What We Know About the White House TV Press Pool Fight

The Justice Department is investigating the five television networks that make up the White House TV press pool for possible antitrust violations, after those networks refused pool duty following President Donald Trump's decision to bar CNN, MS NOW and Politico from White House grounds, according to NBC News.

What is the White House press pool?

The press pool is a group of media outlets that share video, editorial information and costs for covering the president in settings where space is limited, such as the Oval Office or Cabinet meetings, NBC News reports. On any given day, a small number of designated "poolers" represent the wider press corps and distribute what they gather to member outlets. The White House press corps maintains separate pools for print, radio, still photography and television, each covering high-profile administration officials, government departments and events, according to NBC News.

Why is the Justice Department investigating five TV networks?

The investigation followed Trump's decision last month to bar CNN, MS NOW and Politico from White House grounds, NBC News reports. The TV pool members responded by declining pool coverage for four days initially, then on two further occasions when CNN was blocked from carrying out its scheduled pool duties, according to the network's reporting. The Justice Department's inquiry into whether the five pool networks violated antitrust law by coordinating that refusal has "thrust the decades-old press pool system into the spotlight," NBC News writes.

How did the pool coverage gap happen?

The combined effect of the networks' initial four-day stand and the two later refusals left limited video coverage of Trump for six days total, NBC News reports. Those six days included Trump's summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping and his travel to New York for the United Nations General Assembly, according to the network. The gap ended after a federal judge temporarily blocked the administration's ban while a lawsuit filed by the three excluded outlets proceeds, NBC News reports.

What is the legal status of Trump's ban on CNN, MS NOW and Politico?

CNN, MS NOW and Politico are challenging the White House policy in federal court, a case NBC News describes as carrying implications for the pool system that journalists in the United States and around the world rely on to cover the presidency. A federal judge has already issued a temporary block on the ban while that litigation continues, according to NBC News.

What happens next?

Two tracks are running at once: the Justice Department's antitrust review of the five pool networks, and the federal court case brought by the three barred outlets. Neither has been resolved, based on NBC News's reporting, and the outcome of the court challenge in particular could determine whether a White House can bar individual outlets from pool access going forward.

By the numbers

• 5 television networks form the TV pool now under Justice Department antitrust investigation, per NBC News.
• 6 days of limited video coverage of Trump resulted from the networks' pool refusals, including his summit with Xi Jinping and his UN General Assembly travel, NBC News reports.

For the full account, see NBC News's report.