Trump pardons former entertainment executive charged by own Justice Department

President Donald Trump has officially granted a full and unconditional pardon to Tim Leiweke, co-founder of Oak View Group, who earlier this year faced federal charges from the Justice Department. The pardon document was made publicly available online.

Leiweke, who served as CEO of the live entertainment company, was indicted in July by a federal grand jury for allegedly manipulating a bidding process for an arena project at a public university in Austin, Texas. According to the Justice Department, the indictment accused him of scheming to favor his own company, thereby denying the university and taxpayers the advantages of fair competition.

At the time of the indictment, Assistant Attorney General Abigail Slater stated that Leiweke had rigged a bidding process to benefit his own company and deprived a public university and taxpayers of competitive bidding benefits.

Leiweke was defended by Trump supporter Trey Gowdy, who reportedly urged the Justice Department to either dismiss the case or recommend clemency. Previously, Leiweke had publicly criticized Trump in social media posts, calling him the worlds single greatest Con man, while commending former Vice President Mike Pence for defending constitutional principles.

This pardon adds to a series of recent unexpected clemency actions by Trump, including overturning the conviction of former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernndez on drug trafficking charges and issuing a full pardon to Texas Democratic Representative Henry Cuellar and his wife, Imelda, who had faced bribery allegations.

The development comes shortly after Oak View Group appointed a new permanent CEO, following Leiwekes resignation after his indictment.

Author: Noah Whitman