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Trump pardoned Oak View Group CEO Tim Leiweke of a bid-rigging charge brought by his own DOJ

On December 3, 2025, President Donald Trump pardoned Tim Leiweke, former Oak View Group CEO, of a criminal Sherman Antitrust Act bid-rigging charge that Trump's own Justice Department had brought in July 2025 over the Moody Center arena project in Austin, Texas. The pardon came one day before Leiweke was scheduled to be deposed in a separate DOJ civil antitrust case against Live Nation, in which a DOJ attorney had told the court he held "unique individual knowledge." Oak View Group had donated $250,000 to Trump's 2025 inauguration, and former Rep. Trey Gowdy had lobbied Trump on Leiweke's behalf.

Jurisdiction
Federal
Location
Washington, D.C.

Abuses documented

Actors

On December 3, 2025, President Donald Trump pardoned Tim Leiweke, the former CEO of Oak View Group, of a criminal Sherman Antitrust Act charge that Trump's own Justice Department had brought in July 2025. The charge accused Leiweke of bid-rigging on the Moody Center arena project at the University of Texas at Austin, with trial set for May 4, 2026. Oak View Group and co-conspirator Legends had separately paid $15 million and $1.5 million in civil penalties tied to the matter.

The pardon landed one day before Leiweke was scheduled to give a deposition in a separate, ongoing DOJ civil antitrust case against Live Nation, in which a DOJ attorney had told the court that Leiweke held "unique individual knowledge" about how Oak View Group steered venue contracts to Ticketmaster under a 2022 incentive deal. Oak View Group had donated $250,000 to Trump's 2025 inauguration, and former Republican Congressman Trey Gowdy had lobbied Trump on Leiweke's behalf following a golf outing. Leiweke was not among the roughly 15,000 people who had formally petitioned for a pardon.

Updates

2025-12-04 — Leiweke invoked the Fifth Amendment at the antitrust deposition [2]

The day after the pardon, Leiweke invoked his Fifth Amendment right at the Live Nation deposition, preventing prosecutors from obtaining his testimony in that separate case.

2026-05-07 — Congressional Democrats opened a "pay-to-play" pardons investigation naming Leiweke [4]

Reps. Dave Min and Raul Ruiz and Sen. Peter Welch launched a bicameral investigation into Trump pardons, sending Leiweke a letter that cited his lobbying by former Rep. Trey Gowdy following a round of golf with Trump.

Why we recorded this

The rule of law depends on the President's own Justice Department being able to prosecute crimes it charges, without the President then dissolving the case. Here Trump pardoned a defendant his own DOJ had indicted for bid-rigging one day before the man was to be deposed in a separate federal antitrust matter, and the man invoked the Fifth Amendment the next day. Recording it documents how the clemency power can be used to shield an ally from accountability and to impede an unrelated live investigation.

Sources

  1. Tim Leiweke Pardoned by President Donald Trump of Bid-Rigging Charge — Sportico investigative accessed July 9, 2026
  2. Trump's Pardon of Tim Leiweke Throws Wrench Into DOJ's Live Nation Antitrust Case — Billboard investigative accessed July 9, 2026
  3. Trump pardons former Nuggets president accused in Texas arena bid-rigging case — Colorado Public Radio secondary accessed July 9, 2026
  4. Democrats launch congressional investigation into Trump pardon recipients over 'pay-to-play' concerns — CBS News investigative accessed July 11, 2026

See also