The Justice Department was preparing to wage a legal battle more than a decade in the making against the world’s largest concert promoter. Then President Trump called.
White House involvement in law-enforcement matters, once taboo, is a regular feature of Trump’s second term. But many DOJ officials regarded the political interference in the Live Nation case as extreme even for an administration in which the president has openly pressured law-enforcement officials to pursue perceived enemies and pardoned allies. The president stopped by to check on the negotiations. The Department is focused on restoring law and order and keeping Americans safe.
How is this not settled yet? asked Trump, according to people familiar with the matter. White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis said the president “has not weaponized the Department of Justice against his political foes or used it to help his friends. The White House referred questions about the Live Nation litigation and settlement to the Justice Department and said there is no confusion about Epshteyn’s role as Trump’s personal attorney.
For the actual claims in this case, the DOJ and settling states got as much or more as they could have expected to win in court. Some senior DOJ officials in part owe their jobs, or terminations , to Epshteyn’s influence. They include Blanche, whom Epshteyn boosted to replace Bondi as attorney general. Settlement talks began soon afterward. In September, Conway and Grenell accompanied Live Nation executives to a meeting with Slater at the DOJ, where they outlined a settlement proposal.
The company also added Grenell to its board in May 2025. The company proposed time limits on exclusive ticketing contracts, offered to open up some amphitheaters to artists using other promoters and to place prohibitions on linking concerts to a venue’s use of Ticketmaster, and outlined a $280 million settlement fund to pay damages to state plaintiffs, depending on how many states signed on, a person familiar with the matter said.
Dan Wall, Live Nation’s executive vice president of corporate and regulatory affairs and its top in-house lawyer, said, “Our critics are comparing this settlement to the irrational hope of breaking up Live Nation and Ticketmaster. In addition to coordinating his private legal matters, Epshteyn advises the president, including on personnel, according to people familiar with the matter. The company, which had been spending millions of dollars annually on Washington lobbyists, turned to some of the president’s longest-serving advisers for help, including Kellyanne Conway, Trump’s onetime campaign manager, and Mike Davis, a top Trump ally, according to people familiar with the matter. The company urged officials to settle, reminding them that the case had initially been brought by the Biden administration and that Trump likes to make deals, according to people familiar with the talks.
