Current:Home > FinanceBurley Garcia|Musk PAC tells Philadelphia judge the $1 million sweepstakes winners are not chosen by chance -EquityZone
Burley Garcia|Musk PAC tells Philadelphia judge the $1 million sweepstakes winners are not chosen by chance
Surpassing View
Date:2025-04-09 11:40:08
Follow live: Updates from AP’s coverage of the presidential election.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A lawyer for Elon Musk ‘s political action committee told a judge in Philadelphia on Burley GarciaMonday that so-called “winners” of his $1 million-a-day voter sweepstakes in swing states are not chosen by chance but are instead chosen to be paid “spokespeople” for the group.
GOP lawyer Chris Gober also said that the recipients Monday and Tuesday will come from Arizona and Michigan, respectively, and therefore will not affect the Pennsylvania election. He said the recipients are chosen based on their personal stories and sign a contract with the political organization, America PAC.
“The $1 million recipients are not chosen by chance,” Gober said Monday. “We know exactly who will be announced as the $1 million recipient today and tomorrow.”
Musk did not attend the hearing, held on the day before the presidential election. Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner took the witness stand Monday and called the sweepstakes a scam as he asked the judge to shut it down.
America PAC hopes the lottery will help Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. Krasner said 18 prizes have been announced to date.
Lawyers for Musk and his America PAC confirmed to the judge they do not plan to extend the lottery beyond Tuesday.
However, Krasner called it an illegal lottery under Pennsylvania law, with no published rules or privacy policies for the information the PAC collects on voters who sign an oath the U.S. Constitution as they register for the sweepstakes.
“They were scammed for their information,” Krasner testified Monday. “It has almost unlimited use.”
Krasner’s lawyer, John Summers, said Musk is “the heartbeat of America PAC,” and the person announcing the winners and presenting the checks.
“He was the one who presented the checks, albeit large cardboard checks. We don’t really know if there are any real checks,” 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 he’s tasked with protecting both lotteries and the integrity of elections. In the lawsuit, he said the defendants are “indisputably violating” Pennsylvania’s 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.
veryGood! (57678)
Related
- Military service academies see drop in reported sexual assaults after alarming surge
- Former gym teacher at Christian school charged with carjacking, robbery in Grindr crimes
- No, NASA doesn't certify solar eclipse glasses. Don't trust products that claim otherwise
- Louis Gossett Jr., 1st Black man to win supporting actor Oscar, dies at 87
- Tom Holland's New Venture Revealed
- John Harrison: Reflections on a failed financial hunt
- ASTRO COIN:Blockchain is related to Bitcoin
- 2024 MLB Opening Day: Brilliant sights and sounds as baseball celebrates new season
- Scoot flight from Singapore to Wuhan turns back after 'technical issue' detected
- Jon Scheyer's Duke team must get down in the muck to stand a chance vs. Houston
Ranking
- Person accused of accosting Rep. Nancy Mace at Capitol pleads not guilty to assault charge
- Maine lawmakers to consider late ‘red flag’ proposal after state’s deadliest shooting
- Ex-school bus driver gets 9 years for cyberstalking 8-year-old boy in New Hampshire
- Video shows first Neuralink brain chip patient playing chess by moving cursor with thoughts
- DoorDash steps up driver ID checks after traffic safety complaints
- Former gym teacher at Christian school charged with carjacking, robbery in Grindr crimes
- California’s commercial Dungeness crab season will end April 8 to protect whales
- Building a new Key Bridge could take years and cost at least $400 million, experts say
Recommendation
Moving abroad can be expensive: These 5 countries will 'pay' you to move there
Women's college basketball coaches in the Sweet 16 who have earned tournament bonuses
Federal court reinstates lines for South Carolina congressional district despite racial gerrymander ruling
Paul Wesley Shares Only Way He'd Appear in Another Vampire Diaries Show
Former Syrian official arrested in California who oversaw prison charged with torture
Law enforcement executed search warrants at Atlantic City mayor’s home, attorney says
How Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s 6-Year-Old Daughter Rumi Appears in Cowboy Carter
After 34 years, girlfriend charged in man's D.C. murder