Five television networks under investigation by the Justice Department after boycott of Trump coverage

The United States Department of Justice has opened an investigation into five television networks to determine whether their decision to suspend joint coverage of President Donald Trump’s activities for several days constitutes a violation of federal competition laws.

ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC and Fox News have been asked to turn over communications related to the boycott. Authorities are examining whether this coordinated action could violate the Sherman Act, which prohibits monopolistic practices and anticompetitive agreements between companies.

The television networks’ decision came last month in response to the Trump administration’s move to strip journalists from CNN, MS Now and Politico of their press credentials.

A Justice Department spokesperson said the Antitrust Division is examining whether the media organizations violated competition rules. So far, none of the television networks has issued a public comment on the investigation.

“Presidential pool” is a system that allows a limited group of journalists to directly follow the president’s activities and then share the material they collect with the rest of the media.

The investigation is taking place amid a tense climate between the White House and media organizations.

Last month, Trump barred CNN, MS Now and Politico from entering the White House, accusing them of publishing “fabrications or lies” about his administration.

The court later ordered access to be restored for these media outlets. CNN, MS Now and Politico had sued the administration, arguing that the restriction infringed on constitutional rights protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

This amendment guarantees freedom of the press and, according to the traditional interpretation of the courts, limits the government’s right to discriminate against the media because of the content of their reporting.

The Trump administration has also undertaken other legal initiatives against media organizations, including lawsuits related to the public portrayal of the president.

Another confrontation has emerged with the Associated Press.

In February, the White House announced that it would take over management of the group of journalists who cover the president’s activities. For more than a century, this structure had been managed by the White House Correspondents’ Association.

During the same month, the Trump administration took steps to exclude Associated Press journalists and photographers from several restricted-access areas, including the Oval Office and the presidential aircraft Air Force One.

The reason for the decision was that the agency continued to use the name “Gulf of Mexico” instead of “Gulf of America,” the name preferred by the Trump administration.

The Associated Press took the matter to court, while the legal proceedings remain ongoing.

The investigation into the five television networks represents a new development in the confrontation between the U.S. administration and the media. Authorities must now determine whether the television networks’ coordination during the boycott constituted a violation of federal competition laws.