The U.S. Department of Justice has launched an investigation to examine whether the White House press corps' decision to suspend reporting on President Donald Trump violates antitrust laws.
The Department of Justice stated in a statement that it is investigating whether the temporary cessation of joint television coverage of Trump by the White House press pool, which consists of CNN, Fox News, ABC, CBS, and NBC among other broadcasting organizations, constitutes a violation of the Sherman Act.
The Sherman Act is a federal law that prohibits certain agreements that unreasonably restrict trade. Enacted in the 1890s, this law has rarely been applied to media organizations, especially in relation to their news reporting activities.
Members of the press team did not immediately respond to the comment request sent by CNBC during non-normal working hours.
Prior to this investigation by the Department of Justice, the White House press corps ceased reporting on Trump on September 21st. Not long before that, Trump prohibited the issuance of tokens by CNN, MS NOW, and Polit from entering the White House.
At that time, in a post on Truth Social, Trump stated that these media outlets "should not continue to write about or report fictitious content and lies when covering the President of the United States, the Trump administration, or the United States of America."
On September 24th, a judge lifted the restrictions on these journalists; a few days earlier, White House staff had confiscated their press credentials. Despite this ruling, The New York Times reported that journalists who issued CNN and Polit tokens were still prohibited from traveling with the president on Air Force One.
Currently, the Trump administration is facing lawsuits initiated by CNN, MS NOW, and Polit regarding token issuance, due to its prohibition on these media reporters from entering the White House premises.
Joint television coverage of the White House has also resumed.
This investigation by the Department of Justice marks another escalation in the ongoing dispute between Trump and the media over press access rights.
The Trump administration has been taking actions to restrict news organizations that provide critical coverage of its policies.
Last year, Trump pushed to revoke approximately $1.1 billion in funding previously approved for public broadcasting companies. This federal money was originally designated for the public broadcasting organizations NPR and PBS. Trump and his allies also sued several media outlets, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and BBC News, on the grounds that their reports were allegedly biased or inaccurate.
The head of advocacy at the Freedom of Information Foundation, Seth Stearns, said that this investigation by the Department of Justice is "meaningless."
He said, "Not giving Trump the attention he craves does not constitute competitive harm; moreover, in any case, even if there is an anti-competitive impact, antitrust law has long recognized exceptions to the First Amendment. After his remarks about 'fake news,' Trump is weaponizing the Department of Justice to pressure television networks that he calls 'public enemies,' demanding that they stay close to the White House. It's a strange way of telling the media how much he misses them."
The White House Correspondents Association did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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