3mo ago

Elon Musk Veers Into Clearly Illegal Vote Buying, Offering $1 Million Per Day Lottery Prize Only to Registered Voters

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112 comments

Blatantly illegal.
But Biden won't step up and make Garland do his job.
Just throw it on top of the giant piles of reason "not trump" isn't enough to fight fascism.
We need people actually willing and able to fight, best case scenario for Biden is he's only one of those things.
And as president, he's clearly able to direct the DOJ, if he believes he shouldn't be able, that makes him unwilling to fight fascism.
- musk is all in. He either goes to prison or trump wins.
  I'm sure investigation starts immediately, but it won't get results until after the election.
  
  What investigation is needed?
  There's no way this is legal, it's what "blatantly illegal" means.
  Like, if someone stripped naked, got a full automatic gun and walked around the White House busting off caps, it's "blatantly illegal" no investigation needs to be done.
  This isn't like Musk went home and put pants on, he's still running around literally everyday till the election doing this.
  You stop the person from committing the crime, and lock them up if there's reasonable suspicion they'll keep committing crimes.
  Then when you've stopped more crimes from happening, you investigate the crimes that already blatantly happened, as well as looking for others.
  
  musk is all in. He either goes to prison or trump wins.
  If trump has proven anything, it's that wealthy Republicans can get away with literally anything in this country. Musk isn't going to prison, and I doubt he'll even see a courtroom over this.
  
  Why will Musk go to jail (ignoring this bribery)?
- Just curious, why do you think Biden has to do anything? There's teams of people in charge of enforcing laws that don't need the president to tell them what to do. A CEO doesn't tell everyone under him what to do. He just expects them to do their job to the best they're able.
  
  Because I know who Merrick Garland is and have observed his behavior over the last four years?
  It's legit one of the few areas I agree with Biden:
  In recent weeks, President Biden has grumbled to aides and advisers that had Garland moved sooner in his investigation into former President Donald Trump’s election interference, a trial may already be underway or even have concluded, according to two people granted anonymity to discuss private matters. That trial still could take place before the election and much of the delay is owed not to Garland but to deliberate resistance put up by the former president and his team.
  https://www.politico.com/news/2024/02/09/white-house-frustration-with-garland-grows-00140813
  Although I disagree with Biden on his path forward. Rather than replace Garland, his plan is to grumble to aids and adversers that Garland doesn't do what he wants, I believe Biden should have never appointed him in the first, and can offer no plausible explanation for why he hasn't been replaced other Biden is (say it with me) unwilling to fight fascism as hard as it needs to be fought.

The Supreme Court: “This is fine as long as it remains Republicans only…”
- Accurate

This is a case where max jail time is needed. 5 years for each bribe.
- Served consecutively, not concurrently
  
  Exactly!

The best part about this is that unlike a lot of the other illegal shit his PACs are doing, Musk can't separate himself from it and say he wasn't personally involved. He personally handed out the giant check.
If Harris wins, and if her administration actually decides to crack down on this shit, Musk could end up behind bars. I'm not holding my breath, but it's a still a pleasant thought.
- The first rally he came out for trump, he flat out said "if trump loses I'm fucked".
  It's logical to assume if he's being this blatant because even a little digging would show obvious crimes.
  He's already fucked, he has no other option than to double down with blantant shit.
  All the more reason to act now, the election is in two weeks, but if looking into this gets a head start to find some shady shit before January...
  Well, it's probably all hypothetical, Biden wouldn't have the balls to do anything.
  
  That's what you get when you nominate someone because he "has been able to work with Republicans his whole career"
  
  It’s logical to assume if he’s being this blatant because even a little digging would show obvious crimes.
  Are you saying that he'll be expected to go to jail if Harris wins? I think you just made my day.
  Well, it’s probably all hypothetical, Biden wouldn’t have the balls to do anything.
  Biden was never a tough-as-nails prosecutor. But this is how Harris made her name, so there's every reason to expect she's do things differently after Jan 20.

Elon Musk and promising people money you'll never actually pay out. Name a more iconic duo
- Merrick Garland & fecklessness?
  
  Remember: the reason Garland got nominated for SCOTUS in the first place was that he was so conservative Obama figured Mitch McConnell couldn't possibly object to him.
- Donald Trump and promising people money you'll never actually pay out.
- If Mike Lindell is any indicator, maybe this is a good thing.

Donald Trump, such a great candidate that you have to pay people and offer them cash prizes to get people to vote for him...
That's the message here.

Put him behind bars for that and I start believing that the government takes this vote seriously.
- I'm going to lower the bar:
  If the government issues any sort of indictment in the next 3 weeks, I'll agree that they are taking it seriously. Even without bail.
  
