Justice Department investigates TV networks, citing possible anti-trust violations : NPR

The Justice Department has launched a formal anti-trust investigation into five major U.S. television networks for their actions during a court battle over whether several news outlets should have access to the White House despite angering President Trump.

While the five networks — ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC and Fox News — did not comment, press rights advocacy groups denounced the move.

“[S]ummoning antitrust authority, on top of the retaliatory actions the White House has already taken to bar certain outlets, is another and even more brazen attempt to try to intimidate journalists,” said Bruce Brown, the president of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.

Last month, Trump had aides bar CNN, MSNOW and Politico from the White House after blasting them for what he characterized as unfairly negative coverage. The administration stripped White House press passes from more than 70 journalists. The three news organizations sued in federal court to have their access restored. In court, the Justice Department is citing national security grounds for the decision.

The federal judge overseeing the case issued a temporary stay requiring their passes to be restored and says he will make a more enduring decision by Tuesday evening.

However, the White House also blocked CNN from fulfilling its planned shifts as part of the White House television press pool, which includes the other television networks now under investigation. While the news outlets’ decision-making is day-to-day, The five have agreed not to substitute for CNN on the days that the administration blocks the network, though they are handling decisions day-to-day.

As part of a longstanding practice, the members of the pool share the logistical burden and the costs of covering Trump’s actions in public appearances that take place in smaller places, such as Air Force One. As a result of the ban on CNN, the networks did not cover an event Trump had with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The Justice Department says it is reviewing whether the coordination of that decision constitutes anti-trust behavior, which is to say, anti-competitive.

“Members of the television press pool have proudly boycotted covering White House events. Group boycotts among commercial competitors can violate the Sherman Act,” the Justice Department said in a statement Saturday. “The Antitrust Division is investigating to determine whether these news organizations have violated the antitrust laws.”

Four people with direct knowledge of events affirmed the outlines of the investigation. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter. The development was first reported by the New York Times.

Michael Dorfman, a professor of Constitutional law at Cornell University’s law school, says that political motivation on the part of the president or the Justice Department in investigating the networks does not shield them from legal repercussions in court.

But Dorfman says it would be subject to a review of whether the networks’ actions were reasonable. These were, he says. And he highlights what he calls another “oddity.”

“If the networks agreeing not to cover the White House is illegal, why isn’t the press pool itself illegal? Presumably the answer is that the kind of cooperation involved in the press pool is necessitated by the limited space in particular venues,” Dorfman writes in an email. “But if that’s a sufficient justification for the cooperation in coverage, why isn’t standing up to protect the free press at least as an important a justification?

Part of an ongoing conflict

The incident highlights the increased tensions between the president and the news media. ABC and its parent company Disney are suing Trump’s chief broadcast regulator for mandating an immediate review of whether it should hold all eight of its local TV station licenses — threatening a hit to its bottom line. A judge is weighing whether to intervene in the process.

Trump has frequently called for ABC (and NBC) to lose their broadcast licenses.

Disney calls the review of the ABC station licenses retaliation over content Trump doesn’t like on The View and Jimmy Kimmel Live.

Federal Communications Commission chief Brendan Carr says it’s all a question of upholding “the public interest.” Under Carr, the FCC has also launched investigations of all other major broadcast networks, including NPR, with the exception of Fox broadcast network, owned by Trump’s political ally Rupert Murdoch.

Trump is also suing many major news organizations as an individual. Those outlets include the New York Times, BBC News, and the Wall Street Journal (which is also owned by Murdoch but sometimes draws Trump’s ire). ABC and CBS settled earlier lawsuits Trump brought against them.

“The investigation is nonsense,” said Seth Stern, Freedom of the Press Foundation’s chief of advocacy. “Trump may view the presidency as a business venture, but news outlets’ standing up for their constitutional rights has nothing to do with antitrust law.”