A casual round of golf at Mar-a-Lago has torpedoed the Justice Department's efforts to prosecute a major entertainment executive and undermined its broader campaign against inflated concert ticket prices. President Donald Trump, 79, issued a full pardon to entertainment businessman Tim Leiweke on Thursday, just three weeks after former GOP Representative Trey Gowdy raised his client's case during their 16 November golf outing, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The pardon wipes away what prosecutors described as an 'airtight' case against Leiweke, 68, who faced charges of rigging the bidding process for a $375 million (£297 million) basketball arena at the University of Texas in 2018. Beyond destroying the criminal prosecution, Trump's decision also cripples a separate Department of Justice (DOJ) civil lawsuit aimed at breaking up monopolistic practices in the live entertainment sector that have driven up ticket costs for consumers.
