#ElonMusk is known for…eschewing #regulatory restrictions. He is notorious for setting sky-high expectations for employees & then cutting loose individuals or whole teams that disappoint him.

#Musk’s recent political ops have shown some of those hallmarks. Multiple contractors working w/AmericaPAC were suddenly fired & the group received a warning from the #DOJ last month that Musk’s daily million-dollar voter giveaway could breach #ElectionLaw.

Young said he was surprised to hear #ElonMusk describe the giveaway as random at the #Trump rally. He also acknowledged that the winners signed NDAs preventing them from speaking about the terms of the contracts.

Musk's giveaway falls in a gray area of #ElectionLaw, & legal experts are divided on whether #Musk could be violating federal laws against paying people to register to #vote.

John Summers, a lawyer for Krasner's office, said the admissions that the giveaway was not random made it not just an #illegal lottery but also a #fraud.

"If their story is true," Summers said in a closing argument, "it's one of the greatest scams of the last 50 years.

…Krasner said he would seek financial penalties against #ElonMusk & #AmericaPAC.
Musk lawyer Chris Gober said the giveaway was not a prize, but rather #compensation for people chosen to serve as spokespeople for the #PAC.

Later, Chris Young, an adviser for America PAC, testified that he selected winners out of a pool of candidates who appeared in videos for the group & allowed it to use their images after reviewing their #SocialMedia & meeting them outside event venues.

The reps of #ElonMusk's #AmericaPAC were trying to persuade Angelo Foglietta, a #Pennsylvania state judge, that the giveaway was not an "illegal lottery" as Philadelphia DA Lawrence Krasner alleged in a lawsuit seeking to block the contest ahead of Tue's #election.

At the end of the hearing, Foglietta said he would issue a ruling shortly. The decision will not impact the future of the contest…. The PAC says its 2 remaining winners will be from Arizona & Michigan….

#ElonMusk has been giving $1M checks to randomly selected people who sign a petition pledging support for #FreeSpeech [#HateSpeech & #disinformation] #GunRights.

The offer is limited to registered voters in 1 of 7 states that will likely decide the outcome of the Nov 5 #election - Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania & Wisconsin.

The #billionaire entrepreneur, who is spending heavily to back #Trump, had been ordered to attend the hearing but did not appear.

Philadelphia DA Larry Krasner is seeking to halt the giveaway less than a week before the tightly contested presidential #election between Trump & Democrat #KamalaHarris.

Krasner accuses Tesla #ElonMusk & his PAC hatching an "illegal lottery scheme to #influence voters."

The resignations ushered in new leadership, including Schierkolk, an *activist* with the local affiliate of the #RightWing group Stand Up #Michigan, which also works with a broader network of #ElectionDenial activists.

#law #ElectionLaw #criminal #conspiracy #disinformation #MediaLiteracy #Vote #VoteBlue #HarrisWalz2024
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/10/28/us/politics/inside-the-movement-behind-trumps-election-lies.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

In her resignation letter, Strand wrote of a peaceful town disrupted because “some individuals believe that it is OK to treat #CommunityService members with #disrespect, #slander, #libel, #stalking & many other forms of #harassment towards people who are just trying to make a difference for the good of the community we live in.”

Schierkolk is tied to a network of *#activists* [#criminals] who have pushed several baseless #ConspiracyTheories about corruption in elections &, at times, advocated the hand-counting of ballots, apparently believing that electronic voting machines are insecure. #Trump & his allies spread the idea widely after his defeat in 2020, claiming, falsely, that the machines had changed the votes to #Biden.

The #US govt has regularly dispatched hundreds of monitors to voting locations…, aiming to protect ballot access, discourage improper #partisan #influence & act as a moderating force on political campaigns.

While the #DOJ has the #legal right to request access to polling sites, inflamed partisanship & ideological #extremism has contributed to greater resistance to such activities in some #GOP-controlled states….

#law #ElectionLaw #Election2024 #Republican #illiberalism #Vote #HarrisWalz2024