Elon Musk’s pro-Trump Super PAC chooses the winners of its $1 million-a-day giveaway based on who would be good spokespeople for its agenda and not random registered voters, the tech billionaire’s lawyer said in court Monday.
Chris Gober, an attorney for Musk’s American political action committee, made that argument in an attempt to convince a Pennsylvania judge that the giveaway was not an “illegal lottery,” as Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner alleges in a lawsuit seeking to block the payments ahead of Tuesday’s election. . Presidential elections.
In response, Krasner took the stand to say that the $1 million daily giveaways in the seven swing states expected to decide the election were actually an illegal lottery. He also told Judge Angelo Foglietta that some Pennsylvanians had been “tricked out of their information” and called the giveaway a “cheat” intended for political marketing.
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Musk, the world’s richest man, initially described the giveaway as a lottery-like system, but changed public messaging after legal experts – and the Justice Department as well – raised questions about its legality.
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“There is no prize to be won, instead recipients must fulfill contractual obligations to serve as spokesperson for the political action committee,” Gober said at the hearing.
The hearing in the key swing state comes just one day before former President Donald Trump, Musk’s favored candidate, faces off against Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in a hotly contested race.
more:Elon Musk is being sued by Philadelphia Attorney General Larry Krasner over winning $1 million in a swing state voter lottery.
In recent months, Musk and his political action committee have backed Trump with money, campaign operations and the influence of X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter that Musk bought for $44 billion in 2022.
Musk and the PAC have been handing out massive $1 million checks since October 18. Krasner, a Democrat, sued Musk and the PAC 10 days later, calling the giveaway an illegal lottery that violates state consumer protection laws.
In court Monday, John Summers, an attorney for Krasner’s office, said Gober’s comments were a “complete admission of responsibility.”
“We just heard this guy say, ‘My boss, my client, called this random,'” Summers said. “We promised people they would participate in a random process, but it is a process where we pre-select people.”
Musk heavily advertised the giveaway, saying his offer was limited to registered voters in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. America PAC has so far awarded $1 million in prizes to 16 people and said the final award will be awarded on November 5.
Musk and America PAC He sought to move The case was referred to federal court, but a federal judge on Friday ordered it to be returned to state court.
Contributing: Reuters
