Trump’s DOJ Lets Ticketmaster off the Hook for No Reason

OA1243 - The lawsuit that was supposed to break up Ticketmaster and Live Nation’s obvious monopoly over live music throughout the U.S. has just ended in a settlement so surprising that even DOJ’s lead counsel didn’t know it was happening. Is this deal as bad as it looks?  What does it mean for the future of live entertainment, and what will happen if the dozens of states which joined the feds in this case don’t sign off on it?

Also: An insurance company sues ChatGPT for telling someone to fire their lawyer, the first (known) instance of a DOJ lawyer writing a brief with AI, and Kristi Noem’s Marvel-ous new job.

Finally in today’s footnote--did thousands of people really just bet on the death of Ayatollah Ali Khameni? We take a closer look at the legal basis for “prediction markets” like Kalshi and Polymarket.

1. Statement of Objection to Ticketmaster Live Settlement, Matt Cameron (Nov. 30, 2011)(Matt’s actual filing into the 2011 Ticketmaster litigation demanding a handle of Jack Daniel’s and “a personalized letter drafted and personally signed by Ticketmaster CEO Nathan Hubbard which contains at least two (2) credibly apologetic statements, to be reviewed prior to delivery for quality of spelling, grammar, and penitence by an objective arbiter designated by the Court” for each class member)

2. Complaint in United States et al. v. Live Nation (2024)

3. Term Sheet for the Resolution of United States et al. v. Live Nation (2024)

4. “Trump convenes ‘Shield of Americas’ summit with 12 Latin American leaders,”  The Guardian, (3/7/2026)

5. Show cause order in Fivehouse v. US Department of Defense (2025)

6. Complaint in Nippon Life Insurance Company of America v. OpenAI Foundation (2026)

7. Complaint in Risch v. KalshiEX LLC (2026)

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