On Friday, a federal judge ruled that America Pac, a group that supports Donald Trump’s second presidential campaign, is seeking to move a civil lawsuit brought by the Philadelphia district attorney over a $1 million daily bounty into federal court. It rejected an attempt by a political action committee founded by Elon Musk. A lottery will be held for registered voters.
Lawyers for Mr. Musk and his America Pac say the lawsuit seeks to block the sweepstakes in the battleground state of Pennsylvania and must be resolved in federal court because it references the Nov. 5 presidential election. He claimed that there was.
But Chief U.S. District Judge Gerald Papert disagreed with that argument in a five-page opinion, saying Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner’s motives were irrelevant and that his office had no right to pursue the case in state court. I wrote that I had the authority to cause this.
“After considering the parties’ submissions, the court grants the motion and remands the case to the Court of Common Pleas.”
The case was scheduled for trial in Pennsylvania state court on Monday, the day before the election.
The civil suit naming Musk and America Pac asks registered voters in battleground states to submit their addresses, phone numbers and email addresses in exchange for $47 and a daily $1 million prize. It claims that the petition asking people to participate in a drawing to win was a lottery ticket. That was illegal under state law.
The petition has separately drawn scrutiny from the U.S. Department of Justice, which told America Pac that the lottery violates federal law because it effectively pays to register to vote. I warned you. But the civil suit was the first legal action taken to stop the plan.
The petition asks people to pledge support for the First and Second Amendments, a great cause for the Republican Party, and election law experts say it will encourage Trump supporters to vote in battleground states. It is considered to be illegally encouraging people to register to vote in the United States. If the election is close, voter turnout for the former president could determine the outcome.
The lawsuit also accuses Musk and America Pac of violating state consumer protection laws by making deceptive or misleading statements. For example, Krasner argues that the winners are not random as advertised because multiple winners were people who showed up at Trump’s rallies.
Musk’s defenders say this is simply a contest open to registered voters. In theory, Democrats who are registered to vote in battleground states could file a petition and have a chance to win a $1 million lottery ticket, they say.
This petition is perhaps the most public of the various strategies America Pac has employed to strengthen Trump’s candidacy. Superpac is currently leading key voting operations on behalf of the Trump campaign as Musk seeks further ways to support the former president’s return to the Oval Office.
Ground game efforts have suffered some setbacks. The Guardian previously reported that America Pac’s internal systems warned that 20-25% of door knocks reported in Arizona and Nevada could be fraudulent, resulting in tens of thousands of Trump supporters being contacted. It was reported that there might not be.
