WASHINGTON − The Philadelphia district attorney failed Thursday in his bid to block tech billionaire Elon Musk from continuing his controversial $1 million daily giveaways targeting pro-Trump registered voters in swing states before next Tuesday’s election.
The legal showdown had the potential for fireworks as a judge ordered Musk to appear personally in a Philadelphia courtroom. Musk was a no-show, and a lawyer for his America political action committee filed a perfunctory “notice of removal” late Wednesday night to move the case to federal court.
The successful effort to short-circuit a Pennsylvania court hearing virtually guarantees the issue won’t be heard before Nov. 5, according to an official in the Philadelphia Office of Judicial Records, citing rules of procedure.
The court official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told USA TODAY that because Musk lawyer Matthew Haverstick’s notice of removal met all the legal requirements, the state judge hearing the case didn’t have a chance to consider the alleged illegalities presented by Philadelphia DA Larry Krasner before the case was moved to federal court.
In a short post Thursday on his social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, Musk said, “American Justice FTW,” or for the win.
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Musk ‘cowardly and irresponsible’ for skipping hearing: DA
A lawyer for the DA’s office said it was “cowardly and irresponsible” for Musk, the richest man in the world, to dodge legal questions over his payments by moving the case to federal court, CNN reported.
In response, a Musk attorney called Krasner’s complaint a publicity stunt by a liberal, progressive Democrat, CNN said.
The payments by Musk are just one of many ways the SpaceX founder and Tesla CEO is publicly supporting former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee.
Musk and the PAC are also promising to pay $100 to registered voters who sign the petition, but the district attorney’s office believes they haven’t made those payments, according to the lawsuit.
Are Musk $1 million payouts legal?
Krasner filed his legal complaint on Monday, contending that “America PAC and Musk are lulling Philadelphia citizens – and others in the Commonwealth (and other swing states in the upcoming election) – to give up their personal identifying information and make a political pledge in exchange for the chance to win $1 million.”
“America PAC’s and Musk’s lottery is plainly not a lawful lottery,” the lawsuit says.
Krasner was asking the Philadelphia County court of common pleas for an order prohibiting Musk and his PAC from continuing “any unfair or deceptive acts or practices in connection with their lottery.”
Musk’s lawyers argued in their new filing that Krasner’s complaint raises significant questions of federal law and has “little to do with state-law claims of nuisance and consumer protection.”
The real goal of the Philadelphia DA, they alleged, is to prevent Musk and his Super PAC’s “purported ‘interference’ with the forthcoming Federal Presidential Election by any means,” Musk’s attorneys wrote.
Musk continues giveaways despite legal warnings
Musk has continued the giveaways despite Krasner’s lawsuit and a warning letter last month from the Justice Department, sometimes handing out the oversized checks to registered voters at pro-Trump events.
And hours before that, America PAC gave out at least its 12th $1 million payment to a North Carolina woman “for signing our petition to support the Constitution.”
“Every day until Election Day, a person who signs will be selected to earn $1M as a spokesperson for America PAC,” the X post said, showing the woman holding the check along with her husband and baby.
Critics question if winners are random
Legal experts have suggested that the payments, announced by Musk at an October 19 Trump rally in Pennsylvania, are an illegal effort to pay people to register and vote for the former president.
Musk has denied that, saying any registered voter who turns over their personal information and makes a pledge to uphold the First and Second Amendments by signing the petition can be selected at random to win.
Signatories pledge to support the First Amendment, which gurantees free speech, and the Second Amendment, which covers gun rights. That’s a conservative preoccupation, and critics say, reveals the petition’s true intent: Harvesting contact information for Republican-leaning voters for Election Day get out the vote efforts.
Krasner’s legal complaint also accuses Musk of falsely claiming the winner is randomly selected, stating that “multiple winners that have been selected are individuals who have shown up at Trump rallies in Pennsylvania.”
And the complaint says Musk’s payment campaign violates a Pennsylvania law requiring all lotteries to be regulated by the government. It contends also that Musk and his America PAC violate Pennsylvania consumer protection laws because they “have not published a complete set of lottery rules or shown how they are protecting the privacy of participants’ personal information.”
In its warning letter, the Justice Department said the giveaway could violate federal election law, which prohibits paying people to register to vote. Some legal experts also say the giveaway could violate that law because entrants have to be registered to vote.
