Elon Musk’s plans to give $1 million checks to two Wisconsin voters before of Tuesday’s crucial state Supreme Court election have prompted Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul to file a lawsuit against the Trump friend.
Musk said he will host a gathering in Wisconsin on Sunday and give out $1 million checks to voters “in appreciation for you taking the time to vote” in a since-deleted post on X.
However, Musk removed the post after Democrats and election experts questioned if the offer violated the state’s election bribery rules.
Musk then stated that he would be giving the checks to two individuals who would act as spokespersons for his “Petition In Opposition To Activist Judges.”
Additionally, the original post no longer said that attendance would be restricted “to those who have voted in the Supreme Court election,” according to the updated post.
“To clarify a previous post, entrance is limited to those who have signed the petition in opposition to activist judges,” Musk stated. “I will also hand over checks for a million dollars to 2 people to be spokesmen for the petition.”
In order to support conservative candidate Brad Schimel, Musk, a close ally of President Donald Trump, has contributed almost $20 million to the campaign through two outside organizations and his own funds.
A restraining order prohibiting Musk “from any further promotion of the million-dollar gifts” to participants of the scheduled Sunday event and “from making any payments to Wisconsin electors to vote” is sought in Kaul’s case in Dane County Circuit Court.
“The Wisconsin Department of Justice is committed to ensuring that elections in Wisconsin are safe, secure, free, and fair. We are aware of the offer recently posted by Elon Musk to award a million dollars to two people at an event in Wisconsin this weekend,” Kaul said in a statement. “Based on our understanding of applicable Wisconsin law, we intend to take legal action today to seek a court order to stop this from happening.”
In a bizarre turn of events, Crawford was first tasked with managing the case regarding her race; however, a spokesperson stated that the appointment was arbitrary and that she would recuse herself.
In a statement, Kaul announced that Dane County Circuit Judge David Conway had been given the case back.
The action follows a letter from the liberal Madison-based Law Forward law firm, Wisconsin Democracy Campaign and State Democracy Defenders Fund, requesting “an immediate investigation” to Kaul and Milwaukee County District Attorney Kent Lovern.
The organizations requested that Kaul and Lovern examine Musk’s America PAC’s promise to reimburse Wisconsin voters $100 for signing a petition against ‘activist judges’ who have ruled against President Donald Trump, as well as Musk’s announcement on Thursday that he would be giving $1 million checks to two voters apiece.
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The organizations request that Kaul and Lovern examine whether the $1 million checks adhere to the state lottery legislation and whether the funds given to petition signers breach the state’s law prohibiting election bribery.
According to a representative for Susan Crawford, Schimel’s liberal opponent, Musk was attempting to buy off Schimel on Friday, calling his visit a “last-minute desperate distraction.”
“Wisconsinites don’t want a billionaire like Musk telling them who to vote for, and on Tuesday, voters should reject Musk’s lackey Brad Schimel,” spokesman Derrick Honeyman stated.
This information has been sourced from USA Today.
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