Elon Musk and the Department of Justice (DOJ) appear poised for a showdown as the tech billionaire’s super PAC powers ahead despite a warning from the agency over its daily $1 million giveaways to registered swing state voters.
America PAC, which launched the controversial sweepstakes last weekend, reportedly received a letter from the agency this week warning that the giveaways could be violating federal law.
While the sweepstakes appeared to be on hold Wednesday, a source familiar with the PAC’s efforts told The Hill that the program was never paused and that Wednesday’s check was delayed by logistical issues.
America PAC handed out two more $1 million checks on Thursday to individuals in Michigan and Wisconsin. It has now cut six $1 million checks for winners in states including Pennsylvania and North Carolina — two other key battlegrounds in the race between former President Trump and Vice President Harris.
As American PAC proceeds with the giveaways despite the DOJ warning, the next move is now in the agency’s hands. However, with President Biden still at the helm, the DOJ risks accusations of political maneuvering if it takes additional action against the super PAC.
Its initial warning letter has already provoked such claims. In a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) called on the DOJ head to “retract the department’s letter as the ill-considered handiwork of partisan killjoys.”
“I’m not convinced that America PAC has run afoul of the law, but I’m very concerned that the Biden-Harris administration has once again single out center-right Americans like Mr. Musk for political retribution while turning a blind eye to liberal-leaning groups engaged in similar behavior,” Cotton wrote.
The Arkansas Republican pointed to sweepstakes run by HeadCount, a left-leaning voter registration organization, and former First Lady Michelle Obama’s initiative When We All Vote.
“But where are the threats of legal consequences for liberals? Have you sent Michelle Obama an intimidating letter?” Cotton added. “I think the question answers itself, of course, and demonstrates yet again how you have weaponized the Department of Justice against not only President Trump, but also his supporters.”
However, both sweepstakes Cotton cited explicitly note that individuals do not have to register to vote to participate.
America PAC’s requirement that participants be registered to vote in one of seven swing states is at the heart of legal concerns with its daily giveaways.
Federal law bars individuals from paying others to register to vote. The DOJ’s Election Crimes Manual notes that this includes “anything having monetary value,” including “lottery chances.” Violating this law can result in fines up to $10,000 or five years in prison.
“Though maybe some of the other things Musk was doing were of murky legality, this one is clearly illegal,” wrote Richard Hasen, director of the Safeguarding Democracy Project at UCLA School of Law, in a blog post last week.
Nearly a dozen former federal officials, including several from Republican administrations, expressed similar concerns about the super PAC’s sweepstakes in a letter to Garland on Monday.
“We are aware of nothing like this in modern political history,” they wrote in a letter obtained The Washington Post.
While the $1 million checks are advertised as payments for signing the PAC’s petition supporting free speech and the right to bear arms, the officials noted that participation is restricted to registered voters, “so anyone who wishes to get paid must first register.”
“Law enforcement agencies are appropriately reluctant to take action shortly before elections that could affect how people vote,” the letter reads.
“But serious questions arising under laws that directly regulate the voting process must be an exception,” it continues. “Otherwise, individuals may act with impunity, with consequences if any coming only long after the damage is already done.”
Hasen, however, told The Hill that he does not expect DOJ to do more before the election, which is just over a week away.
“In theory they might be able to seek an injunction, but if they’ve already sent a warning, and it is not heeded, then they likely will consider whether criminal charges are appropriate later down the line,” he said in an emailed statement.
Musk’s America PAC has previously come under scrutiny from state officials for its boundary-pushing methods of turning out swing state voters for Trump.
Earlier this year, the North Carolina State Board of Elections and the Michigan Secretary of State’s office opened investigations into the super PAC, after it created a “register to vote” page that asked swing states residents to submit personal information but did not direct them to a site to register.
A source familiar with America PAC’s efforts said at the time that the information was being used to fill in voter registration forms that were going to be mailed to prospective voters for signing. Neither state has brought charges against the PAC.
Musk launched the super PAC in late May, several months before he officially endorsed Trump. The PAC has come to play a critical role in the former president’s ground game in swing states.
The billionaire dumped another $43.6 million into America PAC in October, bringing his total contributions to the PAC to $118 million, according to campaign finance records submitted Thursday.
America PAC declined to comment. The DOJ did not immediately respond to a request for comment.