#ElonMusk's pro-#Trump group hand-picks $1M voter giveaway winners, aide testifies
Musk's pro-Trump super #PAC has hand-picked the winners of its $1M-a-day giveaway to registered voters, a lawyer & an adviser for the group said in #court on Monday, despite the #billionaire's assertion the winners would be chosen “randomly."
Nonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •The reps of #ElonMusk's #AmericaPAC were trying to persuade Angelo Foglietta, a #Pennsylvania state judge, that the giveaway was not an "illegal lottery" as Philadelphia DA Lawrence Krasner alleged in a lawsuit seeking to block the contest ahead of Tue's #election.
At the end of the hearing, Foglietta said he would issue a ruling shortly. The decision will not impact the future of the contest…. The PAC says its 2 remaining winners will be from Arizona & Michigan….
#law #ElectionLaw
Nonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •…Krasner said he would seek financial penalties against #ElonMusk & #AmericaPAC.
Musk lawyer Chris Gober said the giveaway was not a prize, but rather #compensation for people chosen to serve as spokespeople for the #PAC.
Later, Chris Young, an adviser for America PAC, testified that he selected winners out of a pool of candidates who appeared in videos for the group & allowed it to use their images after reviewing their #SocialMedia & meeting them outside event venues.
#law #ElectionLaw
Nonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •John Summers, a lawyer for Krasner's office, said the admissions that the giveaway was not random made it not just an #illegal lottery but also a #fraud.
"If their story is true," Summers said in a closing argument, "it's one of the greatest scams of the last 50 years.
#ElonMusk #law #ElectionLaw
Nonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •Summers showed a clip of #ElonMusk at an Oct 19 #Trump rally saying #AmericaPAC would “randomly" award $1M to people who sign the petition. In the video, #Musk said "all we ask" is that the winners serve as PAC spokespeople.
Summers called Gober's comments a "complete admission of #liability."
"We just heard this guy say, my boss, my client, call this random. We promised people that they were going to participate in a random process, but it's a process where we preselect people,” Summers said.
Nonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •Young said he was surprised to hear #ElonMusk describe the giveaway as random at the #Trump rally. He also acknowledged that the winners signed NDAs preventing them from speaking about the terms of the contracts.
Musk's giveaway falls in a gray area of #ElectionLaw, & legal experts are divided on whether #Musk could be violating federal laws against paying people to register to #vote.
#law