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Trump told DOJ to settle Live Nation-Ticketmaster case after Oval Office meeting

Washington, District of ColumbiaPublished 29 Aug 2026

The Wall Street Journal reports the president ordered a settlement days after meeting CEO Michael Rapino; the White House says DOJ was not weaponized, and a Justice Department spokesperson called the Journal’s account categorically false. State attorneys general who refused the deal later won a monopoly verdict.

The Wall Street Journal reported that President Trump told a senior Justice Department official to settle the antitrust case against Live Nation-Ticketmaster after a Feb. 27 Oval Office meeting with CEO Michael Rapino about Kennedy Center bookings. A March 5 White House session produced a term sheet that left Ticketmaster intact; most states refused to join, continued to trial, and in April a jury found Live Nation illegally monopolized major-concert ticketing. The White House said the president has not weaponized DOJ to help friends; a DOJ spokesperson told PBS the Journal’s account of how the deal came together is categorically false.

Shared facts

Prosecutors had been pursuing a forced split of Live Nation and Ticketmaster.

Live Nation’s sudden DOJ settlement came in March, a week into the federal antitrust trial.

Rogin said the case also accused Live Nation of restricting artists' access to venues.

Rapino also met Trump a few weeks before the March 5 session.

Trump called Rapino to the White House Feb. 27 primarily to discuss Kennedy Center bookings.

Trump installed allies on the Kennedy Center board, including Richard Grenell, later elected to Live Nation’s board in May 2025.

During the meeting Trump also asked about the DOJ lawsuit.

Rapino told Trump they had been negotiating but had no deal and trial started the following Monday.

The case was first brought by the Biden administration.

Trump’s instruction to settle came after that meeting.

Negotiations accelerated as jury selection began March 2.

The deal forced some concessions on amphitheaters and Ticketmaster exclusivity contracts.

Trump announced an executive order targeting ticket scalping and exploitative pricing.

Many critics say it did not go far enough on Live Nation’s live-entertainment monopoly.

CFO Joe Berchtold and Sullivan & Cromwell attorney James McDonald also attended.

Trump briefly appeared and again asked why it was not already resolved.

Wall said DOJ and settling states got as much or more as they could have expected to win in court.

Live Nation could not even get a meeting.

Wall said that after six months without a meeting the company had every right to try something else.

Live Nation confirmed the March 5 meeting produced the material terms.

A recent DOJ legal opinion ruled Trump’s communications with advisers like Epshteyn are protected.

Live Nation worked closely with Kellyanne Conway and Mike Davis.

By the end of the first trial day Live Nation's lawyer told the judge they all but had a settlement deal.

Trump involved himself after hearing about the case from people in his orbit.

By March 5 a settlement was being finished that had Live Nation pay $280 million.

In September 2025 Live Nation proposed exclusive-contract limits, promoter access and a $280 million fund.

DOJ attorneys initially prepared a counterproposal still requiring a Ticketmaster spinoff.

In July Trump appointed McDonald to lead the SDNY U.S. attorney’s office.

That spinoff language was removed before the January counterproposal.

Trent McCotter directed trial attorneys to remove the Ticketmaster divestiture provision.

Two DOJ political appointees had significant influence over early proposed settlements.

Those states were initially locked out of the negotiations.

Davis previously helped lobby DOJ to drop its challenge to a $14 billion Hewlett Packard-Juniper merger.

It would have required open-sourcing ticketing software and giving up about three-quarters of amphitheaters.

Judge Subramanian still must decide punishment in the states’ successful case.

The judge will also decide whether the DOJ settlement is in the public interest.

Live Nation then brought Sullivan & Cromwell into the negotiations.

The Sullivan & Cromwell team included two antitrust experts and James McDonald.

In a July letter the states said they had significant concerns the settlement was not in the public interest.

McDonald, leading the firm’s Live Nation work, was representing Trump in two New York appeals.

One reason they hired Sullivan & Cromwell was connections with DOJ leadership.

DOJ officials were unsure whether Epshteyn was acting for Trump, Live Nation, or both.

McDonald has since become U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.

Dan Wall said the company went above the Antitrust Division because it could not get meetings for months.

Wall said critics compared the deal with an unrealistic expectation of separating Live Nation and Ticketmaster.

DOJ told the Journal settling gave consumers immediate benefits and avoided a long legal fight.

The White House denied Trump used DOJ to improperly benefit allies.

Most state plaintiffs rejected the federal deal and continued without DOJ.

A coalition of 34 attorneys general asked Judge Subramanian to force divestiture of Ticketmaster and major amphitheaters.

