Donald Trump ultimately broke with his Justice Department’s pursuit circling fair prices for live event ticket purchasers, but it took him a total of eighteen holes. Trey Gowdy, the former prosecutor and GOP Rep., played a round of golf with the US President on November 16, and then brought up a client whom he claimed was being unfairly treated, according to sources of The Wall Street Journal.
That particular round of golf took place at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago, and then after a few weeks Trump granted a pardon to Gowdy’s client, Tim Leiweke, who is a well-known entertainment businessman. The pardon primarily stomped the Justice Department’s “airtight” case against Leiweke, 68, for coming up with an alleged bid for a $375 million basketball arena, which was built for the University of Texas back in 2018.
President Trump granted a full and unconditional pardon to Tim Leiweke, the stadium-developer and former CEO of Oak View Group, just months after his own DOJ charged him with illegally rigging the bidding process for a public-university arena contract.
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— AF Post (@AFpost) December 4, 2025
Not to mention that it also hampers a completely separate civil case that the Justice Department was trying to improve competition as well as pricing in the concert and sporting event industries. To talk more about Leiweke, he was also accused of promising business to a company co-founded by Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, and in return demanded the company’s agreement not to bid for the arena rights.
Irving Azoff, the CEO of Live Nation, who also co-founded the sports and live-event company Oak View Group with Leiweke, worked as an intermediary for the rival firm. Azoff was granted immunity by the Justice Department in the Texas arena case and also made Leiweke the sole defendant with the intention of securing a conviction.
NEWS
President Trump has pardoned Tim Leiweke, a major figure in live entertainment and sports, who was indicted on conspiracy charges.
Was Leiweke charged by the Biden DOJ?
Nope!
Trump’s own DOJ charged Leiweke this past July.
Leiweke was repped by former Congressman… pic.twitter.com/sIunxj4zOl
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) December 4, 2025
And at present, during these Mar-a-Lago links, Gowdy, who boasts a 3.4 handicap, said to the President that Leiweke was not treated fairly in the case. Gowdy also tried to pressure DOJ via Trump and wanted to grant LEIWEKE a nonprosecution deal, like it had granted Azoff. Trump considered the case over the following weeks and, on Thursday, eventually pardoned Leiweke in full.
According to the Journal, Gowdy said, he never sought a pardon – “I am extremely grateful that the president allowed me to raise that issue with him, and he is the president, and whatever decision was made after that, he was elected to make, I was not.” On the other hand, the White House told the publication, “President Trump is the final decider on any pardon or commutation and is exercising his constitutional authority to issue them as he deems necessary.”
The White House also promised to fight against the rising prices in a March 2025 executive order. However, it only addressed the target scalpers and not the price-gouging corporations.
