PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A judge in Philadelphia held a brief hearing Thursday in the city prosecutor’s bid to shut down Elon Musk’s $1 million-a-day sweepstakes in battleground states. The giveaways come from Musk’s political organization, which aims to boost Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.
Lawyers for Musk filed a motion late Wednesday seeking to move the case to federal court, saying it involves a federal election issue, but that didn’t stop a state judge, Angelo Foglietta, from holding the hearing at City Hall.
After taking comments from both sides, the judge put the state case on hold while Musk tries to have it argued in federal court. Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner hopes to argue there that the issues should be decided in state court.
Lawyers for Krasner said Musk and the America PAC “brazenly” continued the lottery every day this week, including this morning, despite Krasner’s effort to shut it down. The Democrat filed suit Monday to stop the America PAC sweepstakes, which is set to run through Election Day, open to registered voters in battleground states who sign a petition supporting the Constitution.
Election law experts have raised questions about whether it violates federal law barring someone from paying others to vote. Musk has cast the money as both a prize as well as earnings for work as a spokesperson for the group.
Krasner’s lawyers said Musk should be sanctioned for not attending the hearing. The judge reserved any decision on that until it’s clear whether the case will play out in federal or state court.
Attorney Matthew Haverstick, representing both the billionaire and the political action committee, said the PAC, not Musk, is the only proper defendant. He said Krasner named the tech mogul as a publicity stunt to draw attention to the case. He also said that Musk could not “materialize” in Philadelphia in the 12 hours since the hearing was scheduled Wednesday.
Krasner’s lawyers challenged that, saying the richest man in the world could land a SpaceX spaceship in the city to make the hearing if he wanted.
They also questioned the legality of the lottery, noting that several of the winners are in electoral vote-rich Pennsylvania, and that Musk has not posted rules and regulations about the process.
Krasner has said he could still consider criminal charges, since he's tasked with protecting the public from both illegal lotteries and “interference with the integrity of elections.”
Krasner, in the suit, said that America PAC and Musk “are indisputably violating Pennsylvania’s statutory prohibitions against illegal lotteries and deceiving consumers.”
Both Trump and Kamala Harris have made repeated visits to the state as they fight for Pennsylvania’s 19 electoral votes.
Musk, who founded SpaceX and Tesla and owns X, has gone all in on Trump this election, saying he thinks civilization is at stake if he loses. He is undertaking much of the get-out-the-vote effort for Trump through his super PAC, which can raise and spend unlimited sums of money.
He has committed more than $70 million to the super PAC to help Trump and other Republicans win in November.
Maryclaire Dale, The Associated Press