Street Journal, and that ABC and CBS settled earlier lawsuits Trump brought against them. The Straits Times reports the Justice Department has subpoenaed reporters from The New York Times and seized a laptop from a Washington Post journalist. CBS News notes that CBS News and CNN are both part of Skydance, the parent formed after the Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery merger completed earlier in the week.

Where sources differ

• The number of people said to have knowledge of the investigation differs: NPR reports four people with direct knowledge of events, while The Straits Times, citing a New York Times report, cites six people with knowledge of the department's action.
• The date the White House barred the three outlets is given differently: The Straits Times says Sept 18, The Guardian says 19 September, and CBS says mid-September.
• The Justice Department statement is quoted in two forms: NPR and The Straits Times have members of the pool having 'proudly boycotted' covering White House events, while NBC Connecticut, CBS News and The Guardian quote it as having 'boycotted'.
• The networks' joint statement is quoted differently: NBC Connecticut has 'No administration should restrict a news organization because it objects to its reporting', while CBS News has 'No administration should reject a news organization because it objects to its reporting'.

• No source establishes how the Justice Department defines the pool suspension as a Sherman Act violation; CBS News states it was not immediately clear how the department was doing so.
• No source establishes whether any of the five networks other than ABC has received the civil investigative demands, or what materials were demanded.
• No source establishes whether the investigation will result in charges, what penalties could apply, or a timetable.
• The White House's own response to the antitrust investigation is not reported in any source.
• Fox News' separate response is not reported; only ABC responded individually, and NBC, CBS and CNN declined comment.
• No position on the antitrust investigation is reported from MS NOW or Politico, the two other outlets barred along with CNN.
• No source establishes the outcome of the underlying First Amendment suit, the judge's pending ruling, or why the White House reportedly continues to bar CNN and Politico from some presidential venues (reported by CBS News alone).
• Only NPR reports that more than 70 journalists had press passes stripped, and only NPR reports that the networks did not cover Trump's event with Xi Jinping; these figures and details are not corroborated elsewhere.
• No source establishes whether pool subscribers, foreign outlets or other press organisations took any formal position or action.
• Two of the supplied sources address unrelated subjects and are not reflected in this report: CT Public reports on Harmeet Dhillon and the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, and The Japan Times reports on the Trump administration's approach to AI liability.

1. NPR News — original — by David Folkenflik
2. CT Public — by Ryan Lucas
3. NBC Connecticut — by Kelly O'Donnell and Marlene Lenthang | NBC News
4. The Guardian US — by The Associated Press
5. CBS News — by Faris Tanyos
6. The Japan Times — by Maggie Eastland
7. The Straits Times — by The Straits Times

Read the original at NPR News

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