Musk turns mega-donor for Trump with $75 million donation
Elon Musk gave around $75 million to his pro-Donald Trump super PAC in the span of three months, jumping to the top ranks of Republican donors.
Former Republican lawmakers, Justice Department officials and advisors have asked Attorney General Merrick Garland to investigate billionaire Elon Musk for handing out $1 million cash prizes to swing state voters if they sign his political organization’s petition.
The letter, sent Monday to Garland, argues that the prizes established by Musk as part of his effort to help elect former President Donald Trump, violate laws against paying people to register to vote.
“We are aware of nothing like this in modern political history,” says the letter signed by 11 former Republican officials who no longer work for the U.S. government.
Olivia Troye, a senior aide to Vice President Mike Pence during the Trump administration, confirmed that she signed the letter. But she declined to comment on the details, citing the sensitivity of a potential law enforcement matter.
More: Elon Musk is offering a $1 million award per day for swing state voters. What do legal experts say?
The former officials who signed the letter to Garland and Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry said Musk’s petition is essentially a voter drive in disguise and constitutes a blatant effort to bribe people to register. They also sent the letter to district attorneys in Pennsylvania, asking them and the Justice Department to investigate whether America PAC’s payments are prohibited payments for voter registration.
“We recognize that they are framed as payments for signing a petition, or for referring voters who sign,” the letter said. “But many of the payments are restricted to registered voters, so anyone who wishes to get paid must first register.”
Others who signed the letter included: Donald Ayer, deputy attorney general under President George H.W. Bush; Trevor Potter, former chairman of the Federal Election Commission, and Christine Todd Whitman, former governor of New Jersey.
They said the law they are accusing Musk of violating carries a $10,000 fine and as much as five years in prison.
Going all in for Trump
Musk, a vocal supporter of the Republican nominee, has gone all in for Trump in recent months, stumping in Pennsylvania for him, spending millions on a get-out-the-vote effort and using his X social media platform – formerly known as Twitter – to boost Trump and discredit his Democratic rival, Kamala Harris.
The petition from Musk’s PAC states the goal is to “get 1 million registered voters in swing states to sign in support of the Constitution, especially freedom of speech and the right to bear arms.”
He defended the giveaway in a post on X, saying those eligible for the $1 million “prizes do not need to register as Republicans or vote in the Nov. 5 election.”
The letter to Garland was first reported by The Washington Post, which said the Justice Department confirmed receipt of it but did not say whether it would investigate. USA TODAY also has requested comment from DOJ.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday that Musk’s plan to give money to registered voters in Pennsylvania is “deeply concerning” and “it’s something that law enforcement could take a look at.”
Some prominent election law experts have also said the offer by Musk, the founder of Space X and owner of other tech companies, could be investigated by law enforcement.
Musk giving out $1 million a day
Musk announced Saturday that America PAC, his political group, would use a lottery to award $1 million every day until the Nov. 5 election to a registered voter signing a petition saying they support free speech and the right to bear arms.
The payouts only apply to voters registered in the seven swing states likely to decide an election that’s virtually a toss-up, including Pennsylvania and Michigan. The petition also offers $100 to each registered swing-state voter who signs and $100 for referring a registered voter to sign.
So far, Musk has awarded $1 million each to two Pennsylvania voters. He handed out the first prize on Saturday at a Trump campaign rally in Harrisburg announcing that the first winner “had no idea.”
“So anyway, you’re welcome,” Musk said as he handed John Dreher an oversized check.
The petition from Musk’s PAC states the goal is to “get 1 million registered voters in swing states to sign in support of the Constitution, especially freedom of speech and the right to bear arms.”
The site explicitly says the program is open only to registered voters in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin and North Carolina. The deadline to register is Monday.
Musk says giveaway is legal but others have questions
The Tesla CEO’s pro-Trump campaign assist raised eyebrows over the weekend – and sweeping legal questions.
Federal election law says whoever “pays or offers to pay or accepts payment either for the registration to vote or for voting” is violating the law.
The Justice Department’s election crimes manual says an unlawful bribe can be anything of monetary value, including lottery chances, that make it easier for people to vote or induce them not to vote. The definition doesn’t include a free ride to the polls.
Shapiro, the Pennsylvania governor, wasn’t alone in saying the payments are potentially illegal. Rick Hasen, a law professor at University of California Los Angeles, said in a blog post that he believes the program appears to violate the law.
“Though maybe some of the other things Musk was doing were of murky legality, this one is clearly illegal,” Hasen wrote.
Not all experts agreed. Michael Kang, an election law professor at Northwestern University’s Pritzker School of Law, told the Associated Press that the group launching the giveaway within weeks of Election Day is concerning. “It’s not quite the same as paying someone to vote,” he said, “but you’re getting close enough that we worry about its legality.”
Contributing: Bart Jansen