Trump pardons sports executive charged by his Justice Department
President Donald Trump pardoned the former chief executive of entertainment company Oak View Group months after he was indicted on federal conspiracy charges.
Tim Leiweke, 68, who remains a shareholder in the company after stepping down as CEO in July, expressed his “deep gratitude” to Trump for the pardon.
“This has been a long and difficult journey for my wife, my daughter and me,” Leiweke said in a statement Wednesday. “The president has given us a new lease of life with which we will be grateful and good managers.”
Leiweke was indicted during the Trump administration.
A Texas federal grand jury returned an indictment in July accusing Leiweke of conspiring with a competitor to rig the bidding process to develop the $375 million Moody Center, a 15,000-seat arena at the University of Texas at Austin that hosts major music events, as well as basketball and other sporting events. The potential competitor agreed to withdraw from the tender process in exchange for subcontracting contracts.
Leiweke pleaded not guilty, while Oak View Group agreed to pay $15 million as part of its indictment.
David Gerger, one of Leiweke’s attorneys, said in a statement that the pardon, dated Tuesday, “is the right outcome and we are happy for our client and his family.”
It is unclear whether Leiweke or any of his allies lobbied for the pardon.
Trump began issuing pardons again in recent months after the White House paused and sought to tighten its reviews amid concerns the process had become a lucrative business for lobbying and consulting firms during Trump’s second term.
Last month, Trump pardoned Joe Lewis, a British billionaire who pleaded guilty last year to federal insider trading charges.
He also issued pardons that were seen as largely symbolic to his former lawyer Rudy Giuliani and 76 others linked to efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, including lawyers Sidney Powell, John Eastman and Kenneth Chesebro, as well as his former chief of staff Mark Meadows. None of them have been convicted of federal crimes, which benefit from the president’s pardon power.
Trump has also used his executive power to help current and former members of Congress.
On Wednesday, Trump announced he would pardon Texas Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar, who was indicted last year over allegations that he took bribes from foreign entities and engaged in money laundering.
He also commuted the sentence of former Rep. George Santos in October. Santos, RY, was scheduled to serve seven years in prison after pleading guilty last year to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
