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Elon Musk Sure Seems Scared After That DOJ Warning on His Dumb Lottery (newrepublic.com)

submitted 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/politics@lemmy.world

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The Justice Department warned Elon Musk that his $1 million giveaway could come with a prison sentence—and it appears he’s actually paying attention.

After receiving a warning from the Justice Department, Elon Musk has stopped his $1 million giveaway to swing voters from his super PAC.

The tech CEO pledged Saturday to give away the hefty sum each day to one registered voter in a battleground state who signed America PAC’s pro–First and Second Amendment pledge. Every day since then, a winner has been announced: three Pennsylvania voters and one North Carolina voter.

However, the move immediately raised legal questions, as it’s a federal crime to pay someone to register to vote, punishable by a fine of $10,000, five years in prison, or both. Experts were divided, with Musk’s plan falling into a legal gray area at best. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro called the move “deeply concerning,” and author Stephen King accused Musk of “paying to register Republicans.”

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[-] daikiki@lemmy.world 265 points 3 weeks ago

I don't want to rock the boat or anything, but does anybody else think that maybe we need just a tiny bit of judicial reform? It seems to me like there's an awful lot of people doing an awful lot of criming and our judicial system is apparently not that interested about stopping them until after the next election. And there's always a next election.

So far.

[-] TrippaSnippa@lemm.ee 102 points 3 weeks ago

I'm starting to think that money in politics is a problem...

[-] Orbituary@lemmy.world 22 points 3 weeks ago

Oh, gee. Why's that?

[-] Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 15 points 3 weeks ago

Eh.....gut feeling.

[-] EvilBit@lemmy.world 84 points 3 weeks ago

Try crime
Benefit from crime
Receive stern letter
Pause crime
Enjoy benefits from period of crime
Repeat

[-] AlligatorBlizzard@sh.itjust.works 33 points 3 weeks ago

Already be rich

[-] Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 13 points 3 weeks ago

This guy knows what he's talking about. He's an evil bit!

[-] Hideakikarate@sh.itjust.works 58 points 3 weeks ago

What chaps my hide is that this is just a warning and not outright a clear case of election interference. I'm tired of warnings instead of judgments. Less likely to see these stories if people actually faced consequences for their actions.

[-] _core@sh.itjust.works 10 points 3 weeks ago

If I did it I'd be in jail already. The rules are different when you're rich.

[-] ravhall@discuss.online 30 points 3 weeks ago

If by reform you mean we need to just get rid of people who are too wealthy to get away with crime, then yes… Any measure to accomplish this is acceptable by me

[-] Supervisor194@lemmy.world 10 points 3 weeks ago

Absolutely goddamn tax them out of existence. Yesterday.

[-] ravhall@discuss.online 7 points 3 weeks ago

Tax, is that a euphemism for guillotine?

[-] vaultdweller013@sh.itjust.works 1 points 3 weeks ago

Guillotines were considered somewhat painless, I am far more malicious. Get a length of rope and a shitty executioner, I want em to suffocate.

[-] ravhall@discuss.online 1 points 3 weeks ago

While that idea does get my motor running, I’d be fine with not giving them any attention, just doing the job and moving on like they never existed. Also, deleting their Wikipedia pages.

[-] ChronosTriggerWarning@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

Why did we ever do away with burying people up to their chins next to ant piles..?

[-] mjhelto@lemm.ee 9 points 3 weeks ago

Meanwhile some deaf, mentally impaired, black dude gets tased and beat up by police for the crime of... Checks watch... Being black and unable to hear the officer.

[-] just_another_person@lemmy.world 105 points 3 weeks ago

Well he already broke the law. Jail him.

[-] T00l_shed@lemmy.world 73 points 3 weeks ago

Sorry he is too wealthy for that. Best they can do is politely warn him.

[-] MNByChoice@midwest.social 23 points 3 weeks ago

Makes one wonder how much wealth it takes, and what other things work the same way.

[-] masterofn001@lemmy.ca 17 points 3 weeks ago

We reached out to Jeffrey Epstein for comment.

At the time of this post he has not responded to our inquiry.

[-] mycodesucks@lemmy.world 19 points 3 weeks ago

The only way to actually be punished as a rich person is to endanger the position of other rich people.

It's the unforgivable sin.

[-] pyre@lemmy.world 7 points 3 weeks ago

We reached out to Bernie Madoff for comment...

[-] mycodesucks@lemmy.world 7 points 3 weeks ago

Bernie Madoff took money from a LOT of rich people - both directly and indirectly.

[-] pyre@lemmy.world 9 points 3 weeks ago

yeah that's my point. that's why he got sentenced.

