Summary
Elon Musk’s pro-Trump group, America PAC, selects $1 million giveaway winners based on their potential as spokespeople rather than randomly.
The Philadelphia district attorney Lawrence Krasner alleges this violates state consumer protection laws. “This was all political marketing masquerading as a lottery, albeit an illegal lottery,” Krasner said.
The U.S. Department of Justice has warned America PAC the giveaway could violate federal law, according to media reports, but federal prosecutors have not taken any public action.
The outcome of the lawsuit could impact the group’s ability to continue the contest, which has already awarded $16 million to registered voters in battleground states.
Except it is a violation of the law, just a different law. They defrauded the public by collecting something of material value (registrant information) under false pretenses. It’s textbook fraud
I’m not his lawyer, but it certainly sounds like he didn’t consult with them before doing the thing, and this obviously shifty change in stance is because it’s his lawyers who found a way out of trouble for their client. I’m sure they have you beat on this.
You assume their goal is to get him off entirely and not to simply shift the crime to a lesser offense
It’s a legal team whose job it is to lessen the damage.
A “donation” or “gift” to a specific person isn’t a crime.
Running a fucking giveaway or lottery is though.
