独家报道 白宫在司法部针对主要电视网暂停总统联合采访报道的反垄断调查中发挥了核心作用，三位知情人士向 Semafor 透露。
The Scoop The White House played a central role in the Justice Department’s antitrust investigation into major TV networks’ temporary suspension of pooled coverage of the president, three people familiar with the matter told Semafor.
虽然调查正在推进，但司法部内部一些人对其法律依据感到担忧。两位前司法部官员表示，在三家新闻机构被白宫禁止采访后，电视网暂停参与联合采访的做法很可能受到第一修正案保护——其中一人引用了 1982 年最高法院的一项裁决，该裁决赋予了出于政治目的的集体抵制宪法保护。
While the probe is progressing, some inside the DOJ are concerned about its legal merits. Two former DOJ officials said that the networks suspending their pool participation after three news outlets got barred from the White House are likely protected by the First Amendment — one cited a 1982 Supreme Court ruling that afforded those constitutional protections to group boycotts for political purposes.
两位知情人士表示，发起反垄断调查的想法最初是在白宫内部讨论的，白宫最终推动司法部展开调查。第三位人士将白宫与司法部的互动描述为“毫无区别”，鉴于在唐纳德·特朗普总统政府下，两者关系极其紧密。
Two of the people familiar with the matter suggested that the idea of an antitrust inquiry was first discussed inside the White House, which ultimately pushed for it from the DOJ. A third described the White House-DOJ interplay as a “distinction [without] a difference,” given how closely the two are intertwined under President Donald Trump’s administration.
一位司法部官员反驳了白宫最先提出调查想法的说法，称“司法部内部资深律师，包括反垄断司，最先讨论了此事。”该官员补充说，发给电视网的任何信息请求“都是因为有充分的法律依据进行调查而撰写的。”除了长期以来特朗普时代司法部与白宫界限模糊之外，该部门的反垄断司与总统优先事项关系密切。该司前幕僚长萨拉·马塔尔于 8 月加入白宫法律顾问办公室，担任助理顾问。
A DOJ official disputed that the White House first raised the idea of a probe, saying that “seasoned attorneys within the Justice Department, including the antitrust division, first discussed this.”The official added that any requests for information from networks which may have been sent were written “because there is sound legal footing to investigate.”In addition to the longstanding Trump-era blur between the DOJ and White House, the department’s antitrust division has close ties to presidential priorities. Sara Matar, formerly the division’s chief of staff, joined the White House counsel’s office in August as an associate.
白宫最初将评论权交给司法部。本故事发表后，白宫发言人劳伦·比斯在一份声明中回应称：“你们的消息来源有误。正如司法部所说，此次调查并非由白宫发起。”值得注意的是，劳拉·卢默——一位坚定的MAGA盟友，其外部影响偶尔会导致白宫内部变化——上个月曾在推特上发文质疑，为何司法部没有对那些“串通拒绝报道”特朗普的媒体“提起反垄断诉讼”。
The White House initially referred comment to DOJ. After this story’s publication, White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis responded in a statement: “Your sources have it wrong. As the Department of Justice said, this investigation did not initiate with the White House.”Notably, Laura Loomer — a staunch MAGA ally whose outside influence has occasionally resulted in changes within the White House — tweeted last month wondering why the DOJ hadn’t “filed an antitrust lawsuit” against outlets that “colluded to refuse to cover” Trump.
卢默在该帖子中攻击了伍德沃德；随后的一周，她随特朗普前往阿拉巴马州，但目前尚不清楚她在此次旅行中是否曾就此问题向总统本人提出。
Loomer attacked Woodward in her post; the following week, she traveled with Trump to Alabama, though it’s unclear whether she raised the issue with the president personally during that trip.
了解更多 特朗普政府长期主张司法部并非完全独立于白宫，这与尼克松时代之后形成的惯例相悖。在塞马福尔4月举办的世界经济峰会上，司法部长托德·布兰奇表示，特朗普“有权”建议调查目标——这一立场他在就职部门最高职务后多次重申。
Know More The Trump administration has long argued that the Justice Department is not wholly separate from the White House, counter to the norms that took root after the Nixon era. At Semafor’s World Economy Summit in April, Attorney General Todd Blanche indicated that it is Trump’s “right” to suggest targets for investigation — a stance he has echoed repeatedly since settling into his role at the top of the department.
“显然，如果自由世界的领袖了解到某件事、听到某件事，或希望我们聚焦于某个特定领域，那么这当然是每个司法部门一直在做的事情，”布兰奇当时对塞马福尔如此表示。
“Certainly if the leader of the Free World learns about something or hears about something or wants us to focus on something, a certain area, that is, of course, what every Department of Justice has done,” Blanche told Semafor at the time.
“认为特朗普总统因其言论而拥有某种超常控制权的想法——这绝对是他的权利和职责——”布兰奇补充道。
“This idea that President Trump has some sort of outsized control because of things that he says, that that’s absolutely his right and his duty to do that,” Blanche added.
值得注意的是，法律专家认为，此次反垄断调查可能成为司法部获取电视网络内部记录的潜在理由，Axios曾如此报道。
Notable Legal experts view the antitrust probe as a potential rationale for the DOJ to secure internal records from TV networks, Axios reported.