A newly filed court document says Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino spoke directly with President Donald Trump in February 2026, weeks before the company and the DOJ settled the government’s monopoly lawsuit. The filing also details months of DOJ communications a
Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino met with President Donald Trump in the weeks leading up to a landmark antitrust settlement—an exchange now laid out in a new court filing that traces how the company communicated with the Department of Justice.
The document was filed Monday and reviewed by TheWrap. It says Live Nation’s attorneys disclosed “in-person meetings. videoconferences. telephone calls. and written communications” with the DOJ and members of White House counsel from February 2025 to March 2026. In that timeline, Rapino also spoke directly with Trump in February 2026.
The filing states that when Rapino and Trump discussed the DOJ matter, “the status of DOJ’s lawsuit against Defendants came up but no substantive terms regarding any potential settlement were discussed.”
The same document also lists other participants in conversations with the DOJ on Live Nation’s behalf. including President and CFO Joe Berchtold. Executive Vice President of Corporate and Regulatory Affairs Dan Wall. and Richard Grenell. Grenell is described as a Live Nation director. and the filing notes Trump installed him as interim executive director of the Kennedy Center after taking over as chair in 2025.
The antitrust fight itself began in 2024, when the U.S. Justice Department filed a monopoly lawsuit against Live Nation. The case was joined by 40 state attorneys general. The government accused Live Nation of illegally maintaining monopoly power as the nation’s largest concert promoter. ticket seller and amphitheater operator. Separately, 25 states sought damages, alleging that Ticketmaster overcharged fans.
Live Nation and the DOJ announced a settlement in March 2026, arriving just as testimony was set to begin. Under the deal, Live Nation agreed to concessions short of a breakup. Those included ending booking agreements with 13 amphitheaters and opening others to competing promoters. The company also agreed to pay $200 million to the settling parties.
After the announcement, Democratic senators urged the District Court to “closely scrutinize” the settlement between Live Nation and the DOJ. In their view. Live Nation has taken “anticompetitive actions that cement its position as the gatekeeper for live events and box out competitors.” They argued that “mere behavioral safeguards” in the proposed DOJ settlement are “insufficient to remedy Live Nation-Ticketmaster’s monopoly power and — standing alone — are not in the public interest.”.
The senators also warned that the settlement “appears to be part of a larger pattern of Justice Department officials reportedly overruling antitrust enforcers for political reasons.” They said the allegations and these facts warrant a “thorough examination” under the Tunney Act to determine whether the deal was genuinely made in the public’s interest.
For Live Nation, the filing spells out extensive communication during the case. For the court—and for lawmakers who want a tougher remedy—the conversation around timing and oversight is now harder to ignore.
Live Nation Michael Rapino Donald Trump DOJ settlement antitrust Tunney Act Ticketmaster monopoly lawsuit Kennedy Center Richard Grenell Joe Berchtold Dan Wall District Court