The federal settlement keeps Live Nation and Ticketmaster together with conduct restrictions and some fee caps.

DOJ settled; most states went to trial and won a monopoly verdict that could still force a Ticketmaster breakup.

TicketNews contacted Live Nation Monday seeking comment on the Journal report.

Disputed facts

Trump told the DOJ official “Settle it” shortly before the March trial, the Journal reported.

PBS said attorneys general from 33 states and D.C. had joined the lawsuit.

The Wall Street Journal

The Trump Intervention That Got the DOJ Off Live Nation’s Back

Rebecca Ballhaus, Joe Palazzolo, Dana Mattioli, Josh Dawsey and Dave Michaels

Published 24 Aug 2026 accessed 29 Aug 2026

Facts

Live Nation’s top in-house lawyer said he did not know the deal was signed when he met the judge March 6.

When it was announced March 9, DOJ’s co-lead said he had only received the settlement that morning.

DOJ said artists may now use other promoters at Live Nation venues.

White House involvement in law-enforcement matters is a regular feature of Trump’s second term.

Todd Blanche said he was not directly part of the discussions but was not saying the White House was not part of them.

In 2024 DOJ sued Live Nation, saying it dominated concerts and used that power to stifle competition.

After months of unproductive talks, Live Nation’s fortunes changed in about a week.

The White House said there is no confusion about Epshteyn’s role as Trump’s personal attorney.

The March 5 agreement created confusion in the ongoing trial.

He told allies he wanted Live Nation involved in Kennedy Center operations.

Trump tapped Gail Slater, a former Vance aide, to lead the antitrust division.

Antitrust authorities had scrutinized Live Nation since the 2010 merger.

Ticketmaster botched 2022 Eras Tour sales.

Trump installed himself as Kennedy Center chairman and named Richard Grenell executive director.

In September Conway and Grenell accompanied Live Nation executives to a meeting with Slater at DOJ.

Kennedy Center officials had discussed moving ticketing to Ticketmaster since 2024.

Under Trump’s second term DOJ has moved sharply away from corporate enforcement.

Trump allies and clients of his personal lawyers have received pardons or had cases dropped.

Some senior DOJ officials owe their jobs or terminations in part to Epshteyn’s influence.

They include Blanche, whom Epshteyn boosted to replace Bondi as attorney general.

A programming overhaul sent Kennedy Center ticket sales plummeting and some artists pulled out.

In February antitrust chief Slater left the agency.

Talks moved above the trial team as Woodward took over, working with Assefi.

The ticketing business accounted for more than $3 billion in 2025 revenue.

Ticketmaster said no Kennedy Center ticketing talks have involved Trump personally.

In August 2025 a former DOJ official accused lobbyists of trading on relationships for million-dollar success fees.

People said Trump told Epshteyn he was not worried about Slater; a White House official said Trump did not make that statement.

The six-page term sheet signed by Rapino and Assefi said Live Nation would end 13 exclusive booking agreements.

Dahlquist said the deal was news to him and that he would call Assefi.

On March 5 another White House meeting took place in the Roosevelt Room.

Live Nation asked Assefi to delay the trial; Assefi said no.

Live Nation sidelined Davis after he became controversial.

Ticketmaster had to let back-end venues sell through a competitor.

The deal included a 15% cap on ancillary ticketing fees at Live Nation venues.

DOJ staff’s working theory was that Live Nation wanted a firm with strong Trump ties.

DOJ gave the plaintiff states a day to decide whether to join.

The other 34 attorneys general continued the trial without DOJ.

Bondi warned some GOP officials that the deal was personal to Trump.

Kline announced the signed term sheet in court on March 9.

The parties then met in Judge Arun Subramanian’s Manhattan chambers.

The change surprised DOJ trial lawyers.

McDonald hosted settlement talks at Sullivan & Cromwell’s Manhattan office while trial testimony continued.

Nicole Sarrine and Andrew Kline represented DOJ in the talks; neither had negotiated an antitrust case of this size.

In April senior DOJ trial attorneys resigned over what they saw as political interference in antitrust.

Judge Subramanian berated both sides for not swiftly disclosing the deal.

DOJ attorneys put in the record messages in which a ticketing manager called fans stupid and said the company was robbing them blind.

Subramanian ordered the negotiators to New York.

Nebraska, South Dakota, Arkansas, Iowa, Mississippi and Oklahoma joined the settlement.

He had been told Live Nation offered a robust proposal.

Woodward leaned on Republican AGs at one of their conferences.

Wall said DOJ wanted to discuss the deal with the states before revealing it.

Senior DOJ officials continued to seek state support for the settlement.

