Elon Musk, the technology billionaire and ally of the Republican presidential candidate, is trying to move a lawsuit over his $1 million donation to voters to federal court, potentially avoiding a hearing this Thursday (31) at the Philadelphia state court in which he was required to appear.
Lawyers for the Tesla CEO filed a “motion to remove” in federal court Wednesday night. This typically pauses the state case and puts the matter in the hands of a federal judge – unless and until the judge decides to send the case back to state courts.
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, who filed the original case against Musk, will have the opportunity to argue that the case should be sent back to Pennsylvania court. But this legal maneuver by Musk will most likely postpone the hearing that was scheduled for Thursday in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, at least for now.
At the center of the legal battle is a daily $1 million giveaway that Musk’s pro-Trump super PAC, called America PAC, is offering to registered voters in battleground states.
“The Complaint actually has little to do with allegations of nuisance and state law consumer protection,” Musk’s lawyers wrote in their new federal filings. “Instead, although disguised as state law allegations, the focus of the Complaint is to stop Defendants’ alleged ‘interference’ in the upcoming Federal Presidential Election by any means.”
Furthermore, Musk’s lawyers claim that the issues in Krasner’s lawsuit “raise significant questions of federal law that are within the exclusive province” of the federal court system.
A spokesperson for Krasner’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday morning on the status of the scheduled court hearing in Philadelphia.
In Krasner’s lawsuit, he offered a pre-rebuttal to Musk’s argument, saying, “this is not a case about whether the defendants violated state or federal laws prohibiting vote buying” and argued that this is a state issue because Musk was “arguably violating Pennsylvania’s statutory prohibitions against illegal lotteries and deceiving consumers.”
This is the first time that Musk’s legal team has responded to allegations that he is running a potentially illegal lottery and improperly influencing the 2024 election. Lawyers for the super PAC said in the filing that all of its spending in the presidential race is “expenses legally protected rights and political speech.”
Hours before Musk attempted to move the case on Wednesday, Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge Angelo Foglietta wrote in a scheduling order that “all parties must be present at the time of the hearing.” That would require Musk, the world’s richest man, to attend the in-person hearing that was scheduled for Thursday in downtown Philadelphia.
Krasner also asked the court Wednesday to “increase its security” for a hearing scheduled for Friday morning. Krasner, a Democrat and self-described “progressive prosecutor,” filed the lawsuit Monday and asked a judge to end what he called an “illegal lottery.”
Philadelphia’s district attorney said Wednesday that he has become a target of Musk’s supporters and is facing “anti-Semitic attacks” on the billionaire’s social media platform.
A Platform X post that Kranser flagged for the court said: “What is the Jewish population of Pennsylvania? Strange how they end up in all the important positions every time.” The post mentioned Krasner and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, who is also Jewish and criticized Musk’s donation.
Musk defended his daily giveaway, which is being run by his pro-Trump super PAC. Musk endorsed Trump in July and donated $118 million to his super PAC. Despite the lawsuit — and a separate warning from the Justice Department that the drawing may violate federal election laws — the PAC is still naming daily winners.
This content was originally published in Elon Musk maneuvers to avoid hearing in case of alleged electoral crime on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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