  Also this is just an illegal lottery
- It's not actually illegal. He is paying a lottery to people who register to vote. Similarly, Cards Against Humanity is paying people who didn't vote last election to make a voting plan.
  It's illegal to pay someone to vote regardless of if it's for a side. Neither instance goes far enough to be considered against the law as written. Cards Against Humanity states that it shouldn't be and it's fucked up that it is.
  
  You need to really read what CAH says... it's only paying you to apologize, make a plan to vote and post a comment about Trump on social media. Nome of that goes as far as this lottery.

... shall be fined not more than $10,000 ...
Pocket change.
- Make him pay it for each entrant. It’s probably still pocket change because a hundred billion dollars (or whatever it is now) is effectively infinite money.
  Sometimes the depth of the hole we’ve dug ourselves is just astounding.

Though maybe some of the other things Musk was doing were of murky legality, this one is clearly illegal. See 52 U.S.C. 10307(c): “Whoever knowingly or willfully gives false information as to his name, address or period of residence in the voting district for the purpose of establishing his eligibility to register or vote, or conspires with another individual for the purpose of encouraging his false registration to vote or illegal voting, or pays or offers to pay or accepts payment either for registration to vote or for voting shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more than five years, or both…” (Emphasis added.)
I mean, if it’s clearly illegal then can we, you know, apply the law?
- checks Musk's net worth
  ....
  No.
  
  Can we "eat" him then? Make it a big ol dinner party everyone invited.

I mean, I guess I would take a million dollars from a deluded billionaire, but I would still vote for Harris.
- None of the people they are trying to bribe will see money.

So something is going to happen to him right? RIGHT?!?

The worst part is, he isn't even American. Imagine if Americans would go into a foreign country and try to influence the elections... Oh wait.

What's stopping people from applying to his "lottery" and just not voting Trump?
- Apparently nothing. I live in PA and want to sign up, but I really don't want Musk to have my email or phone number or home address.
  
  Understandable. I'd greatly consider it (if I didn't already turn in my mail-in ballot, and he offered to California) but the idea alone that I'd be giving my private info to "I am a massive fascist and enabler and funder of them" just so I can grift a grifter.
  But the simple fact that even if I could give them what they demanded for payment, they would probably see a disabled, queer, poor person and go "Oh, well, you're one of them so... Face the wall."
  I'd rather be a poverty-trapped queer in a red county as I am now, than sell my morals for money. That's what people with the moral backbone of a chocolate eclair do.
  
  Make them up?
  
  As if he didn't already have them
  
  Use a throwaway email, drop it as soon as the promotion is over

He will claim is was a joke in court.
- 'Locker room talk'

Stupid rich people trying to take advantage of 'stupid' poor people.
- Stupid rich people taking advantage of the flaws in American law enforcement and of the American judiciary system

Cut out the media advertisers, bribe voters directly. Progress.

Putin rubbing his fingers with glee rn. If this doesn't get prosecuted, I know what he'd do.

“Illegal” is just a joke at this point
- Has been for centuries. Rules rarely applied to the leaders of Rome or China, as soon as someone noticed the trend, it was the end of those governments until it was time to reform and try again.
  If you have enough money to have sway in your community or kingdom, you have enough money to start asking for favors and benefits. "I'll give you this land, you give me something later." "If I can guarantee enough grain for the next month, I can get a guarantee from you soon."
  You put someone into any power over others, someone wants that power, and some people are willing to do anything for that power.

Everyone talking about how illegal this is but I doubt it is. It does not say you have a vote a certain way. You just have to be a voter and sign his petition to be eligible.
- Eligible*
  
  Thanks. I knew it looked wrong.
- Legal eagle has a video spelling out which laws are broken. Note that there are specific laws against paying people to vote
- The comment is almost illegible. Funny!

This immoral prick continues to push my Stoic practise to its limit.

Rich people feel like they can do anything they want and usually the law lets them do so. I hope he faces some type of punishment for this.

You can't buy popularity, Elon. Ask your buddy Donald
- You really want him to ask his buddy who took his popularity from a reality show and parlayed it into the Presidency , and might just do it again?

If this is illegal, does that mean Cards Against Humanity's recent voting stunt is also? Edit: thanks for the drive-by down vote, it really doesn't help the discourse. I'm mainly wondering if CAH has opened themselves up to a bunch of legal liability.

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Hate that I'm writing something that defends Garland a bit but arresting Musk two weeks before the election could be a huge backfire.
- Musk isn't running.... You can't give famous or wealthy supporters legal immunity just because they're famous and wealthy and vocally support one side or the other.
  ...so yes, you should hate yourself for trying to make that defacto case.
  
  First time in American is it?
  
  What a Bunch of nonsense. You'd rather have a hissy fit and turn thenarrative into charging the world's wealthiest man, thus supporting Trump's weaponization of DOJ rhetoric than wait for a couple of weeks. Guess you were never spanked as a child.
- But if he was selling loose cigarettes on an NYC street...

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