Larry Krasner, Philadelphia’s district attorney, center, departs after a hearing at City Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US, on Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024.
Ryan Collerd | Bloomberg | Getty Images
A judge on Monday rejected a request by the Philadelphia district attorney to block a $1 million daily giveaway by Tesla CEO Elon Musk‘s political action committee to voters in Pennsylvania and other swing states before Election Day.
Philadelphia County Common Pleas Court Judge Angelo Foglietta’s order came after an hourslong hearing in which District Attorney Larry Krasner testified that the giveaway by America PAC was a “scam,” a “grift” and an “illegal lottery.”
“They know what they’re doing is illegal, and they are doing everything under the sun to clean it up,” Krasner said about Musk and the billionaire’s America PAC, which is backing Donald Trump in the presidential election against Kamala Harris.
America PAC to date has awarded $17 million to people in swing states who sign a petition supporting the Constitution and has said it will give out the last $1 million installment on Tuesday, Election Day.
Foglietta in his order said he would later explain his reasons for denying Krasner’s request for an injunction in a written decision.
His order does not end the district attorney’s civil lawsuit, which alleges Musk and the PAC are violating Pennsylvania lottery and consumer protection laws with the giveaway.
Krasner on Monday said his legal case had actually gotten stronger due to admissions by the PAC that winners of the award were not chosen at random, as Musk had claimed.
Chris Young, the treasurer for America PAC, testified that he was surprised to hear Musk use the term “randomly” at a public event in October announcing the giveaway.
“Not the word I would have selected,” Young said.
He testified that recipients of the award were questioned before the prizes were announced, to “feel out their personality, make sure they were someone whose values aligned” with the PAC, which paid them to act as spokespeople.
“The $1 million recipients are not chosen by chance,” the PAC’s former treasurer, Chris Gober said Monday. “We know exactly who will be announced as the $1 million recipient today and tomorrow.”
SpaceX and Tesla founder Elon Musk speaks during an America PAC town hall on October 26, 2024 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Samuel Corum | Getty Images News | Getty Images
During Monday’s hearing, Krasner suggested that Musk and the America PAC may have violated criminal laws with the giveaway.
“There is no First Amendment right to commit crimes,” Krasner testified. “There is no First Amendment right to commit fraud.”
Under questioning by attorney John Summers, who is representing Krasner’s office, the district attorney said the fact that he is a Democrat had nothing to do with his decision to sue Musk and America PAC last week.
Krasner also said under questioning that he drives a Tesla and has had one since 2016.
“I like the Tesla,” the district attorney testified.
Asked if he would have sued pop star Taylor Swift, who is backing Harris, if she were offering the $1 million prize that Musk is, Krasner said he would.
He noted that he has sued Democrats in the past.
Before the hearing, Gober, who until last week had been America PAC’s treasurer, told reporters, “We’re in court today because some district attorney in Philadelphia wants to silence Elon Musk for supporting Donald Trump.”
“Let me be clear about one thing. No district attorney, no prosecutor, I don’t care how powerful they are, can take away the First Amendment freedoms that are the bedrock of this nation,” Gober said.
Gober later testified that the PAC’s giveaway does not meet the elements of an illegal lottery because “there is no prize to be won. Instead, we are setting up contractual obligations to serve as spokespeople for the PAC.”
Gober also testified that even though Musk has used the word “randomly” to describe how recipients are chosen, that word “is used interchangeably with the words ‘by chance.'”
“We ask people to sign petition, and refer others to sign petition,” Gober testified. “We then take that pool of individuals across the country and we determine which one of those individuals would serve as effective spokesperson, and we enter into a contractual obligation with them.”
“We know exactly who will be announced as the million-dollar recipient today and tomorrow,” he testified.
Summers, the lawyer for the district attorney, seized on Gober’s testimony, calling it “a flat-out admission of liability” in the lawsuit.
And Krasner testified that evidence he has reviewed in an “ongoing criminal investigation indicates” that the recipients were supposed to be randomly selected.
“I’ve got 37 years in court, it’s one of the most disingenuous things I’ve ever heard,” Krasner said of Gober’s testimony that “random” was interchangeable with “by chance.”
“Let’s just say our case got better this morning,” Krasner said.
— Gary Grumbach reported from Philadelphia, and Dan Mangan reported from New York.