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Elon Musk is trying to take case over  million voter giveaway to federal court after being ordered to attend hearing in Philadelphia
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Elon Musk is trying to take case over $1 million voter giveaway to federal court after being ordered to attend hearing in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA- The hearing will be held on Thursday morning Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner filed a lawsuit against earlier this week Elon Musk and the tech billionaire’s America PAC for a $1 million gift to registered voters who signed a petition supporting the First and Second amendments.

Krasner accuses Musk and the super PAC of running an illegal lottery and violating state consumer protection laws in the battleground state of Pennsylvania.

But in a filing late Wednesday evening, Musk asked that the case be moved to federal court, arguing that the allegations “are essentially based on the allegation that the defendants somehow illegally interfered with the federal election.”

This came after the judge overseeing the case moved the hearing of the case from 10 a.m. Friday to Thursday, according to an order. The order issued Wednesday by Philadelphia Judge Angelo Foglietta states that “all parties must be present.”

Matthew Haverstick, one of several attorneys representing the defendants, declined to comment late Wednesday on whether Musk would attend the hearing.

In the lawsuit, Krasner said America PAC and Musk “unequivocally violated Pennsylvania’s legal prohibitions against illegal sweepstakes and deceiving consumers.”

The sweepstakes is open to people who sign a petition supporting the Constitution in battleground states.

“So we’re going to give away a million dollars every day until November 5th,” Musk said at a rally in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. “And all you have to do is sign the petition supporting the First and Second Amendments. That’s it. You don’t even have to vote. It would be nice if you did, but you don’t have to. And then sign something you already believe in and from now on you can make a million dollars every day until the election.” take an exam.”

RELATING TO: Elon Musk ordered to attend hearing in Philadelphia; DA wants more security

The filing specifically states that “this is not a lawsuit” regarding whether Musk violated state or federal laws prohibiting vote buying.

But Musk’s filing on Wednesday is notable for the lawsuit’s repeated references to the upcoming presidential election. This includes Krasner’s claim that Musk and his PAC “are hatching illegal lottery schemes to influence voters in this election.”

“The complaint actually has little to do with state law nuisance claims and consumer protection claims,” ​​Musk’s lawyer wrote in his filing. “Rather, although disguised as state law allegations, the focus of the complaint is to prevent by any means necessary the defendants’ alleged ‘interference’ in the upcoming federal presidential election.”

Federal law distinguishes anyone who “pays, or offers to pay, or agrees to pay, to vote or register to vote.” The penalty is a fine of not more than $10,000 or imprisonment of up to 5 years.

Krasner said he may still consider criminal charges, saying he is charged with protecting the public from both illegal lotteries and “interference with the integrity of elections.”

The latest filing argues that any order in the case “would require judicial intervention in the progress of the ongoing federal election,” which they say is not allowed.

The application comes ahead of a hearing on the matter Thursday morning in Philadelphia. The Philadelphia DA also asked the judge overseeing the case to “increase the security” of the hearing.

Ministry of Justice sent a letter to Musk He warned him last week that the gift could violate federal law, a source familiar with the matter confirmed to ABC News. The letter from the Election Crimes Section of the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Division was sent to Musk’s PAC, the source said.

Many experts interviewed by ABC News after Musk announced the gift said that this occupies a murky area of ​​law.

“I went back and forth on this issue,” Richard Briffault, a law professor at Columbia University Law School, told ABC News. “This obviously violates the spirit of the law, but it’s not 100% clear to me that it violates the letter of the law.”

Other experts, such as Doug Spencer, an election law professor at the University of Colorado, said: “He really seems to have crossed the line.”

Both Trump and Harris have made repeated visits to the state as they battle for Pennsylvania’s 19 electoral votes.

Musk, who founded SpaceX and Tesla and owns X, gave all his power to Trump in this election and said that he thought civilization would be in danger if he lost. He is shouldering much of the Trump get-out-the-vote effort through his super PAC, which can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money.

He donated more than $70 million to a super PAC to help Trump and other Republicans win in November.

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