A Philadelphia judge ruled Monday afternoon that Elon Musk and America PAC's $1 million giveaways may continue through Election Day as planned, tossing a lawsuit Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner had filed to block the sweepstakes from continuing.
The ruling from Philadelphia Common Pleas Judge Angelo Foglietta came after testimony from both sides was presented at a court hearing at City Hall. Musk's attorneys revealed that the people who were presented with $1 million checks had not been randomly selected, contradicting previous statements the billionaire made about the sweepstakes in the run-up to Tuesday's presidential election.
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Musk has endorsed former President Donald Trump and invested nearly $120 million to campaign on his behalf using America PAC's resources. Musk's lawyers said the prize winners were picked to be spokespeople receiving salaries to promote campaign efforts on behalf of Trump.
Krasner's lawsuit had argued the $1 million giveaways violate Pennsylvania's lottery laws because they lack required state oversight and the rules were not transparently spelled out to the public. The lawsuit was sent back to Foglietta in state court on Friday after Musk had unsuccessfully sought to have the case heard in federal court.
Foglietta did not immediately provide an explanation for his ruling, but indicated he would do so at a later date.
“A lot of truth came out in court today, and it was jaw-dropping. Stay tuned,” said Dustin Slaughter, a spokesperson for the DA’s office.
In the weeks since America PAC started giving out a $1 million check each day in seven battleground states, it was widely thought that the winners were chosen in a random lottery.
In statements at rallies and in previous posts on his social media platform X, formerly Twitter, Musk portrayed the giveaways as random opportunities for registered voters who signed America PAC's petition pledging support for the U.S. Constitution's First and Second Amendments.
“We’re going to be awarding a million dollars — randomly — to people who have signed the petition every day from now until the election," Musk said at an Oct. 19 rally in Harrisburg, where he awarded the first jumbo check. Musk had made previous stops in Delaware and Montgomery counties to campaign for Trump ahead of Pennsylvania's voter registration deadline on Oct. 21.
In his testimony Monday, Krasner argued the sweepstakes had clearly been presented to the public as a random lottery and that it was used to harvest voter data.
"This was all a political marketing masquerading as a lottery," Krasner said. "That's what it is. A grift."
John Summers, an attorney for Krasner, told Foglietta it was still unclear whether any of the 17 prize winners thus far had received any money. America PAC Executive Director and Treasurer Chris Young testified that the winners were required to sign non-disclosure agreements preventing them from sharing details about any money they receive.
The first three $1 million checks were presented to people in Pennsylvania beginning on Oct. 19 as part of America PAC's voter registration drive. Subsequent winners have been named in Wisconsin, Nevada, Michigan, North Carolina, Arizona and Georgia.
The U.S. Department of Justice warned Musk and America PAC that giving out money to entice people to register to vote is illegal, but no federal action has been taken at this time.
Chris Gober, one of Musk’s attorneys, testified that the winners on Monday and Tuesday are from Arizona and Michigan. He told Foglietta that their selection would not have any bearing on the case in Pennsylvania. In court documents last week, Musk's attorneys had pushed to have the case heard in federal court because they claimed it was tied up with "significant federal issues" due to its connection to the presidential election.
Krasner argued the giveaways are a "scam" meant to influence the presidential election. He said in court he has not ruled out pursuing civil and criminal damages against Musk and America PAC.
