Will Trump’s Justice Department really take over Ticketmaster?

Ministry of Justice in mid-February It lost its chief antitrust enforcer — just weeks before one of the largest antitrust cases is scheduled to go to court this year.

The head of the antitrust division, Gail Slater, abruptly announced her departure via a post on her personal account on X. But for those who follow the agency closely, it was not a surprise at all. For months, there have been leaks about the department described tensions Between Slater and her team leading the Department of Justice, and President Donald Trump’s tendency to… Make personal deals It raised questions about who would actually fire the antitrust shots.

Over the summer, two of Slater’s top deputies were fired for what the Justice Department described as “insubordination.” One of them Described later Addressing the wireless networking deal between Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) and Juniper Networks, which was promoted by “MAGA-In-Name-Only” lobbyists and Justice Department officials. A week before Slater announced her departure, she became the third deputy He also left the agency.

The timing has drawn additional scrutiny because Mike Davis, a lobbyist close to Trump who worked on the HPE-Juniper deal, also He reportedly works for Live Nation. Live Nation did not provide a comment on the reported call. “What was implicit before is now explicit,” one former Justice Department official, speaking on the background of a personnel discussion, says of Slater’s abrupt departure. “A lot of very powerful companies have realized that they can just push forward with fantasy deals and fantasy outcomes in ways that were impossible before, and all they have to do is pay.” After Slater broke the news of her departure, Attorney General Pam Bondi thanked her in a statement “for her service to the Antitrust Division, which works to protect consumers, promote affordability, and expand economic opportunity.”

The Department of Justice and a group of what grew to 40 state attorneys general Live Nation-Ticketmaster sued in May 2024, seeking to break up the company which they claimed used anticompetitive practices to lock artists and venues into its orbit. They say that by tying different parts of its business together, using exclusionary contracts, and threatening “financial retaliation” to keep new players out of the market, the company has succeeded in raising ticket prices for consumers. Long live the nation, she said In a blog post While the lawsuit ignores everything that is actually responsible for the high ticket prices.

With jury selection in the case scheduled to begin March 2, many are wondering whether the Justice Department will remain in the case. If the agency settles and opts out of the trial, at least some of the 40 states that joined the Justice Department in the initial lawsuit could — and likely will — continue to move forward with the lawsuit. “We look forward to the trial on March 2 against Live Nation,” said Paula Blizzard, California’s chief antitrust official. He said At an event on the day of Slater’s announcement. Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Scrimetti also plans to move forward with the lawsuit filed in the state, Capitol Forum I mentioned.

The Department of Justice may remain the lead plaintiff. Omid Assefi, who is currently taking on Slater’s role, pledged to pursue her agenda. Melex I mentioned. As of Feb. 17, he said the case was strong and favored prosecution, he said to Capitol Forum. Global competition review Also mentioned Last week, Asefi encouraged staff to look to his work in criminal antitrust enforcement as a guide to how he will lead the department. “Ask them how I feel about settling cases instead of going to trial,” he reportedly said. “Ask them how I feel about accepting only half measures and financial penalties instead of seeking justice.”

But Slater, too, was known as a serious enforcer of antitrust law — and reports suggest her agenda has been overruled.

In general, states are always prepared for changes in their prosecution partners, says Gwendolyn Lindsay Cooley, former Wisconsin antitrust chief and chair of the National Association of Attorneys General’s Multinational Antitrust Task Force. (Cooley agreed to speak generally about the role of state law enforcement, not the Live Nation case in particular, which Wisconsin was a part of during her time there.) RealpolitikState law enforcers understand that priorities and staffing can change with departments, whether in state offices or at the Department of Justice, Cooley says. This may require changes, such as reassigning more experienced attorneys to fill gaps left by federal attorneys. But Cooley says there are a lot of experienced litigators in states. “My understanding from talking with states in general is that this is something they’ve been prepared for, and so they should be able to take this in stride,” Cooley says.

The merger lawsuit between T-Mobile and Sprint may serve as evidence. After the Department of Justice under Trump He agreed to the mergerSome countries have stabilized Their situationsBut others Keep fighting To prevent merger. But in the end they failed – the court Let the merger closee anyway.

States could be more aggressive in pursuing a Live Nation-Ticketmaster prosecution. The company has been widely criticized by musicians and concertgoers alike, including Aftermath Infamous failure Taylor Swift ticket pre-sale in 2022 Interview with Bloombergprosecutors in California and Connecticut said they would hold high standards for settlement. “Any decision that is politically motivated or influenced, or any compromise that comes from an attempt to appease the president or meet his demands, is unlikely to play out with Connecticut or California either,” Connecticut state attorney William Tong said.

In fact, citizen complaints about Ticketmaster are among the top 10 things state assistants typically hear about, according to Cooley. “This is something the State Attorney’s Office will pay real attention to.”