Reports: DOJ Warns Musk $1M Giveaway Possibly Illegal
The US Justice Department (DOJ) has reportedly sent a letter to America PAC — the super PAC founded by Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk — warning that its lottery awarding $1M to select registered voters who sign its petition in support of the First and Second Amendment could be illegal....
Facts
- The US Justice Department (DOJ) has reportedly sent a letter to America PAC — the super PAC founded by Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk — warning that its lottery awarding $1M to select registered voters who sign its petition in support of the First and Second Amendment could be illegal.[1][2]
- Musk on Saturday announced plans to award the prize every day until the election. To be eligible voters must be registered in one of the seven swing states — Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin, or North Carolina.[3]
- Federal law forbids paying people to register to vote. However, since Sunday, the super PAC messaging around the sweepstakes has been describing the prize as payment for a job.[4]
- Prior to the DOJ letter, a group of attorneys and public officials sent a letter to US Attorney General Merrick Garland and Pennsylvania Attorney General Michell Henry requesting they 'review payments that are being made' by Musk's super PAC which it alleged 'raise[d] serious questions.'[5]
- Musk, who has thrown his support behind GOP nominee former Pres. Donald Trump, hasn't commented on the DOJ letter, but has defended the lottery, saying voters affiliated with any political party are eligible and contestants aren't required to vote in the Nov. 5 election.[6]
Sources: [1]New York Times, [2]Daily Wire, [3]Verity, [4]CNN, [5]FOX News and [6]USA Today.
Narratives
- Democratic narrative, as provided by Guardian and Raw Story. Two things in this case are clear-cut: first, Musk's lottery is highly illegal, as paying people to register to vote is prohibited by federal law, even if a draw is involved. Second, Musk's Trump-loving PAC is trying to pay people to turn out and vote for the former president because Republicans are getting desperate and they have no plan to sell to American voters. Intervention is absolutely necessary to stop the Tesla CEO's actions undermining the election.
- Republican narrative, as provided by Daily Caller and Daily Wire. It's extremely rich for Democrats to constantly claim to be the party of voter engagement and election integrity while the Biden administration threatens Musk's PAC over its attempt to increase voter participation. Sadly, this follows a pattern among Democrats of undermining any chance that elections will be free and fair by opposing election integrity laws across the country.
