Washington: The US Department of Justice is investigating whether the White House television press pool's decision to halt coverage of President Donald Trump last month violated antitrust law, an agency spokesperson said Saturday.
Emily Covington, a department spokesperson, said group boycotts among business competitors might violate U.S. law. “The Antitrust Division is simply investigating to determine whether these news organizations have violated the antitrust laws,” she said.
The announcement came last month, after the television pool of five broadcasters ceased presidential coverage following the administration's barring of CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House.
Messages were sent late Saturday to the five outlets seeking comment: ABC, CBS, CNN, FOX and NBC.
The White House press pool, which is a rotating cast of news outlets that cover the president, has become a proxy for the wider fight over whether the president, or anyone, can control the content of news reports, a type of free speech, a pillar of American democracy.
Last month's developments marked an extraordinary escalation in Trump's efforts to restrict news reporters and outlets that he finds insufficiently supportive.
CNN, MS NOW and Politico sued over the days-long ban. It was lifted after a judge handed the three news organisations a reprieve, which is in place until Tuesday.
Television pool coverage of the White House has also resumed.
Jose Zamora, the Committee to Protect Journalists' regional director of the Americas, on Saturday criticised the administration's decision to investigate.
“The government should not use antitrust investigations to intimidate news outlets defending press access,” Zamora said on X. “The public's right to know depends on that access.”