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WASHINGTON — <\/span>The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating whether the decision of the White House television<\/a> press pool to halt coverage of President Donald Trump last month violated antitrust law, an agency spokesperson said Saturday.<\/p>\n Emily Covington, a spokesperson for the department, said group boycotts among business competitors might violate U.S. law. \u201cThe Antitrust Division is simply investigating to determine whether these news organizations have violated the antitrust laws,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The announcement came after the television pool of five broadcasters last month ceased presidential coverage after the administration barred CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House. <\/p>\n Messages were sent late Saturday to the five outlets seeking comment: ABC, CBS, CNN, FOX and NBC.<\/p>\n The White House press pool, which is a rotating cast of news outlets that covers the president, has become a proxy for the wider fight over whether the president, or anyone, can control the content of news reports \u2014 a type of free speech, pillar of American democracy. <\/p>\n Last month’s developments marked an extraordinary escalation in Trump\u2019s efforts to restrict news reporters and outlets that he finds insufficiently supportive.<\/p>\n