a jjudge of the state of pennsylvania said Thursday that would not immediately move forward with a lawsuit that aims to stop the gifts of a million dollars from Elon Musk to voters ahead of the US presidential election on November 5.
At a hearing in Pennsylvania, Judge Angelo Foglietta said that I would leave in suspended the lawsuit while a federal court studies whether to take over the case. Musk’s attempt to move the case frees him to continue with the gift, because the matter likely will not be resolved until after Tuesday’s election.
The billionaire businessman, who is spending a lot to support the Republican donald trumphad been ordered to attend the hearing, but did not appear.
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner is trying to block the gifts before the presidential elections on November 5 between former President Trump and Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.
In his brief, Musk indicated that Krasner’s interference in his political speech and his claim that he “somehow illegally interfered in a federal election” raise important questions of law that must be resolved in federal court.
Krasner, who championed progressive causes when he ran for district attorney, accuses the Tesla CEO and his America PAC political action committee of plotting a “illegal lottery scheme to influence voters“.
Musk promised to give a million dollars a day to randomly selected people who signed a petition pledging to support freedom of expression and the right to arms.
Signers had to be registered voters in one of the seven states that will likely decide the outcome of the Nov. 5 election: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
The lawsuit filed by Krasner on October 28 alleges that the drawing amounts to a illegal lottery not authorized by the statewhich is the only one who has the authority to organize and regulate them.
The lawsuit also says it violates consumer protection laws by “displaying misleading, vague or misleading statements” about its rules.
“Running an illegal lottery and violating consumer protection is sufficient basis for a court order and for concluding that America PAC and Musk must be stopped immediately before the upcoming presidential election on November 5,” the lawsuit stated.
