Elon Musk바카라 게임 웹사이트s $1 million-a-day voter sweepstakes can proceed, a Pennsylvania judge says
The $1 million-a-day voter sweepstakes that Elon Musk 's political action committee is hosting in swing states can continue through Tuesday바카라 게임 웹사이트s presidential election, a Pennsylvania judge ruled Monday.
Common Pleas Court Judge Angelo Foglietta 바카라 게임 웹사이트 ruling after Musk바카라 게임 웹사이트s lawyers said the winners are not chosen by chance 바카라 게임 웹사이트 did not immediately give a reason for the ruling.
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner had called the sweepstakes a scam that violates state election law and asked that it be shut down.
The winners of the sweepstakes did not win by chance but are instead paid spokespeople for the group, Musk's lawyers said in court Monday.
Musk lawyer Chris Gober said the final two recipients before Tuesday's presidential election will be in Arizona on Monday and Michigan on Tuesday.
바카라 게임 웹사이트The $1 million recipients are not chosen by chance," Gober said Monday. 바카라 게임 웹사이트We know exactly who will be announced as the $1 million recipient today and tomorrow.바카라 게임 웹사이트
Chris Young, the director of America PAC, testified that the recipients are vetted ahead of time, to 바카라 게임 웹사이트feel out their personality, (and) make sure they were someone whose values aligned바카라 게임 웹사이트 with the group.
The disclosures prompted a lawyer for District Attorney Larry Krasner to call the effort a 바카라 게임 웹사이트scam" that is "designed to actually influence a national election.바카라 게임 웹사이트
Musk바카라 게임 웹사이트s lawyers, in closing arguments, called it 바카라 게임 웹사이트core political speech바카라 게임 웹사이트 given that participants sign a petition endorsing the U.S. Constitution. They said Krasner's legal bid to shut down the sweepstakes under Pennsylvania law was moot because there would be no more Pennsylvania winners before the program ends Tuesday.
Krasner believes the giveaways violates state election law and contradict what Musk promised when he announced them during an appearance with Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump 's campaign in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 19: 바카라 게임 웹사이트We바카라 게임 웹사이트re going to be awarding a million dollars randomly to people who have signed the petition every day from now until the election,바카라 게임 웹사이트 Musk vowed.
Young also acknowledged that the PAC made the recipients sign nondisclosure agreements.
바카라 게임 웹사이트They couldn바카라 게임 웹사이트t really reveal the truth about how they got the money, right?바카라 게임 웹사이트 asked Krasner lawyer John Summers.
바카라 게임 웹사이트Sounds right,바카라 게임 웹사이트 Young said.
In an Oct. 20 social media post shown in court, Musk said anyone signing the petition had 바카라 게임 웹사이트a daily chance of winning $1M!바카라 게임 웹사이트
Summers grilled him on Musk's use of both the words 바카라 게임 웹사이트chance바카라 게임 웹사이트 and 바카라 게임 웹사이트randomly," prompting Young, who also serves as the PAC's treasurer, to concede the latter was not 바카라 게임 웹사이트the word I would have selected.바카라 게임 웹사이트
Young said the winners knew they would be called on stage but not specifically that they would win the money.
Musk did not attend the hearing. He has committed more than $70 million to the super PAC to help Trump and other Republicans win in November.
바카라 게임 웹사이트This was all a political marketing masquerading as a lottery,바카라 게임 웹사이트 Krasner testified Monday morning. 바카라 게임 웹사이트That바카라 게임 웹사이트s what it is. A grift.바카라 게임 웹사이트
Lawyers for Musk and the PAC said they do not plan to extend the lottery beyond Tuesday. Krasner said the first three winners, starting on 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 not clear if anyone has yet received the money. The PAC pledged they would get it by Nov. 30, according to an exhibit shown in court.
More than 1 million people from the seven states have registered for the sweepstakes by signing a petition saying they support the right to free speech and to bear arms, the first two amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Krasner questioned how the PAC might use their data, which it will have on hand well past the election.
바카라 게임 웹사이트They were scammed for their information,바카라 게임 웹사이트 Krasner said. 바카라 게임 웹사이트It has almost unlimited use.바카라 게임 웹사이트
Krasner's lawyer, John Summers, said Musk is 바카라 게임 웹사이트the heartbeat of America PAC,바카라 게임 웹사이트 and the person announcing the winners and presenting the checks.
바카라 게임 웹사이트He was the one who presented the checks, albeit large cardboard checks. We don바카라 게임 웹사이트t really know if there are any real checks,바카라 게임 웹사이트 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 move it to federal court.
Krasner has said he could still consider criminal charges, as he바카라 게임 웹사이트s tasked with protecting both lotteries and the integrity of elections. In the lawsuit, he said the defendants are 바카라 게임 웹사이트indisputably violating바카라 게임 웹사이트 Pennsylvania바카라 게임 웹사이트s lottery laws.
Pennsylvania remains a key battleground state with 19 electoral votes and both Trump and Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris have repeatedly visited the state, including stops planned Monday in the final hours of the campaign.
Video below: Harris and Trump take on different tones in final campaign push ahead of election day
Krasner 바카라 게임 웹사이트 who noted that he has long driven a Tesla 바카라 게임 웹사이트 said he could also seek civil damages for the Pennsylvania registrants. Musk is the CEO and largest shareholder of Tesla. He also owns the social media platform X, where America PAC has published posts on the sweepstakes, and the rocket ship maker SpaceX.