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Judge rejects Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner’s request to block Elon Musk gift
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Judge rejects Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner’s request to block Elon Musk gift

PHILADELPHIA — Elon Musk’s political action committee’s $1 million-a-day sweepstakes in key states can continue through Tuesday’s presidential election, a Pennsylvania judge ruled in Philadelphia on Monday .

Common Pleas Court Judge Angelo Foglietta — who ruled after Musk’s lawyers said the winners were not chosen by chance — did not immediately provide a reason for his decision.

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner called the sweepstakes, a scam that violates state election law and requested that it be closed.

The contest winners did not win by chance but rather are paid spokespeople for the group, Musk’s lawyers said in court Monday.

Musk’s lawyer, Chris Gober, said the final two winners before Tuesday’s presidential election will be in Arizona on Monday and Michigan on Tuesday.

“Million-dollar recipients are not chosen by chance,” Gober said Monday. “We know exactly who will be announced as the recipient of $1 million today and tomorrow.”

Chris Young, director of America PAC, testified that recipients are selected in advance, to “test their personality (and) make sure they are someone whose values ​​match” those of the group.

RELATED: Live updates from the 2024 elections in the Philadelphia region and focus on Pennsylvania

The revelations prompted District Attorney Larry Krasner to call the effort a “scam” “intended to actually influence a national election.”

Musk’s lawyers, in closing arguments, called it “fundamental political speech,” given that participants are signing a petition endorsing the U.S. Constitution. They said Krasner’s legal attempt to stop the contest under Pennsylvania law was moot because there would be no more winners from Pennsylvania before the program ended Tuesday.

Krasner believes these gifts violate state election law and contradict what Musk promised when he announced them during an appearance with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s campaign in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on June 19. October: “We’re going to award a million dollars.” randomly to people who signed the petition every day between now and the election,” Musk promised.

Young also acknowledged that the PAC required recipients to sign nondisclosure agreements.

“They couldn’t really reveal the truth about how they got the money, could they?” asked Krasner’s attorney, John Summers.

“It looks good,” Young said.

In an October 20 social media post played in court, Musk said anyone who signed the petition had “a daily chance to win $1 million!” »

Summers asked him about Musk’s use of the words “random” and “random,” prompting Young, who is also the PAC’s treasurer, to admit that the latter was not “the word I would have chosen”.

Young said winners knew they would be called on stage, but not specifically that they would win money.

Musk did not attend the hearing. He committed more than $70 million to the super PAC to help Trump and other Republicans win in November.

“This whole thing was just political marketing disguised as a lottery,” Krasner testified Monday morning. “That’s it. A scam.”

Your voice, your vote: Check out the 6abc voter guide for Pa., NJ and Del.

Lawyers for Musk and the PAC said they do not plan to extend the lottery beyond Tuesday. Krasner said the first three winners, starting Oct. 19, came from Pennsylvania in the days leading up to the state’s Oct. 21 voter registration deadline.

Other winners came from the battleground states of Wisconsin, Nevada, Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina and Michigan. It’s unclear if anyone has received the money yet. The PAC has committed to obtaining it by November 30, according to a document presented to the court.

More than a million people from all seven states entered the contest by signing a petition saying they support the rights to free speech and bear arms, the first two amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Krasner questioned how the PAC might use its data, which it will have available well after the election.

“They were scammed to get their information,” Krasner said. “Its use is almost unlimited.”

Krasner’s lawyer, John Summers, said Musk is “the heart of the America PAC,” and the person who announces the winners and presents the checks.

“He was the one who presented the checks, even though they were big cardboard checks. We don’t really know if there are real checks,” Summers said.

Common Pleas Court Judge Angelo Foglietta was presiding over the case at Philadelphia City Hall after Musk and the PAC lost an effort to bring it to federal court.

Krasner said he might still consider criminal charges because he is charged with protecting both lotteries and the integrity of elections. In the lawsuit, he said the defendants were “unquestionably violating” Pennsylvania’s lottery laws.

Pennsylvania remains a key battleground state with 19 electoral votes and Trump and Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris have visited the state several times, including planned stops Monday in the final hours of the campaign.

Krasner — who noted that he has a long history of driving a Tesla — said he may also seek civil damages for Pennsylvania registrants. Musk is the CEO and largest shareholder of Tesla. He also owns the social media platform X, where America PAC posted about the competition, as well as rocket maker SpaceX.

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