SpaceX and Tesla founder Elon Musk speaks in a town hall with Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Dave McCormick at the Roxain Theater on October 20, 2024 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
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A lawsuit filed by the Philadelphia district attorney's office seeking to stop Elon Musk and his political action committee from continuing to hand out $1 million prizes to swing voters in the states will be heard – at least for now – in federal court in Pennsylvania, said a judge on Thursday.
But John Summers, an attorney for Philadelphia Attorney General Larry Krasner, hours later asked a federal judge to “immediately” send the lawsuit back to state court.
“There is no federal jurisdiction over the complaint,” Summers wrote in a federal court filing. “The lawsuit does not assert any federal claims; rather, it asserts federal claims of public nuisance caused by the operation of an illegal lottery.”
Summers requested an immediate hearing on his application.
Summers told reporters Thursday that he would file such a motion after a brief hearing in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas.
This hearing was originally scheduled to address an emergency request from Krasner to block Musk and America PAC from moving forward with the $1 million award.
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner arrives on foot for Elon Musk's hearing in a lawsuit filed by the Philadelphia District Attorney seeking to undermine Donald Trump supporter Musk's $1 million a day giveaway to swing voters in the states to Block, at City Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, October 31, 2024.
Matthew Hatcher | Reuters
But attorneys for Musk and America PAC filed a notice of removal in Pennsylvania federal court late Wednesday, just hours after a Court of Common Pleas Judge Angelo Foglietta ordered it Tesla CEO appears in person at the emergency hearing.
The notice argued that because the PAC is registered as a federal corporation, it is not subject to state law.
“While the lawsuit purports to assert only federal claims related to public nuisance and consumer protection, DA Krasner's claims, as is evident at first glance of the lawsuit, revolve primarily around the allegation that the defendants chose to base a federal election on some illegitimate basis Disturb in a way,” the file says.
Musk did not appear at Thursday's hearing, but his lawyers were present.
Matthew Haverstick, a lawyer for Musk and the PAC, said at the hearing that the billionaire was a busy man who couldn't “step in” on a 12-hour notice. Haverstick also said Musk was named as a defendant by prosecutors as a “publicity stunt.”
Foglietta acknowledged at the hearing that Musk's firing notice meant the case could not be heard in the Court of Common Pleas for the time being.
During the hearing, Summers called Musk's last-minute impeachment request “cowardly and irresponsible.”
It's not clear how quickly a federal judge will rule on Krasner's request to move the case back to state court or stop the lottery.
Krasner's lawsuit alleging Musk's $1 million gift was an illegal, unregulated lottery was filed in the Court of Common Pleas on Monday.
A hearing on Krasner's request for an injunction to prevent the lottery from continuing was originally scheduled for Friday.
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On Wednesday, lawyers for Krasner raised security concerns in a court proceeding due to “anti-Semitic attacks” on the district attorney by Musk's social media followers, one of whom posted the prosecutor's home address online. The lawyers also asked the judge to order Musk and a representative from America PAC to appear in person at Friday's hearing.
Later Wednesday, the judge rescheduled the hearing for Thursday morning and ordered Musk to be present.
Musk and his America PAC offered the supposedly random cash prizes to people in one of seven swing states who sign a petition “in support of the Constitution.” The prosecution's lawsuit accuses Musk of trying to influence voters in the election between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.
Musk strongly supports Trump in the race.
“America PAC and Musk are luring citizens of Philadelphia – and others in the Commonwealth (and other swing states in the upcoming election) – to give up their personal identification information and make a political pledge in exchange for a chance to win a million dollars.” , Krasner's lawsuit says. “It’s a lottery.”
The U.S. Department of Justice had previously warned America PAC that the sweepstakes could violate federal election law, but had not filed a court challenge to stop it.
America PAC said it gave away a total of $12 million in the lottery.
Four of the $1 million prizes went to people in Pennsylvania, the most swing states eligible for the prize.
– Additional reporting from NBC News Daniel Barnes and MSNBC legal correspondent Lisa Rubin
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