Newsmax Legal Panel Pours Cold Water on Trump DOJ Antitrust Probe of TV Networks

Retired judge and Newsmax legal analyst Andrew Napolitano and trial attorney Wendy Patrick cast doubt on the Trump Justice Department’s antitrust investigation into major television networks during a discussion on the conservative channel.

On Saturday, The New York Times reported that the Justice Department had launched an antitrust investigation into five major television networks — ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News and NBC — after they collectively suspended White House press pool coverage in protest of President Donald Trump’s decision to bar CNN, MS NOW and Politico from covering the White House.

Napolitano and Patrick joined Monday’s edition of Newsmax’s Bianca Across the Nation.

Host Bianca de la Garza first asked Patrick, “Is there a case here?”

“It’s hard to determine whether there’s going to be a case made from such unusual facts,” Patrick responded. “One thing that’s characterized the Trump administration has really been firsts.”

When asked if the matter was an antitrust violation, Patrick said, “Probably not, only because it’s not as clear-cut as so many other cases that do fall squarely within those provisions.”

Napolitano was then asked to comment on a statement from the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, which slammed the probe as “another and even more brazen attempt to try to intimidate journalists.”

“I agree fully,” the former Fox News analyst confirmed, adding that the antitrust act cited by the Justice Department — the Sherman Act — “doesn’t really pertain to the First Amendment.”

“This contract, or combination of five networks, was not for a commercial purpose. It was for a political purpose,” he continued. “So, the business that we’re all in — you, Wendy, me — has a unique protection. It’s called the First Amendment, and the government can’t apply ordinary laws to us if they interfere with the freedom of speech.”

Watch the above on YouTube.

Jason Cohen contributed to this report.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!