Philadelphia judge puts Musk’s US$1 million sweepstakes lawsuit on hold

A judge in Philadelphia held a brief hearing on Thursday in the city prosecutor’s bid to shut down Elon Musk’s US$1 million-a-day sweepstakes in battleground states. The giveaways come from Musk’s political organisation, which aims to boost Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.

Lawyers for Musk filed a motion late on Wednesday seeking to move the case to federal court, saying it involves a federal election issue, but that didn’t stop a state judge, Angelo Foglietta, from holding the hearing at City Hall.

After taking comments from both sides, the judge put the state case on hold while Musk tries to have it argued in federal court. Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner hopes to argue there that the issues should be decided in state court.

Lawyers for Krasner said Musk and the America PAC “brazenly” continued the lottery every day this week, including this morning, despite Krasner’s effort to shut it down. The Democrat filed the suit on Monday to stop the America PAC sweepstakes, which is set to run through Election Day, open to registered voters in battleground states who sign a petition supporting the Constitution.

Election law experts have raised questions about whether it violates federal law barring someone from paying others to vote. Musk has cast the money as both a prize and earnings for work as a spokesperson for the group.

Krasner’s lawyers said Musk should be sanctioned for not attending the hearing. The judge reserved any decision on that until it’s clear whether the case will play out in federal or state court.