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Elon
Musk's
daily $1
million
payouts
at Trump
rally
draw
legal
scrutiny
By
Jarrett
Renshaw
4–5
minutes
HARRISBURG,
Pennsylvania,
Oct 20
(Reuters)
-
Billionaire
Elon
Musk
promised
on
Saturday
to give
away $1
million
each day
until
November's
election
to
someone
who
signs
his
online
petition,
with the
first
prize
awarded
at a PAC
event
supporting
Republican
Donald
Trump,
raising
questions
about
the
legality
of the
payments.
Musk
gave a
$1
million
check to
an
attendee
of his
America
PAC
event in
Harrisburg,
Pennsylvania,
aimed at
rallying
supporters
behind
presidential
candidate
Trump.
The
winner
was a
man
named
John
Dreher,
according
to event
staff.
"By the
way,
John had
no idea.
So
anyway,
you're
welcome,"
the
Tesla
founder
said as
he
handed
Dreher
the
check.
The
money is
the
latest
example
of Musk
using
his
extraordinary
wealth
to
influence
the
tightly-contested
presidential
race
between
Trump
and his
Democratic
rival
Vice
PresidentKamala
Harris.
Musk
started
America
PAC, a
political
action
organization
he
founded
in
support
of
Trump's
presidential
campaign.
The
group is
helping
mobilize
and
register
voters
in
battleground
states,
but
there
are
signs it
is
having
trouble
meeting
its
goals.
'DEEPLY
CONCERNING'
Pennsylvania
Governor
Josh
Shapiro
said on
Sunday
on NBC's
"Meet
the
Press"
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.”
Questions
about
the
legality
of these
cash
payments
abounded
on
Saturday
night,
as
election
law
experts
pointed
to
various
provisions
in
federal
law that
prohibited
making
cash
payments
to
voters.
It is a
federal
crime to
pay
people
with the
intention
of
inducing
or
rewarding
them ,
an
offense
punishable
by
prison
time.
The
prohibition
covers
not only
monetary
expenditures,
but also
anything
of
monetary
value
like
liquor
or
lottery
chances,
says.
The
Harrisburg
event
was the
third in
as many
days in
Pennsylvania,
where
Musk is
painting
November's
election
in stark
terms
and
encouraging
supporters
to vote
early
and get
others
to do
the
same.
He said
on
Saturday
that if
Harris
wins, it
will be
"the
last
election."
He also
said the
two
assassination
attempts
against
Trump
prove he
is
ruffling
feathers
and
upending
the
status
quo.
The
petition
Musk is
asking
people
to sign
reads:
"The
First
and
Second
Amendments
guarantee
freedom
of
speech
and the
right to
bear
arms. By
signing
below, I
am
pledging
my
support
for the
First
and
Second
Amendments."
Attendees
of
Saturday's
event
had to
sign the
petition,
which
allows
America
PAC to
garner
contact
details
for more
potential
voters
that it
can work
to get
to the
polls
for
Trump.
Musk,
ranked
by
Forbes
as the
world's
richest
person,
so far
has
supplied
at least
$75
million
to
America
PAC,
according
to
federal
disclosures,
making
the
group a
crucial
part of
Trump's
bid to
regain
the
White
House.
The
entrepreneur
behind
carmaker
Tesla
and
rocket
and
satellite
venture
SpaceX
has
increasingly
supported
Republican
causes
and this
year
became
an
outspoken
Trump
supporter.
Trump in
turn has
said if
elected
he would
appoint
Musk to
head a
government
efficiency
commission.
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