WASHINGTON, D.C. — UPDATE, October 11: The U.S. Department of Justice sent civil investigative demands Friday, October 9, to ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC and Fox News as part of its antitrust investigation into the networks’ temporary suspension of White House television-pool coverage, a Justice Department official told NBC News.
Civil investigative demands are compulsory evidence-gathering tools used before a civil antitrust complaint is filed. They can require documents, written answers or testimony. Their issuance does not establish that any network violated the law. The scope of the demands and the networks’ responses remain undisclosed in the reporting reviewed by Radio News Now.
Update sources: NBC News, updated October 11; Justice Department explanation of compulsory civil investigative process.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — UPDATE, October 10: The U.S. Department of Justice says its Antitrust Division is investigating whether ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC and Fox News violated federal antitrust law when the five-network White House television pool temporarily suspended pooled coverage after the administration removed CNN from its rotation.
A Justice Department spokesperson told Reuters that group boycotts among commercial competitors can violate the Sherman Act and said the division is investigating whether the news organizations broke the law. The department has announced no lawsuit, enforcement action or finding of wrongdoing.
The networks suspended pooled television coverage on September 21 after the White House revoked credentials for reporters from CNN, MS NOW and Politico and removed CNN from its scheduled pool assignment. In a joint statement reported at the time by CBS News, the five networks said the public has an interest in accurate, independent information and opposed excluding a news organization because of objections to its reporting.
The pool resumed operations after a federal judge restored the organizations’ general White House access, although disputes over individual events and travel assignments continued. Reuters said the five networks did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the antitrust investigation.
The investigation substantially escalates the press-access dispute by subjecting a coordinated editorial and logistical decision to federal antitrust scrutiny. Whether the networks’ conduct violated the Sherman Act remains unresolved, as does the underlying court fight over White House access.
Sources: Reuters, October 10; CBS News, September 21; The Associated Press, October 8.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — UPDATE, October 5: The White House blocked Politico from traveling aboard Air Force One for President Donald Trump’s trip to Nebraska, preventing the outlet from carrying out its scheduled assignment as the out-of-town print pooler. A Politico spokesperson confirmed the exclusion to The Washington Post.
The print pooler reports the president’s movements and activities for other news organizations that cannot travel with him. Updated October 5, 2026: No outlet filled Politico’s primary print-pool assignment, CNN reported, citing emails from Washington Post reporter Katherine Doyle and CBS News producer Josh Gross. The Post’s separately assigned secondary reporter and CBS’s television-pool team are distributing reports to print outlets, while emphasizing that neither is replacing Politico.
A White House spokesperson told CNN that Politico can cover presidential events independently, but called travel aboard Air Force One “a privilege not a right.” A hearing on the news organizations’ preliminary-injunction request is scheduled for October 8. The dispute over the legality of the travel restrictions remains unresolved.
Update source: Brian Stelter, CNN, October 5, via KVIA.
The federal temporary restraining order restoring Politico, CNN and MS NOW’s general White House credentials remains in effect through October 8. The order does not expressly address travel-pool assignments or access aboard Air Force One. U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly has not ruled on the organizations’ request for a preliminary injunction, leaving the legal status of the travel exclusions unresolved.
Monday’s action extends the practical impact of the dispute from CNN’s television-pool assignments to Politico’s print-pool duty. The organizations allege unlawful retaliation and viewpoint discrimination; the administration has disputed those claims and has argued that general White House access is distinct from selection for limited event and travel pools.
Sources: The Washington Post, October 5; TheWrap, October 5; The Associated Press, September 28.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — UPDATE, October 1: The White House again removed CNN from its assigned television-pool duty, this time for President Donald Trump’s Thursday trip to Texas and Oklahoma, while the network and two other news organizations seek extended court protection in their access lawsuit.
CNN had been scheduled to serve as the primary television pool network. The revised White House guidance left Real America’s Voice News as the television representative for the trip. CNN confirmed its removal, and an attorney for CNN, MS NOW and Politico said the organizations contend the White House is continuing to apply the ban inconsistently.
A federal temporary restraining order remains in effect through October 8 and requires restoration of the organizations’ White House press credentials. The order did not expressly decide whether the White House must honor the television networks’ rotating pool assignments or provide access aboard Air Force One. White House Communications Director Steven Cheung said the administration views general White House access as different from selection for limited event and travel pools.
U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly has not ruled on the organizations’ request for a preliminary injunction. It therefore remains unresolved whether Thursday’s pool exclusion violates the existing order or any later injunction.
Sources: The Guardian, October 1; Reuters, September 29; The Associated Press, September 28.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — UPDATE, September 29: CNN, MS NOW and Politico have asked U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly to preserve their White House access while their lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s ban proceeds.
The organizations requested a preliminary injunction after Kelly granted a 14-day temporary restraining order restoring their general access. Kelly previously found that the organizations were likely to succeed on their claim that the bans violated their right to due process.
The new motion also brings the television-pool dispute squarely before the court. CNN was barred from an assigned Air Force One pool trip Saturday, and the other participating networks declined to replace it. The organizations contend that the restrictions constitute unlawful viewpoint discrimination. The Justice Department maintains that the president acted lawfully and has cited national-security concerns. Those competing claims remain disputed.
Kelly has not ruled on the preliminary-injunction request. It also remains unresolved whether court-ordered access extends to television-pool assignments and presidential travel aboard Air Force One.
Sources: Reuters, September 29; The Associated Press, September 28.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — UPDATE, September 25: The shared White House television pool resumed operations Friday after a dayslong suspension, but the White House later signaled that CNN would not fill its assigned Air Force One pool seat for President Donald Trump’s Saturday trip.
White House guidance replaced CNN with Real America’s Voice News for the trip to Knoxville, Tennessee, according to The Associated Press. Trump is scheduled to attend a University of Tennessee football game. Real America’s Voice News is not a member of the five-network television pool.
The development came hours after CNN cameras again provided pooled video of Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the National Archives. ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News and NBC normally rotate responsibility for producing video that is distributed to other news organizations.
The networks had suspended the pool after CNN was removed from the rotation. CNN, MS NOW and Politico regained general access to the White House grounds Thursday after U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly issued a 14-day temporary restraining order restoring their press credentials.
Kelly’s order addressed the organizations’ “hard passes” and general access to the White House complex. It did not directly address pool assignments or access to Air Force One. An attorney for the organizations said earlier Friday that the plaintiffs believe the order also covers pool access.
The dispute remains unresolved. CNN and MS NOW said some of their journalists were excluded from Thursday evening’s state-dinner arrival after their broader access had been reinstated. No court had ruled by Friday night on whether the event-specific restrictions or the Air Force One assignment violated the temporary order.
Radio News Now question: Will the court determine that restoring the organizations’ general access also requires the White House to honor their assigned pool duties?
Sources: The Associated Press, September 25; Reuters report on the television pool’s return.