It’s been assumed knowledge that Donald Trump intervened in the Department of Justice’s antitrust trial against Live Nation and Ticketmaster, a seemingly slam-dunk case that would have seen the federal government’s prosecutors pursue a forced split of the despised ticketing monopoly. Now it’s confirmed knowledge, as the Wall Street Journal has an in-depth report on the extent of Trump and his circle’s personal involvement in squashing a nearly sure-fire win for consumers.
We knew, thanks to court filings, that Trump met directly with Live Nation President and CEO Michael Rapino just days before the Department of Justice announced a surprise settlement with the company that scuttled the trial. The Wall Street Journal has details on what happened leading up to that settlement. Per the report, weeks before Rapino and Trump got on the horn and squashed the beef, Live Nation hired a new team of lawyers from Sullivan & Cromwell, a New York-based firm that has represented Trump on numerous occasions—including his failed attempt at overturning the verdict E. Jean Carroll secured against him for sexual abuse and defamation.
Sullivan & Cromwell has notably become a pipeline to jobs in the Department of Justice and throughout the administration during Trump’s second term, according to Politico. Sullivan & Cromwell partner Jay Clayton was Trump’s nominee to be director of national intelligence and assumed the position earlier this month. Matthew Schwartz, a lawyer who has represented Trump, was nominated to be a judge on the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals.
So bringing in the firm signaled that Live Nation was ready to play ball. Per the Journal, the conversation between Live Nation and the Department of Justice almost immediately went from contentious and doomed to extremely favorable for the company. Trump reportedly asked Live Nation’s CEO how to improve bookings at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on their February 27 call, as the venue was apparently considering switching to Ticketmaster for its ticketing. After that call, Trump reportedly issued a directive to the DOJ to settle the case.
Another shady figure who was reportedly wrapped up in the proceedings: Boris Epshteyn, Trump’s personal attorney. WSJ reports that DOJ officials didn’t know whether he was representing Trump, Live Nation, or both during negotiations. A recent DOJ legal opinion ruled that Trump’s communications with advisors like Epshteyn are protected, so we’ll likely never know exactly what those two were talking about as it relates to this case.
It’s not terribly hard to draw a line between events, though. By March 5, mere days after Trump had his call with Live Nation’s top executive, the Ts were being crossed, and the Is were being crossed on a settlement that would see Live Nation pony up $280 million and agree to divest control of a couple of venues, but otherwise continue with business as usual. The settlement agreement shocked state attorneys general, who had signed on to bring the case and were initially locked out of negotiations by Trump and company.
Those states continued the case without the federal government’s support, and managed to secure a ruling in a jury trial that found Live Nation was indeed operating an illegal monopoly in event ticketing—further evidence that the case was a winner, if only the Trump administration had any stomach for actually acting on its populist posturing rather than just squeezing businesses for personal gains and favors.
Live Nation did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
