By james art The Department of Justice (DOJ) recently contacted Elon Musk’s America PAC about a historic $1 million giveaway to swing state voters after the agency was alerted by lawyers who argued the initiative may be illegal.
A letter was sent to the DOJ on Monday from a “group of attorneys and government officials” requesting an investigation into Ameria PAC’s payments to petition signers. The letter, which was obtained by the Washington Post, was addressed to Attorney General Merrick Garland as well as to Michelle Henry, Pennsylvania’s attorney general.
“We are a group of lawyers and public officials, including those who have served in senior legal and law enforcement positions under every Republican president from Richard Nixon to Donald Trump,” the letter said. “We are writing to you today to ask that you review payments being made by the Elon Musk-founded America PAC to voters in Pennsylvania and other states that experts say raise serious questions under applicable law.”
Musk, the Tesla CEO, is offering $1 million a day to voters who sign his political action committee’s petition in support of the constitution. Only voters in swing states are eligible to vote.
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SpaceX and Tesla founder Elon Musk presents Christine Fishel with a $1 million check during a town hall at the Roxain Theater, Oct. 20, 2024, in Pittsburgh. (Michael Swensen/Getty Images)
“The payments are framed as being made to sign or direct others to sign a ‘petition’ in support of the First and Second Amendments. But only registered voters in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin and North Carolina can receive payments,” the attorneys’ letter said.
“We are not aware of anything like this in modern political history … We urge you to investigate whether the America PAC payments are prohibited voter registration payments.”
Fox News Digital analyzed the initiative and found it to be a legal gray area, and also found that other similar initiatives exist to support democratic causes.
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Elon Musk speaks as part of a campaign town hall in support of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in Folsom, Pennsylvania, on October 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
The handout specifically asks voters to sign a petition instead of registering to vote, but the letter sent to the DOJ claims the petition still encourages registration to vote.
“We understand that these are framed as payments for signing a petition or for referring voters who sign,” the attorneys said. “But many of the payments are limited to registered voters, so anyone who wishes to receive a payment must first register.”
The initiative was announced by Musk this week. The PAC plans to give away $1 million to one swing state voter per day until Election Day.
“Every day, from now until November 5th, @America PAC will give away $1 million to someone in a swing state who signs our petition in support of free speech and the right to bear arms! We want to make sure everyone in the swing states hears about it and I suspect this will ensure they will,” Musk wrote to X on Sunday.
Elon Musk speaks as part of a campaign town hall in support of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in Folsom, Pennsylvania, on October 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
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Fox News Digital reached out to America PAC for comment, but did not immediately hear back. The DOJ declined to comment.
Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton contributed to this report.