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TV Networks Protested Press Bans by Declining To Cover Trump. That Might Have Been Illegal, the DOJ Says.

The antitrust investigation adds another layer of bullying to Trump's vendetta against "Fake News Media Outlets."

Jacob Sullum | 10.12.2026 2:15 PM

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Media Contact & Reprint Requests

(Valentin M Armianu/Picsfive/Dreamstime/CNN/MS NOW/Politico)

After President Donald Trump banned CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House last month, ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox News protested by suspending their participation in the press pool that provides widely used video of presidential events. According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), which last Friday demanded network communications regarding the TV pool, that show of solidarity may have violated the Sherman Antitrust Act.

The antitrust investigation adds another layer of bullying to Trump's vendetta against "Fake News Media Outlets." The president reflexively threatens to yank broadcast licenses in response to news coverage he views as biased against him. He has repeatedly tried to punish disfavored journalists by excluding them from the White House, culminating in last month's sanctions against CNN, MS NOW, and Politico, which irked him by running "purposely negative stories." Now he is deploying the Justice Department against the TV networks that objected to his assault on freedom of the press.

Under a longstanding arrangement, ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, and Fox News take turns covering........

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