A Pennsylvania judge ruled Monday that Elon Musk’s daily $1 million giveaway to voters can continue, in a victory for the tech billionaire and Donald Trump ally.
The practical impact of the ruling, however, is limited and mostly symbolic, because the sweepstakes is set to end Tuesday on Election Day.
Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge Angelo Foglietta rejected arguments from the city’s district attorney, Larry Krasner, who argued that the sweepstakes was an illegal lottery violating state law that must be halted immediately.
The ruling came shortly after an all-day hearing in a packed courtroom in downtown Philadelphia. The hearing was heated at times, with Krasner’s team calling Musk’s political team “shysters” who are running a “scam” and “grift” – and Musk’s team accusing the district attorney of pursuing a “dreadful violation of constitutional rights.”
Krasner, a progressive Democrat, filed the lawsuit one week ago. The daily giveaways from Musk’s pro-Trump super PAC continued as the issue worked its way through the courts – despite Krasner’s lawsuit and a Justice Department warning that the cash prizes might also violate federal election laws.
Musk and his lawyers have called Krasner’s lawsuit a “publicity stunt” and accused him of bringing the case because he disagrees with Musk’s advocacy in support of Trump.
“A lot of truth came out of court today, and it was jaw-dropping – stay tuned,” Krasner spokesman Dustin Slaughter told CNN on Monday after the ruling.
The judge’s ruling was on Krasner’s emergency motion to shut down the sweepstakes right away. There is still an underlying case on the merits of whether Musk’s giveaway is illegal under state gaming law.
During the hearing, Krasner testified that as part of future proceedings, his office will eventually try to seek money from Musk or his super PAC for the “victims” of what he called an unlawful lottery that duped Philadelphians.
Winners not picked ‘by chance’
In court Monday, Musk’s lawyers acknowledged that the super PAC isn’t picking winners “by chance.”
“There is no prize to be won,” Musk lawyer Chris Gober said, and the winners “are not chosen by chance.” Therefore, it is not a lottery, Gober argued.
Instead, Gober said the so-called “prize” is actually compensation for serving as a spokesperson for the super PAC – and the recipients of the $1 million “are selected based on their suitability to serve as spokesperson for America PAC.” They “earn” the million dollars as payment for their work.
A lawyer representing Krasner, John Summers, called this “a complete admission of liability,” and Krasner later testified on the witness stand that this was “one of the more disingenuous things I’ve ever heard.”
They pointed out that, in announcing the giveaway, Musk said: “We are going to be awarding $1 million randomly to people who have signed the petition,” referring to his petition in support of the Constitution.
“This was all political marketing masquerading as a lottery,” Krasner said.
Separate federal scrutiny
Later in the hearing, Musk political adviser Chris Young provided new details about how the giveaway operated.
“Our intent all along is to only provide compensation to registered voters and US citizens, and avoid any chance that we are somehow providing funds to foreign nationals or someone with ill-intent,” Young said.
Young, the super PAC’s treasurer, said the group received plenty of sign-ups from people who weren’t registered to vote – and those people “received a follow-up opportunity and were encouraged to check their registration status,” Young testified.
The Justice Department has warned the pro-Trump group that its sweepstakes might violate federal election laws that make it a crime to offer cash or prizes to induce people to register to vote.
“The testimony does suggest the PAC saw the sweepstakes as an inducement to get voters to register, which would run afoul of federal law,” said Derek Muller, a CNN contributor and election law scholar who teaches at the University of Notre Dame. “This testimony could be used if the Department of Justice later brought charges in federal court.”
This story has been updated with additional details.