In May Trump said he would distance himself from the Kennedy Center after a judge ruled his name must come off the building.

McDonald and a Sullivan & Cromwell spokesman declined to comment.

Trump vowed to attract top-tier talent.

A Kennedy Center spokeswoman said the center had seen enthusiasm; Grenell said its finances were stronger than a year earlier.

Settlement talks began soon afterward.

The Kennedy Center and Grenell did not respond to requests for comment.

Negotiations suddenly picked up speed.

Opinion

Many DOJ officials regarded the Live Nation interference as extreme even for this administration.

The Journal called the intervention bizarre.

The Journal said Trump was torn between dealmaking and populist impulses.

The Journal said the move fit MAGA support for aggressive antitrust enforcement.

PBS News

How Trump intervened in the DOJ case against Live Nation

Ali Rogin and Ali Schmitz

Published 24 Aug 2026 accessed 29 Aug 2026

Facts

Ballhaus said DOJ did not acknowledge the reporting that the president intervened and called DOJ.

Ballhaus said it is not the Journal's reporting that Live Nation arranged the meeting for the case.

DOJ said it got more from the company earlier than if it had gone through trial.

A DOJ spokesperson told PBS the Journal's account of how the resolution came together is categorically false.

DOJ said it stands behind the settlement and the lawyers who negotiated it.

Opinion

Ballhaus said the case was incredibly unusual.

Rogin said appealing to Trump directly is a playbook other companies have used when facing lawsuits.

Rogin called it a stunning 180-degree shift.

Ballhaus said going over the Antitrust Division would have been very unusual in previous administrations.

Ballhaus called it an example of a company owning the use of those levers.

Ballhaus said Live Nation is more in limbo than it had hoped after the DOJ settlement.

Rolling Stone

Donald Trump, Live Nation CEO Met Weeks Before Antitrust Settlement

Jon Blistein

Published 24 Aug 2026 accessed 29 Aug 2026

Facts

No unique facts.

Opinion

No opinion marked.

Gizmodo

Trump Killed Effort to Break Up Live Nation and Ticketmaster: Report

AJ Dellinger

Published 24 Aug 2026 accessed 29 Aug 2026

Facts

Sullivan & Cromwell has represented Trump, including a failed attempt to overturn E. Jean Carroll’s sexual-abuse and defamation verdict.

Politico reported Sullivan & Cromwell has become a pipeline to DOJ and administration jobs in Trump’s second term.

Sullivan & Cromwell partner Jay Clayton assumed the director of national intelligence post earlier this month.

Matthew Schwartz, a lawyer who has represented Trump, was nominated to the 2nd Circuit.

Gizmodo said Live Nation would divest control of a couple of venues and otherwise continue as usual.

Opinion

Gizmodo said that involvement squashed a nearly sure-fire win for consumers.

Gizmodo called Ticketmaster a despised ticketing monopoly and the case a slam-dunk.

The Journal said talks with DOJ quickly became extremely favorable for Live Nation.

Gizmodo said hiring the firm signaled Live Nation was ready to play ball.

Gizmodo called Epshteyn a shady figure in the proceedings.

Gizmodo said the administration chose favors over its populist posturing.

Gizmodo said it is not hard to draw a line between those events.

Digital Music News

Donald Trump Personally Met with Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino Before Calling Off the DOJ’s Case, Latest Leaks Reveal

Ashley King

Published 24 Aug 2026 accessed 29 Aug 2026

Facts

Whether Rapino and Trump met again is unclear.

Opinion

Digital Music News called the lead-up extensive lobbying and shadowy maneuvers.

Digital Music News called that meeting part of a concerted effort to sway the administration and DOJ.

TicketNews

Report: DOJ Settled Live Nation Case on Trump's Orders After Oval Office Meeting With Rapino

Published 24 Aug 2026 accessed 29 Aug 2026

Facts

A Live Nation court filing confirmed Rapino discussed the lawsuit’s status with Trump in February.

Live Nation has said Rapino and Trump did not discuss substantive settlement terms.

A Live Nation filing confirmed communications with DOJ leadership, the Antitrust Division and White House Counsel.

He assumed the office July 29 after a federal district court appointment following Jay Clayton’s resignation.

The Journal did not report evidence tying McDonald’s appointment to the Live Nation work.

Subramanian is reviewing the deal under the Tunney Act’s public-interest test.

That settlement has not yet received final judicial approval.

The judge denied a broad discovery request into how the deal was reached, without prejudice.

TicketNews said the report adds detail to whether political considerations outside the Antitrust Division altered DOJ’s assessment.

Opinion

TicketNews said the comparison is no longer hypothetical.