Trump Pardons Leiweke After Golf Talk With Gowdy
President Donald Trump pardoned entertainment executive Timothy Leiweke on Thursday, December 5, 2024, following a November 16 golf outing at Mar-a-Lago with Leiweke’s attorney Trey Gowdy, a former Republican congressman and prosecutor. According to the Wall Street Journal, Trump asked Gowdy during the 18-hole round if there was anything he could help with, prompting Gowdy to raise Leiweke’s case and request the president pressure the Justice Department for a non-prosecution deal. Three weeks after the golf meeting, Trump granted the full pardon, directly undermining his own Justice Department’s criminal prosecution.
Leiweke faced charges dating to June 2024 for allegedly rigging the bidding process for a $375 million University of Texas basketball arena contract, conspiring with Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones’s company and Live Nation CEO Irving Azoff to eliminate competing bids. He pleaded not guilty but faced up to 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine for the alleged conspiracy. Azoff, Leiweke’s co-founder at Oak View Group, served as the intermediary in the scheme and received a non-prosecution agreement—the same arrangement Gowdy requested for Leiweke during their golf discussion.
The pardon obstructs a broader Justice Department antitrust case against Live Nation and Ticketmaster, which the department filed in 2023 accusing the merged company of stifling competition and inflating concert ticket prices. Leiweke initially refused to assist the Justice Department during a deposition in this civil case, invoking his right against self-incrimination, though he plans to cooperate once a judge formally dismisses the criminal charges. His pardon eliminates his vulnerability as a witness in the larger antitrust investigation targeting concert industry monopolistic practices.
Gowdy told the Wall Street Journal that Trump asked him to raise the issue and that “whatever decision was made after that, he was elected to make.” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson stated Trump “is exercising his constitutional authority to issue” pardons “as he deems necessary,” declining to address the apparent quid pro quo arrangement. Leiweke expressed gratitude for the pardon and announced plans to launch a new company and purchase a sports team, stating “I’m going to do it again.”
Gowdy served as South Carolina’s 4th District congressman from 2011 to 2019 and gained prominence as chairman of the House Benghazi Committee before transitioning to private law practice and Fox News commentary. His direct access to Trump at Mar-a-Lago and the subsequent pardon three weeks later demonstrate how personal connections and informal settings facilitate presidential decisions that directly contradict his administration’s stated prosecutorial priorities and antitrust enforcement objectives.