The director of Elon Musk’s America PAC testified Monday that he chose the winners of a $1 million daily giveaway despite Musk’s claim that they would be picked “randomly.”
The revelation led a lawyer representing Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner to argue, “If their story is true, it’s one of the greatest scams of the last 50 years,” Reuters reported.
But Common Pleas Court Judge Angelo Foglietta denied Krasner’s bid to stop the swing-state giveaway program one day before this year’s presidential election, saying in a one-sentence written order that he’d explain his reasoning later.
America PAC director Chris Young took the witness stand in a courtroom in Philadelphia City Hall to rebut Krasner’s allegations that Musk and his political action committee were running an illegal lottery.
Young said he picked the winners from a pool of people who appeared in videos after PAC workers met them outside campaign events for former President Donald Trump and reviewed their social media accounts.
They were vetted to “feel out their personality, make sure they were someone whose values aligned” with the PAC, Young said, according to the Associated Press.
The winners were also required to sign nondisclosure agreements that prohibited them from discussing the deal, Young said.
“They couldn’t really reveal the truth about how they got the money, right?” Krasner lawyer John Summers asked.
“Sounds right,” Young said.
More than 1 million registered swing-state voters signed up for the purported sweepstakes by signing a petition that pledged their support for the rights to free speech and to bear arms, which are guaranteed by the first two amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
The seven swing states expected to decide this year’s election are Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
At one point during Young’s testimony, Summers played a video clip of an Oct. 19 Trump rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where Musk said, “We’re going to be awarding a million dollars randomly to people who have signed the petition every day from now until the election,”
Young said he was surprised to hear Musk use the word “randomly.”
“Not the word I would gave selected,” he said.
Musk, who’s donated more than $118 million to America PAC, didn’t attend Monday’s hearing.
Musk lawyer Chris Gober said the final two giveaways would take place in Arizona on Monday and in Michigan on Tuesday, according to AP.
“We know exactly who will be announced as the $1 million recipient today and tomorrow,” he said.
It’s unclear if anyone has received their money yet, AP said, but an exhibit shown in court indicated the PAC pledged they would get it by Nov. 30.
Krasner testified Monday that the giveaways were “political marketing masquerading as a lottery.”
“That’s what it is. A grift,” he said.
Krasner also alleged that those who signed up “were scammed for their information.”
Krasner has said he could still consider criminal charges and the U.S. Justice Department has warned America PAC that the giveaways may violate federal law.
