President Donald Trump has pardoned the former chief executive of the entertainment venue company Oak View Group months after he was indicted on a federal conspiracy charge.
Tim Leiweke, 68, who remains a shareholder of the company after he stepped down as CEO in July, expressed his "profound gratitude" to Trump for the pardon.
“This has been a long and difficult journey for my wife, my daughter, and me,” Leiweke said in a statement Wednesday. “The President has given us a new lease on life with which we will be grateful and good stewards."
Leiweke was charged during the Trump administration.
A federal grand jury in Texas returned an indictment in July that accused Leiweke of conspiring with a competitor to rig the bidding process to develop the $375 million Moody Center, a 15,000-seat arena at the University of Texas at Austin, which hosts major music events, as well as basketball and other sporting events. The would-be competitor agreed to stand down in the bidding process in exchange for subcontracts.
Leiweke pleaded not guilty, while Oak View Group agreed to pay $15 million in connection with his indictment.
David Gerger, one of Leiweke's attorneys, said in a statement that the pardon, dated Tuesday, "is the right result, and we are happy for our client and his family.”
It’s not clear whether Leiweke or any of his allies lobbied for the pardon.
Trump resumed issuing pardons in recent months after the White House paused and sought to tighten its reviews following concerns that the process had become a lucrative business for lobbying and consulting firms during Trump’s second term.
Last month, Trump pardoned Joe Lewis, a British billionaire who pleaded guilty last year to federal insider trading charges.
He also issued pardons that were viewed as largely symbolic to his former attorney Rudy Giuliani and 76 other people tied to efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results, including attorneys Sidney Powell, John Eastman and Kenneth Chesebro, as well as his former chief of staff Mark Meadows. None of them were convicted of federal crimes, which are shielded by the president's clemency power.
Trump has also used his executive authority to help current and former members of Congress.
On Wednesday, Trump said he would pardon Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, who was indicted last year in connection with allegations that he accepted bribes from foreign entities and engaged in money laundering.
He also commuted the sentence of former Rep. George Santos in October. Santos, R-N.Y., was set to serve seven years in prison after he pleaded guilty last year to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft charges.
