The Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced a historic $1 million donation to voters in battleground states from Elon Musk's America PAC after being warned by lawyers who claimed the effort may be illegal. I contacted.
On Monday, the Justice Department received a letter from a “group of lawyers and public officials” requesting an investigation into payments to Amelia PAC petition signers. The letter, obtained by The Washington Post, was addressed to Attorney General Merrick Garland and Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry.
“We are a group of lawyers and public servants, including some who have served in senior legal and law enforcement positions under every Republican president from Richard Nixon to Donald Trump,” the letter said. It is written. “Today, we are writing to request a review of payments made by Elon Musk's America PAC to voters in Pennsylvania and other states that experts say raise serious questions about applicable law. do.”
Tesla CEO Musk is giving away $1 million a day to voters in battleground states who sign his political action committee's petition supporting the Constitution. Only voters in battleground states are eligible to vote.
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On October 20, 2024, during a town hall at the Roxine Theater in Pittsburgh, SpaceX and Tesla founder Elon Musk presented Kristin Fischel with a check for $1 million. (Michael Swensen/Getty Images)
“The payments are said to be made to sign or encourage others to sign a “petition'' in support of the First and Second Amendments, but only in Pennsylvania. “Only registered voters in Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin, and North Carolina may receive payments,” the attorney's letter said.
“We are not aware of anything like this in modern political history…We strongly encourage you to investigate whether America PAC payments are prohibited payments for voter registration.”
Fox News Digital analyzed the effort and found it to be in a legal gray area, and also found that there are other similar efforts supporting Democratic causes.
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Elon Musk speaks as part of a campaign town hall in support of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on October 17, 2024 in Folsom, Pennsylvania. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Although the benefit explicitly asks voters to sign a petition rather than register to vote, a letter sent to the Department of Justice argues that the petition still encourages voter registration. There is.
“We understand these to be payments for signing petitions or referring voters to sign petitions,” the lawyers argued. “However, many of the payments are limited to registered voters, so those who wish to pay must first register.”
The initiative was announced by Musk this week. The PAC plans to distribute $1 million per day to voters in swing states until Election Day.
“Every day from now through November 5th, @America PAC will donate $1 million to someone in a battleground state who signs our petition in support of free speech. right to bear arms! We want to make sure everyone in the battleground states knows about this, and we think this will ensure that.'' Musk wrote on Sunday's X.
Elon Musk speaks as part of a campaign town hall in support of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on October 17, 2024 in Folsom, Pennsylvania. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
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Fox News Digital reached out to America PAC for comment, but there was no immediate response. The Justice Department declined to comment.
Fox News Digital's Emma Colton contributed to this report.