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[-] savx@lemmy.world 72 points 3 weeks ago

if it's illegal, just sue his ass already. you dont send warning to ordianry people who breaches the law right? at this point i have to say i'll be happy if musk would continue the lottery, slapping a giant F word in the DOJ's face.

[-] NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world 9 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

You send a warning and if they don't follow it you can now apply for a harsher sentence.

If you skip the warning you might win still, but you'll have a harder time getting the harshest punishment.

They could still charge him post warning even if he'd stopped, but then it looks like he cooperated and will probably not get the harshest punishment.

Harshest punishment requires the warning and ignoring of it.

[-] kungen@feddit.nu 4 points 3 weeks ago

Harshest punishment requires the warning and ignoring of it.

Does it say that in the law code? I thought that being ignorant of the law doesn't matter for most prosecutions ("ignorantia juris non excusat")

[-] NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world 2 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

Not by law, but it's just like first time offenders or cooperating defendants or guilty pleas often getting lighter sentences.

They could still throw the book at you, as they do at times, but it's not a guaranteed success.

[-] Badeendje@lemmy.world 4 points 3 weeks ago

The grey area is that he uses the petition as a strawman. The DOJ will need to prove it is a strawman. At the same time the petition works as a filter to only attract republicans and put off democrats.

I agree this should be persecuted but there is enough mud in the water for a drawn out trial and finally the criminals in SCOTUS to rule it acceptable.

[-] makyo@lemmy.world 61 points 3 weeks ago

He awarded two more $1M prizes after a pause on Wednesday

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/elon-musk-s-super-pac-awards-1-million-prizes-to-2-registered-voters-despite-doj-warning/ar-AA1sTk9E

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[-] badbytes@lemmy.world 50 points 3 weeks ago

Wish the rest of us got warnings when we break laws

[-] ChronosTriggerWarning@lemmy.world 14 points 2 weeks ago

"When you're a billionaire, they let you do. You can do anything. Grab 'em by the judiciary."

[-] Thistlewick@lemmynsfw.com 50 points 3 weeks ago

Breaks law by using his wealth to sway the results of an election. Gets a warning.

I really do believe what Trump said about shooting a man and not losing any votes… except he would also walk away with a warning not to do it again.

[-] ColeSloth@discuss.tchncs.de 43 points 3 weeks ago

"Oh no. I got all the benefits I was after and now I can skip out on paying people a million dollars a day and blame the Democrat's for not doing it. Wah"

[-] RedditWanderer@lemmy.world 42 points 3 weeks ago

Got any more of them "warnings" for regular people?

[-] clover@slrpnk.net 40 points 3 weeks ago

$10,000 fine on a $1,000,000 lottery is just a 1% tax. I'm surprised he even bothered to notice.

[-] shasta@lemm.ee 35 points 3 weeks ago

It was probably the 5 years in prison part that he cares about

[-] radioactivefunguy@lemmy.world 3 points 3 weeks ago

If he stops it now, he's not going to see prison or pay a dime...

[-] mycodesucks@lemmy.world 11 points 3 weeks ago

Even if he doesn't stop it now, he’s not going to see prison or pay a dime…

[-] Goun@lemmy.ml 3 points 3 weeks ago

I'd even say the government is gonna give him some more money

[-] mycodesucks@lemmy.world 3 points 3 weeks ago

Of course. If they don't the communists win.

[-] troed@fedia.io 5 points 3 weeks ago

I'm assuming there's an additional risk of having to step down from any company he owns with federal contracts as well.

[-] aseriesoftubes@lemmy.world 31 points 3 weeks ago

Deport him back to SA

[-] Dorkyd68@lemmy.world 31 points 3 weeks ago

He ain't scared of shit. At the end of the day he's so rich he could murder someone in broad daylight with multiple witnesses and still walkl a free man.

In America money buys freedom

[-] 4lan@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago

It doesn't only buy your freedom, it buys other people's freedom away from them too

[-] AnarchoSnowPlow@midwest.social 12 points 3 weeks ago

"Elon Musk sure seems... Dumb..."

[-] CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world 10 points 3 weeks ago

I'd like to see him get arrested and then see how scared he is. This warning seems like the same strongly-worded letter all these rich assholes get.

[-] BigTrout75@lemmy.world 7 points 3 weeks ago

He's rich! Nothing is going to happen.

[-] Snapz@lemmy.world 4 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

(https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/a12ca73d-4ce0-456d-9e8a-63d9d41fa717.png)

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this post was submitted on 25 Oct 2024

473 points (99.4% liked)

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