President Donald Trump has granted a full and unconditional pardon to longtime sports and entertainment executive Tim Leiweke, abruptly ending the federal criminal case brought earlier this year by the president’s own Justice Department. Leiweke, co-founder of Oak View Group and one of the most influential executives in modern sports venue development, had been indicted in July for allegedly rigging the bidding process for a planned arena at a public university in Austin, Texas.
A federal grand jury charged Leiweke with orchestrating a conspiracy designed to benefit his company at the expense of taxpayers and competitive fairness. The indictment carried a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine. Leiweke pleaded not guilty.
“As outlined in the indictment, the Defendant rigged a bidding process to benefit his own company and deprived a public university and taxpayers of the benefits of competitive bidding,” assistant Attorney General Abigail Slater said at the time.
Leiweke, who was represented by former congressman and Trump ally Trey Gowdy, had sought clemency as the case moved forward. Gowdy personally pressed the Justice Department to drop the case or secure a pardon, according to a person familiar with the matter.
In a statement, Leiweke expressed “profound gratitude” for the president’s intervention.
“This has been a long and difficult journey for my wife, my daughter, and me,” he said. “The President has given us a new lease on life with which we will be grateful and good stewards.”
Leiweke’s attorney, David Gerger, called the pardon “the right result.”
Before co-founding Oak View Group in 2015, Leiweke spent more than a decade as president and CEO of Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), one of the world’s largest sports and entertainment companies. Under his leadership, AEG oversaw the Los Angeles Kings, the LA Galaxy, a minority stake in the Los Angeles Lakers, and the L.A. Live entertainment district in downtown Los Angeles. AEG also owns and manages several major venues worldwide, including Dignity Health Sports Park in Los Angeles and arenas across Europe and Asia. Leiweke’s tenure cemented his reputation as one of the most powerful figures in live events, venue operations, and professional sports.
The pardon adds to a series of surprising clemency actions issued by Trump in recent days, including wiping away a U.S. drug-trafficking conviction for former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández and granting a full pardon to Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar and his wife, who faced federal bribery charges.
The timing of the pardon coincided with leadership changes at Oak View Group. Just one day earlier, OVG named Chris Granger as its new permanent CEO following Leiweke’s resignation after the indictment.
“We are happy for Tim that he can now put this matter behind him,” an OVG spokesperson said. “OVG has remained steadfastly focused on delivering exceptional outcomes for our clients under the leadership of our CEO Chris Granger.”
The Justice Department previously announced that Oak View Group agreed to pay $15 million in penalties connected to the allegations surrounding the bid-rigging scheme.
