The Justice Department has launched an antitrust investigation into five of the nation’s largest television networks over allegations that they coordinated a boycott of President Donald Trump’s White House events. ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC, and Fox News are all facing scrutiny.

Federal officials are examining whether the networks violated competition laws when they collectively suspended shared television coverage after the Trump administration restricted CNN journalists’ White House access. The investigation puts some of America’s most powerful media companies under an uncomfortable legal spotlight.

Justice Department officials contacted the networks on Friday and demanded internal documents and communications connected to their joint coverage arrangements. Six people familiar with the investigation described the requests to The New York Times.

At the center of the dispute is the White House television pool, a decades-old arrangement in which broadcasters take turns recording presidential events. The footage is then distributed to other news organizations so the wider press can use it.

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That system descended into turmoil last month after Trump restricted access for CNN, Politico and MS NOW. The president accused the organizations of producing unfairly negative coverage of his administration.

The five television networks responded by temporarily suspending their pooled coverage of Trump. As a result, some major White House events went forward without the shared footage that normally would have been provided through the pool arrangement.

Among the affected events was Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Footage showing the two leaders greeting each other was not distributed through the major networks’ usual shared pool system.

BREAKING: DOJ is officially investigating ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC and Fox News for possibly violating federal ANTITRUST LAWS after they teamed up to BOYCOTT their pooled TV coverage of President Trump a couple weeks ago

WOW! DOJ SPOKESWOMAN TO NYT: “Members of the television press pool have proudly boycotted covering White House events. Group boycotts among commercial competitors can violate the Sherman Act." "The Antitrust Division is simply investigating to determine whether these news organizations have violated the antitrust laws.” This comes after the White House blocked CNN from its pool assignment in late-September Instead of sending a replacement, all five networks agreed together to stop covering Trump's movements. IN UNISON. Outlets like @RealAmVoice stepped up to provide video when they did not. Of course, the boycott did NOT last long — Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) October 10, 2026

The coordinated suspension angered Trump, who accused the broadcasters of deliberately refusing to cover an event he regarded as historically significant. The Justice Department is now determining whether the collective action represented an illegal agreement among commercial competitors.

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In a Saturday statement, department spokeswoman Emily Covington accused the networks of having “proudly boycotted covering White House events.” She said the government was reviewing whether that decision ran afoul of federal competition law.

“Group boycotts among commercial competitors can violate the Sherman Act,” Covington said. “The Antitrust Division is simply investigating to determine whether these news organizations have violated the antitrust laws.”

The Sherman Act is one of the country’s principal antitrust statutes and prohibits certain business agreements that unlawfully restrain competition. The inquiry asks whether cooperation through the television pool crossed a legal boundary when the networks withdrew coverage together.

Television networks regularly compete for viewers, advertising revenue, and exclusive reporting. At the same time, they have long cooperated through the White House pool to ensure presidential events are recorded and made available to other members of the press.

Officials had discussed a possible investigation for at least a week, according to the Times. The inquiry remains preliminary and is being overseen by the Justice Department’s civil division, which is headed by Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward, a former White House lawyer.

Letters sent to the networks Friday requested communications among executives and other officials concerning decisions about pool coverage. Investigators also sought correspondence regarding the administration’s withdrawal of CNN’s access to parts of the White House operation.

The dispute followed Trump’s September 18 decision to bar CNN, Politico and MS NOW from the White House grounds. The three organizations challenged the restrictions in federal court, arguing that the administration had violated their First Amendment rights.

The Trump administration maintained that White House access was a “privilege” rather than an unconditional right. A federal judge later issued a temporary order restoring the organizations’ access, but the battle over pool responsibilities continued.

CNN journalists were again allowed onto the White House campus, yet administration officials continued preventing the network from performing its scheduled television pool duties when Trump traveled aboard Air Force One. The other major networks resumed their individual pool assignments on September 25.

The shared television feed nevertheless continued disappearing on occasions when CNN ordinarily would have handled coverage. That interruption eventually affected coverage of Trump’s engagements with Xi, bringing the simmering media fight back into full view.

Trump later complained on social media that some news organizations “refused to cover one of the Biggest and Most Beautiful Events to take place in many years.”

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