Justice Department Caves to Live Nation in Another Biden-Era Softball Settlement
Well, well, well, looks like the swamp creatures at the DOJ just handed Ticketmaster a sweetheart deal that would make even Hunter Biden blush. After months of chest-thumping about breaking up Live Nation’s monopoly, Attorney General Merrick Garland’s team suddenly developed amnesia and offered the ticketing giant a slap-on-the-wrist settlement that even Judge Arun Subramanian couldn’t believe.
The states—those pesky constitutional entities that actually care about antitrust laws—were blindsided when the Biden DOJ announced their deal without so much as a courtesy text. Five red states have already smelled the coffee and taken their own settlements (Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and South Dakota—God bless ‘em), while others are wisely negotiating their own terms rather than accepting whatever weak sauce the feds are serving.
Meanwhile, Live Nation’s CEO Michael Rapino is still scheduled to testify, presumably to explain how paying $280 million in hush money qualifies as “reform.” The company gets to keep Ticketmaster (shocker!), just with a few pinky promises about fee caps that’ll likely vanish faster than Kamala Harris’s policy positions.
The real entertainment begins Monday when states’ attorney Jeffrey Kessler—a guy who actually knows antitrust law—steps in to clean up the DOJ’s mess. Watching the feds get schooled by states’ rights advocates on their own turf? That’s the kind of show Ticketmaster can’t scalp tickets for fast enough.
Armchair patriot. Believes in the free market, cold beer, and that there’s always a guy named George behind every CNN segment.
Former remote-throwing champion turned #1 couch commentator on liberal panic in the media. Born in Texas (or so his mug says), he earned a degree in Fake Newsology & Beer Philosophy from YouTube University.
