CNN White House reporter Betsy Klein works in the CNN workspace outside the West Wing of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 24, 2026. CNN and MS NOW said their reporters were allowed back into the White House on Thursday after a judge ordered that their access be restored.
Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images
The U.S. 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 after the television pool of five broadcasters ceased presidential coverage last month after the administration barred CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House.
Late Saturday, messages were sent to the five outlets seeking comment: ABC, CBS, CNN, FOX and NBC.
The White House press pool, 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 and 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. A judge lifted the ban after granting the three news organizations 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 for the Americas, criticized the administration’s decision to investigate on Saturday.
“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.”
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