The Justice Department opens an antitrust investigation of five TV networks over their halt to pool coverage of Trump
The Justice Department said it is investigating five major TV networks, Fox News, CNN, ABC, CBS and NBC, for possible violations of federal antitrust law after they stopped providing pool coverage of President Trump, according to NBC News, The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Guardian, Reuters and USA Today. The Guardian reported that the networks stopped last month after CNN, MS Now and Politico were barred from the White House. The Times said the networks were notified Friday. The Post called it a sharp escalation in the administration’s use of its powers against perceived enemies in the press. We saw no network response in the coverage we reviewed.
The probe tests whether a news boycott can be treated as an antitrust problem, and it puts the government in the middle of a fight over who covers the president.
The immediate effect is on what footage and access reach viewers. Longer term, it affects how freely outlets can coordinate when access is restricted.
The department says it is only looking into whether the networks coordinated in a way the law forbids.
Critics, as the Post described, see the inquiry as retaliation against the press.
Watch for the networks’ statements, any formal demands for documents, and whether the White House restores access. No charges have been announced.
DailyDrop U.S. No. 7 · October 11, 2026