DOJ Opens Antitrust Probe Into TV Networks Over Trump Coverage Boycott

The Justice Department's Antitrust Division opened an investigation on Oct. 10, 2026, into whether ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC and Fox News broke antitrust law by jointly suspending White House pool coverage of President Trump. DOJ spokesperson Emily Convington said the inquiry examines whether the walkout was an illegal "group boycott" under the Sherman Act. The five-network pool stopped rotating coverage in September after the White House barred CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the press pool, a ban a federal judge found likely unconstitutional and ordered reversed.

Using antitrust law against news organizations over a coordinated editorial response to a press-access dispute differs from ordinary competition enforcement: the Sherman Act targets anticompetitive conduct among rivals, not newsroom decisions about covering a government that had just restricted a colleague's access. Press-freedom advocates, including the Committee to Protect Journalists, said the investigation itself could function as retaliation against outlets that defended that access, regardless of whether it leads to charges.

The Justice Department said it has not filed charges and described the matter as an investigation into possible antitrust violations. None of the five networks had commented publicly as of the Oct. 11 report.