{"id":11048,"date":"2026-06-26T13:02:24","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T13:02:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/live-nation-says-ceo-talked-to-trump-before-antitrust-settlement\/"},"modified":"2026-06-26T13:02:24","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T13:02:24","slug":"live-nation-says-ceo-talked-to-trump-before-antitrust-settlement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/live-nation-says-ceo-talked-to-trump-before-antitrust-settlement\/","title":{"rendered":"Live Nation Says CEO Talked To Trump Before Antitrust Settlement"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n\tLive Nation has confirmed that the White House was directly involved in talks leading up to the surprise settlement of its federal antitrust case, including a conversation between CEO Michael Rapino<\/strong> and President Donald Trump in which the status of the monopoly case \u201ccame up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIn court papers filed Monday (June 22) and obtained by Billboard<\/em>, the concert giant disclosed that not only the Department of Justice but also \u201cmembers of the White House\u201d took part in the negotiations that came before the company\u2019s abrupt March settlement with federal enforcers.<\/p>\n

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\n\tThe contact with the administration was principally with the Office of the White House Counsel, Live Nation said, but also included a February conversation directly between Rapino and the president himself.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cMr. Rapino discussed a variety of topics related to Live Nation\u2019s business with President Donald J. Trump,\u201d the company\u2019s lawyers write in the filing. \u201cThe status of DOJ\u2019s lawsuit against defendants came up but no substantive terms regarding any potential settlement were discussed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe disclosures are significant because there\u2019s been much speculation about the direct involvement of the White House in Live Nation\u2019s settlement with DOJ, which critics have argued was far too lenient. The Wall Street Journal <\/em>previously reported<\/a> that Trump personally pushed aides to make the deal; Congressional Democrats have called it a \u201csweetheart deal\u201d won via lobbying by Trump allies.<\/p>\n

\n\tFollowing the settlement, a coalition of state attorneys general refused to sign a deal they said was too weak to address Live Nation\u2019s alleged antitrust violations. They pushed ahead with the trial, eventually winning a total victory: a jury verdict that the company is an illegal monopoly in the live music industry.<\/p>\n

\n\tThose states are currently seeking severe penalties against Live Nation, including an order that would force it to sell its Ticketmaster subsidiary. But the judge is also weighing whether to approve the DOJ\u2019s earlier settlement, which imposed key behavioral changes but avoided any kind of structural breakup.<\/p>\n

\n\tWith Monday\u2019s filing, Live Nation was complying with legal requirements to disclose all communications with the feds ahead of such a settlement. In it, the company confirmed that the talks included Rapino, as well as longtime Trump allies Kellyanne Conway, Mike Davis and Richard Grenell, plus CFO Joe Berchtold<\/strong>, top company lawyer Dan Wall<\/strong> and numerous outside counsel.<\/p>\n

\n\tTalks began in February 2025, with Live Nation spending several months primarily communicating with the DOJ\u2019s Antitrust Division in an effort to \u201copen settlement discussions.\u201d Starting in June 2025, those talks also expanded to include the U.S. Attorney General\u2019s office. Formal settlement negotiations started in September 2025 with an initial Live Nation proposal, followed by a government counteroffer in January 2026.<\/p>\n

\n\tFrom February 2026 to March 2026, the company says it held \u201cnumerous\u201d settlement meetings with the DOJ antitrust unit, the Attorney General\u2019s office and, later, the White House Counsel\u2019s office. It was during this time that Live Nation publicly urged the DOJ that it was \u201cTime to Move On,\u201d before quietly deleting that statement a day later.<\/p>\n

\n\tMonday\u2019s court filing did not disclose any additional details of Rapino\u2019s conversation with Trump, other than to say it involved the case but did not directly include \u201csubstantive terms regarding any potential settlement.\u201d A spokesperson for Live Nation declined to comment on the filing.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhen the deal was suddenly announced on March 9, the jury trial had already been underway for a week. The settlement, privately reached on March 5, was a surprise to most<\/a>, including the states that had filed the case alongside DOJ, as well as the federal judge overseeing the case. It was even a surprise to the DOJ\u2019s own trial lawyers, who said they\u2019d been unaware of the deal until that morning.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe DOJ\u2019s lead attorney, David E. Dahlquist, left the agency<\/a> a month later. At an industry conference earlier this month, he publicly confirmed<\/a> that he had not participated in the settlement talks: \u201cWhen I stood up and gave the opening statement in this case, I believed that we were going to win,\u201d Dahlquist said. \u201cAnd when the settlement was entered, I still believed that we were going to win.\u201d<\/p>\n


\"Billboard
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