Trump Pardons Live Music Exec Leiweke Indicted By His Own DoJ

President Trump has pardoned, Tim Leiweke, the former AEG and Oakview executive. He was charged by Trump’s own Department of Justice with conservancy to restrain trade.

Trump Pardons Tim Leiweke

Tim Leiweke, who co-founded Oak View Group with music mogul Irving Azoff, was indicted in July. The DOJ alleged he was “orchestrating a conspiracy to rig the bidding process for an arena at a public university in Austin, Texas.”

His charges included conspiring with a competitor to get them to pull out of the bidding process for a public arena. Leiweke faced a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine. Leiweke denies the charges.

“a hidden kickback arrangement with a major ticketing company”

A DoJ investigation of Oak View also included an alleged “hidden kickback arrangement with a major ticketing company. OVG agreed to receive tens of millions in payments in return for promoting that ticketing company’s services to venues OVG managed. This was done without disclosing this conflict to venue owners, despite fiduciary duties.”

OVG and Legends Hospitality, another company involved, avoided charges by paying $15 million and $1.5 million in penalties respectively. OVG also had agreed to fully cooperate with the DoJ case against Leiweke.

Full and Unconditional Pardon

The “full and unconditional pardon” of Leiweke came before the trial began. The former executive had pleaded not guilty.

Unlike most Trump pardons, came without an announcement or explanation. The US Office of the Pardon Attorney posted it on its website on Wednesday. Its the fifth pardon Trump granted in the past week

Read the full pardon here.

Bruce Houghton is Founder & Editor of Hypebot, Senior Advisor at Bandsintown, a Berklee College Of Music professor and founder of Skyline Artists.