费城地方检察官周一起诉了埃隆·马斯克和他的超级政治行动委员会有争议的100万美元登记选民赠品.
费城地方检察官拉里·克拉斯纳(Larry Krasner)提起的诉讼称，马斯克和他的美国政治行动委员会(America PAC)“在费城(以及整个宾夕法尼亚州)经营非法彩票。”该文件声称，马斯克的100万美元赠品相当于该州的“非法彩票计划”——他们说这是被禁止的，因为该州的彩票需要受到联邦的监管。
因此，克拉斯纳正在寻求紧急禁令，称马斯克“必须立即停止”，因为他们说这是一个“影响选民的计划”。
值得注意的是，该文件特别指出，关于马斯克是否违反了禁止购买选票的州/联邦法律——正如一些专家所建议的——这“不是一个案件”,而是一个纯粹围绕非法彩票和“欺骗消费者”的案件。
马斯克周六在宾夕法尼亚州兰卡斯特宣布了超级政治行动委员会(super PAC)100万美元奖金的第八位获奖者，并加倍承诺继续向已签署请愿书的注册摇摆州选民提供资金。他说，参与者不需要投票，但网上的请愿表格说，一个人必须是注册选民才有资格。
“我们试图让人们关注这项非常重要的支持宪法的请愿。这就像，如果我们，你知道，我们需要言论自由的权利;我们需要携带武器的权利，”马斯克在集会上说。
“所以我们将在11月5日之前每天发放100万美元，”他继续说道。“还有，你所要做的就是在支持第一和第二修正案的请愿书上签名。就是这样。你甚至不用投票。如果你投票就好了，但你不必这样。然后基本上只要签署一些你已经相信的东西，你就可以得到一个测试，从现在起通过选举每天赢得一百万美元。”
联邦法律挑出任何人谁“为登记投票或投票付款或提议付款或接受付款”处罚是不超过10，000美元的罚款或长达5年的监禁。
当被要求置评时，美国政治行动委员会的一名代表向ABC新闻指出X上的一个帖子周一宣布了100万美元的奖金获得者，这是在诉讼消息爆出后公布的。据《邮报》报道，周一的获胜者来自密歇根州。
这位人士补充说，“推断”政治行动委员会计划继续发放100万美元的支票是公平的。
该文件特别指控马斯克和政治行动委员会违反了该州的消费者保护法，包括没有公布完整的彩票规则;没有展示他们是如何选择获胜者的;也没有展示他们是如何保护通过注册收集的个人信息的。
“与他们的计划有关，他们正在部署欺骗性的、模糊的或误导性的陈述，这可能会造成混乱或误解，”该文件称。
他们还指责马斯克和政治行动委员会对彩票做出“虚假陈述”，包括声称中奖者是随机选择的——他们说这一说法“似乎是虚假的”，因为他们说有多名中奖者住在他在宾夕法尼亚州的集会附近。
“例如，10月19日和10月20日的获胜者似乎不是随机选择的，因为两人都恰好住在马斯克支持特朗普的集会地点附近，而且两人都参加了那些集会，”文件称。
“如果不被禁止，他们的彩票计划将无可挽回地伤害费城人和宾夕法尼亚州的其他人，并玷污公众自由公平选举的权利，”文件总结道。
司法部上周给马斯克发了一封信知情人士向ABC新闻证实，警告他赠送可能违反联邦法律。消息人士称，这封来自DOJ公共诚信部门选举犯罪分支的信被发送给了马斯克的政治行动委员会。
马斯克宣布赠品后，美国广播公司新闻采访了几位专家说它占据了法律的一个模糊领域.
哥伦比亚大学法学院的立法教授理查德·布里弗特告诉美国广播公司新闻说:“我在这个问题上反反复复。“这显然违反了法令的精神，但我并不能100%确定这违反了法律条文。”
其他专家，如科罗拉多大学选举法教授道格·斯潘塞说，“这似乎真的越界了。”
Philadelphia DA sues Elon Musk over controversial $1 million voter giveaway
The Philadelphia district attorney sued Elon Musk and his super PAC on Monday over the billionaire'scontroversial $1 million registered voter giveaway.
The lawsuit from Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner claims Musk and his America PAC are "running an illegal lottery in Philadelphia (as well as throughout Pennsylvania)." The filing claims Musk's $1 million giveaway amounts to an "illegal lottery scheme" in the state -- one they say is prohibited because lotteries in the state are required to be regulated by the commonwealth.
As such, Krasner is seeking an emergency injunction, saying Musk "must be stopped, immediately" over what they say is a "scheme to influence voters."
Notably, the filing specifically states "this is not a case" about whether or not Musk violated state/federal laws that prohibit vote buying -- as some experts have suggested -- but rather one that revolves purely around illegal lotteries and "deceiving consumers."
Musk announced the eighth winner of his super PAC's $1 million prize in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on Saturday and doubled down on his promise to continue offering the money to a registered swing state voter who has signed his petition. He said participants are not required to vote, but the online petition form says one has to be a registered voter to be eligible.
"We're trying to get attention for this very important petition to support the Constitution. And, it's like, if we, you know -- we need the right to free speech; we need the right to bear arms," Musk said at the rally.
"So we're going to be giving out a million dollars every day through Nov. 5," he continued. "And also, all you have to do is sign the petition in support of the First and Second Amendment. That's it. You don't even have to vote. It'd be nice if you voted, but you don't have to. And then just basically sign something you already believe in, and you get a test to win a million dollars every day from now through the election."
Federal lawsingles out anyonewho "pays or offers to pay or accepts payment either for registration to vote or for voting." The penalty is a fine of no more than $10,000 or a prison sentence as long as 5 years.
When asked for comment, a representative for America PAC pointed ABC News toa post on Xannouncing Monday's $1 million giveaway winner, which was published after news of the lawsuit broke. The winner on Monday was from Michigan, according to the post.
The person added it is fair to "infer" the PAC plans to continue handing out the $1 million checks.
The filing specifically accuses Musk and the PAC of violating consumer protection laws in the state with the lottery, including by not publishing the full lottery rules; not showing how they are selecting the winner; and not showing how they are protecting the personal information they are collecting via sign-ups.
"In connection with their scheme, they are deploying deceptive, vague or misleading statements that create a likelihood of confusion or misunderstanding," the filing states.
They also accuse Musk and the PAC of making "false statements" about the lottery, including the claim that winners are chosen at random -- a claim they say "appears false" because they say multiple winners have lived near his rallies in Pennsylvania.
"For example, the October 19 and October 20 winners appear not to be chosen at random because both just happened to live near the locations of Musk’s pro-Trump rallies and both were in attendance at those rallies," the filing states.
"If not enjoined, their lottery scheme will irreparably harm Philadelphians -- and others in Pennsylvanians -- and tarnish the public’s right to a free and fair election," the filing concludes.
The Department of Justicesent a letter to Musk last weekwarning him the giveaway may violate federal law, a source familiar with the matter confirmed to ABC News. The letter from the Election Crimes Branch of the DOJ's Public Integrity Section was sent to Musk's PAC, the source said.
Several experts ABC News spoke to in the wake of Musk announcing the giveawaysaid it occupies a blurry area of law.
"I've gone back and forth on it," Richard Briffault, a professor of legislation at Columbia University Law School, told ABC News. "It clearly violates the spirit of the statute, but it's not 100% clear to me that it violates the letter of the law."
Other experts, like Doug Spencer, a professor of election law at the University of Colorado, said "it seems like it really crosses the line."
