A Pennsylvania prosecutor's attempt to halt Elon Musk's $1 million-a-day voter sweepstakes shifted to federal court on Thursday after a state judge allowed both parties to present their arguments during a hearing that Musk, the world's richest man, did not attend.
Judge Angelo Foglietta noted that Musk, as a defendant in the lawsuit filed by Democratic District Attorney Larry Krasner, should have been present for the hearing, but he chose not to impose immediate sanctions on the tech billionaire, the Associated Press reported.
Musk's lawyer, Matthew Haverstick, said he's a busy man who could not simply “materialize” in the courtroom hours after the hearing was scheduled. Krasner's team challenged the notion that the founder of SpaceX could not make it Philadelphia, prompting a quick retort from the judge.
“Counsel, he's not going to get in a rocket ship and land on the building,” Foglietta replied.
The substantial giveaways to registered voters are funded by Musk's political organisation, which is focused on supporting Donald Trump's presidential campaign.
After Musk's lawyers argued that the case involved claims of federal election interference, Judge Foglietta paused the state proceedings pending a decision in federal court. The case was assigned to U.S. District Judge Gerald J. Pappert, a Republican and former Pennsylvania attorney general who was appointed by President Barack Obama. No hearings have been scheduled in federal court yet.
However, late Thursday, District Attorney Krasner filed a petition to move the case back to state court in Democrat-led Philadelphia, where he initially filed his lawsuit on Monday. The lawsuit accuses Musk and his PAC of running a questionable lottery before the November 5 election.
Also Read: US Election 2024: Elon Musk ordered to appear in Philadelphia court over $1 Million voter giveaway
Krasner's lawyers noted that four of the first dozen winners appeared to be from Pennsylvania, perhaps the key prize in the tight presidential race between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.
“Is it just a coincidence that this is the state that has the largest electoral votes? I don't think so,” lawyer John Summers argued at the hearing Thursday morning.
Posts by Musk's America PAC on X, the social media platform he purchased, indicate he's given away 13 checks of $1 million since the first one in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 19. Other winners came from the battleground states of Wisconsin, Nevada, Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina and Michigan.
Krasner's lawyers noted that Musk and the America PAC had “brazenly” continued the lottery every day this week, including Thursday morning, despite Krasner's legal bid to shut it down. The sweepstakes is set to run through Election Day, open to people in too-close-to-call states who can show that they're registered to vote and sign a petition supporting the Constitution.
“They're doing things in the dark,” Summers told the judge. “We don't know the rules being followed. We don't know how they're supposedly picking people at random … It's an outrage.”
Election law experts have questioned whether it violates federal law barring someone from paying others to vote. Musk has cast the money as both a prize and earnings for work as a spokesperson for the group.
Krasner has indicated that he may still consider pursuing criminal charges, as he is responsible for upholding both lottery laws and election integrity. In his lawsuit, he claims the defendants are “indisputably violating” Pennsylvania's lottery laws.
Both Trump and Kamala Harris have made numerous visits to Pennsylvania to secure the state's 19 electoral votes.
Musk, who also owns Tesla and X, is fully backing Trump in this election. He believes civilization is at stake and is heavily involved in Trump’s get-out-the-vote efforts through his super PAC, which can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money.
Musk has pledged over $70 million to the super PAC to support Trump and other Republican candidates in November.
(With inputs from AP)
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