Justice Dept. Is Investigating TV Networks Over Trump Pool Coverage

The Justice Department is investigating whether the major television networks — ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC and Fox News — violated federal antitrust laws when the group briefly suspended their pooled coverage of President Trump, according to six people with knowledge of the department’s action.

Officials from the Justice Department contacted networks on Friday and demanded communications and materials related to the White House TV pool, the people said. The pool is a longstanding system where the networks share the responsibility of providing footage of the president and distributing it to other news outlets.

Last month, the networks collectively suspended their pool footage of Mr. Trump for several days after the president barred CNN journalists from the White House grounds, which prevented CNN from participating in the pool. Video footage of some major events, including Mr. Trump’s greeting of President Xi Jinping of China, was not carried by any major news station.

In a statement on Saturday, a Justice Department spokeswoman, Emily Covington, described the five networks as having “proudly boycotted covering White House events.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/10/business/media/trump-justice-department-tv-networks.html