{"id":17630,"date":"2026-06-24T23:31:29","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T23:31:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=17630"},"modified":"2026-06-24T23:31:29","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T23:31:29","slug":"court-filing-reveals-president-trump-spoke-to-live-nation-ceo-before-antitrust-case-was-settled","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=17630","title":{"rendered":"Court filing reveals President Trump spoke to Live Nation CEO before antitrust case was settled"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p><strong>By LARRY NEUMEISTER<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 President Donald Trump spoke personally with the chief executive of Live Nation in the weeks before the Justice Department abruptly settled its longstanding antitrust lawsuit against the entertainment giant and its Ticketmaster subsidiary, the company revealed in a court filing.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=17628\">Lawmakers demand answers as turmoil over Reflecting Pool repair continues<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Lawyers for Live Nation told the court on Monday that Trump and the company\u2019s CEO, Michael Rapino, spoke about the antitrust lawsuit in February, but didn\u2019t discuss \u201csubstantive terms\u201d of any potential settlement.<\/p>\n<p>They also said that White House lawyers were involved in some of the numerous in-person meetings, videoconferences, telephone calls and written communications between the company and the Justice Department in February and March.<\/p>\n<p>Just days into the March trial, the Justice Department announced a settlement that most states refused to join, saying it did not go far enough to curb the company\u2019s dominance over concert venues and ticketing for live events though Ticketmaster.<\/p>\n<p>The trial continued, and a jury concluded several weeks later that the company was a monopoly that cost concertgoers and sports fans.<\/p>\n<p>The White House declined to comment on Live Nation\u2019s disclosure, referring questions to the Justice Department, which didn\u2019t immediately respond to messages seeking comment.<\/p>\n<p>The revelation comes as the Justice Department has faced criticism that its independence has been threatened by substantial oversight or interference from the White House and the president.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=17621\">Dozens of states could face new costs because of high error rates in SNAP food aid<\/a><\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The Justice Department and dozens of states originally teamed up to bring the antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation.<\/p>\n<p>Among other things, the jury in New York found Ticketmaster\u2019s anticompetitive practices led to people in 22 states paying an extra $1.72 per ticket, which the judge could order the companies to pay back.<\/p>\n<p>State attorneys general who sued Live Nation said the verdict could potentially lead to lower ticket prices for music fans.<\/p>\n<p>The federal government\u2019s settlement deal included a cap on service fees at some amphitheaters, plus some new ticket-selling options for promoters and venues \u2014 potentially allowing, but not requiring, them to open doors to Ticketmaster competitors such as SeatGeek or AXS.<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p>In April, Live Nation said in a statement that the verdict \u201cis not the last word on this matter.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=17619\">Assembly bill no longer seeks to remove OC supervisors from CalOptima board<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Live Nation lawyers have revealed that President Donald Trump spoke personally with the chief executive of Live Nation in the weeks before the Justice Department abruptly settled its longstanding antitrust lawsuit against the entertainment giant and its Ticketmaster subsidiary.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17629,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17630","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-based-on-facts-either-observed-and-verified-directly-by-the-reporter-or-reported-and-verified-from-knowledgeable-sources","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - 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