Fresh Off Trump Pardon, OVG's Leiweke Refuses to Testify in Live Nation Antitrust Suit

Two days after receiving a full and unconditional pardon from President Donald Trump, former Oak View Group CEO Tim Leiweke has refused to answer questions from the U.S. Department of Justice regarding its landmark antitrust case against Live Nation Entertainment and Ticketmaster.

During a deposition on Thursday, Leiweke invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, according to a report by Bloomberg. The move comes less than a week after Trump unexpectedly wiped away a felony bid-rigging charge that Trump’s own Justice Department had filed against Leiweke in July.

Sources familiar with the deposition told Bloomberg that Leiweke declined to respond to government questioning, though the specific circumstances remain unclear. Court filings indicate he had previously attempted to avoid testifying by arguing that his then-pending criminal case created legal risk.

While the pardon—reportedly facilitated by Trump ally and former congressman Trey Gowdy—eliminated his criminal liability for the specific Moody Center bid-rigging charge, Leiweke still chose to remain silent in the civil antitrust matter. His legal team has not commented.

Leiweke is not a named defendant in the Live Nation case. However, the government’s complaint alleges that Live Nation and Oak View Group (OVG)—the venue development firm Leiweke co-founded with music mogul Irving Azoff—colluded to avoid competing in the concert promotion business, effectively fortifying Live Nation’s monopoly.

A trial is scheduled for March in federal court in New York.

“Pimp, Hammer and Protector”

The timing of Leiweke’s refusal to testify is notable in context. OVG and Leiweke feature heavily in the evidence federal regulators say underpins Live Nation’s consolidated power.

Key portions of the DOJ’s civil complaint—along with documents unearthed during the criminal investigation—paint OVG as a critical cog in Live Nation’s strategy to entrench Ticketmaster’s control.

In July, exhibits attached to OVG’s non-prosecution agreement revealed that Ticketmaster paid OVG a $20 million upfront “incentive,” followed by $7 million annually. In exchange, OVG360, the company’s venue-management arm, pushed arenas to sign or maintain exclusive Ticketmaster contracts—without disclosing that OVG was receiving kickbacks tied to those decisions.

Federal investigators stumbled upon this arrangement while sifting through emails for an unrelated antitrust review of Legends’ proposed acquisition of ASM Global. Those same email threads supported the criminal bid-rigging charge involving the University of Texas’ Moody Center—the very charge Trump has now erased.

These disclosures align with the DOJ’s broader argument that OVG acted, in the government’s words, as Ticketmaster’s “pimp, hammer and protector,” keeping independent promoters and competing ticketing platforms at bay.

While OVG avoided prosecution by agreeing to pay a $15 million penalty and cooperate with investigators, Leiweke resigned as CEO the day the indictment was announced, though he remains vice-chair of the board.

“I Never Want to be Competitors”

The DOJ’s antitrust case outlines multiple instances where Live Nation executives allegedly pressured OVG not to promote concerts independently. In internal emails cited by the government, Live Nation leadership chastised OVG for actions that might introduce competitive pressure.

“Who would be so stupid to do this and play into [the agent’s] arms?” Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino wrote to Leiweke in one exchange. Leiweke allegedly replied: “We have never promoted without you. Won’t.”

Another message quoted in the complaint is even more blunt: “I never want to be competitors.”

The government contends that OVG—which controls influential trade publications Pollstar and VenuesNow—was positioned to be a legitimate threat to the status quo but instead aligned with Live Nation to protect the giant’s market share.

A Witness Lost?

Because OVG appears throughout the government’s allegations, Leiweke is one of the few individuals with direct knowledge of both the company’s internal strategy and its interactions with Live Nation. He is a rare figure who bridges the narrative of the civil lawsuit and the criminal investigation that uncovered the kickback scheme. Leiweke’s potential testimony could have been a smoking gun for the DOJ, particularly regarding allegations of exclusive venue contracts and retaliation threats.

However, with his criminal charges gone and the Fifth Amendment still in play for civil proceedings, the government may never get his account on the record.

The Political Shadow

Leiweke’s silence arrives amid intense scrutiny of Live Nation’s own efforts to court favor with the Trump administration while facing existential threats from both the DOJ and the FTC.

Investigations by The Wall Street Journal and The Capitol Forum have detailed Live Nation’s aggressive lobbying strategy, including hiring Trump-aligned operatives, appointing Trump confidant Richard Grenell to its board, and launching a $1 billion venue investment plan shortly after a Trump executive order.

For consumer advocates and antitrust scholars, the sequence of events is stark: A former CEO, cited repeatedly in a massive antitrust complaint, faced a criminal case that arguably increased his incentive to cooperate with regulators. He then received a surprise pardon eliminating that exposure, and days later, refused to answer questions in the civil case where his testimony mattered most.

As the government prepares for a March trial that could determine the future of the live music industry, the silence of a key figure at the intersection of venues, ticketing, and promotion adds a new layer of complexity to an already high-stakes legal battle.