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submitted 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/politics@lemmy.world

The Justice Department warned Elon Musk that his $1 million giveaway could come with a prison sentence—and it appears he’s actually paying attention.

After receiving a warning from the Justice Department, Elon Musk has stopped his $1 million giveaway to swing voters from his super PAC.

The tech CEO pledged Saturday to give away the hefty sum each day to one registered voter in a battleground state who signed America PAC’s pro–First and Second Amendment pledge. Every day since then, a winner has been announced: three Pennsylvania voters and one North Carolina voter. 

However, the move immediately raised legal questions, as it’s a federal crime to pay someone to register to vote, punishable by a fine of $10,000, five years in prison, or both. Experts were divided, with Musk’s plan falling into a legal gray area at best. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro called the move “deeply concerning,” and author Stephen King accused Musk of “paying to register Republicans.”

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[-] daikiki@lemmy.world 265 points 1 month ago

I don't want to rock the boat or anything, but does anybody else think that maybe we need just a tiny bit of judicial reform? It seems to me like there's an awful lot of people doing an awful lot of criming and our judicial system is apparently not that interested about stopping them until after the next election. And there's always a next election.

So far.

[-] TrippaSnippa@lemm.ee 102 points 1 month ago

I'm starting to think that money in politics is a problem...

[-] Orbituary@lemmy.world 22 points 1 month ago
[-] Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 15 points 1 month ago

Eh.....gut feeling.

[-] EvilBit@lemmy.world 84 points 1 month ago
  1. Try crime
  2. Benefit from crime
  3. Receive stern letter
  4. Pause crime
  5. Enjoy benefits from period of crime
  6. Repeat
[-] AlligatorBlizzard@sh.itjust.works 33 points 1 month ago
  1. Already be rich
[-] Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 13 points 1 month ago

This guy knows what he's talking about. He's an evil bit!

[-] Hideakikarate@sh.itjust.works 58 points 1 month ago

What chaps my hide is that this is just a warning and not outright a clear case of election interference. I'm tired of warnings instead of judgments. Less likely to see these stories if people actually faced consequences for their actions.

[-] _core@sh.itjust.works 10 points 1 month ago

If I did it I'd be in jail already. The rules are different when you're rich.

[-] ravhall@discuss.online 30 points 1 month ago

If by reform you mean we need to just get rid of people who are too wealthy to get away with crime, then yes… Any measure to accomplish this is acceptable by me

[-] Supervisor194@lemmy.world 10 points 1 month ago

Absolutely goddamn tax them out of existence. Yesterday.

[-] ravhall@discuss.online 7 points 1 month ago

Tax, is that a euphemism for guillotine?

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[-] mjhelto@lemm.ee 9 points 1 month ago

Meanwhile some deaf, mentally impaired, black dude gets tased and beat up by police for the crime of... Checks watch... Being black and unable to hear the officer.

[-] just_another_person@lemmy.world 105 points 1 month ago

Well he already broke the law. Jail him.

[-] T00l_shed@lemmy.world 73 points 1 month ago

Sorry he is too wealthy for that. Best they can do is politely warn him.

[-] MNByChoice@midwest.social 23 points 1 month ago

Makes one wonder how much wealth it takes, and what other things work the same way.

[-] masterofn001@lemmy.ca 17 points 1 month ago

We reached out to Jeffrey Epstein for comment.

At the time of this post he has not responded to our inquiry.

[-] mycodesucks@lemmy.world 19 points 1 month ago

The only way to actually be punished as a rich person is to endanger the position of other rich people.

It's the unforgivable sin.

[-] pyre@lemmy.world 7 points 1 month ago

We reached out to Bernie Madoff for comment...

[-] mycodesucks@lemmy.world 7 points 1 month ago

Bernie Madoff took money from a LOT of rich people - both directly and indirectly.

[-] pyre@lemmy.world 9 points 1 month ago

yeah that's my point. that's why he got sentenced.

[-] 4lan@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

It seeming like we need some sort of working people's militia. A vigilante group that actually holds billionaires just as accountable as us.

Put these mother fuckers in jail until their court date just like us.

Set their bail proportional to their wealth. If I get $10,000 bail he gets a $10,000,000,000 dollar bail.

What if we citizens-arrest these people? Isn't that our duty?

I can find a nice Barn to lock them in until their court date

[-] savx@lemmy.world 72 points 1 month ago

if it's illegal, just sue his ass already. you dont send warning to ordianry people who breaches the law right? at this point i have to say i'll be happy if musk would continue the lottery, slapping a giant F word in the DOJ's face.

[-] NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world 9 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

You send a warning and if they don't follow it you can now apply for a harsher sentence.

If you skip the warning you might win still, but you'll have a harder time getting the harshest punishment.

They could still charge him post warning even if he'd stopped, but then it looks like he cooperated and will probably not get the harshest punishment.

Harshest punishment requires the warning and ignoring of it.

[-] kungen@feddit.nu 4 points 1 month ago

Harshest punishment requires the warning and ignoring of it.

Does it say that in the law code? I thought that being ignorant of the law doesn't matter for most prosecutions ("ignorantia juris non excusat")

[-] NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Not by law, but it's just like first time offenders or cooperating defendants or guilty pleas often getting lighter sentences.

They could still throw the book at you, as they do at times, but it's not a guaranteed success.

[-] Badeendje@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago

The grey area is that he uses the petition as a strawman. The DOJ will need to prove it is a strawman. At the same time the petition works as a filter to only attract republicans and put off democrats.

I agree this should be persecuted but there is enough mud in the water for a drawn out trial and finally the criminals in SCOTUS to rule it acceptable.

[-] makyo@lemmy.world 61 points 1 month ago
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[-] Thistlewick@lemmynsfw.com 50 points 1 month ago

Breaks law by using his wealth to sway the results of an election. Gets a warning.

I really do believe what Trump said about shooting a man and not losing any votes… except he would also walk away with a warning not to do it again.

[-] badbytes@lemmy.world 50 points 1 month ago

Wish the rest of us got warnings when we break laws

[-] ChronosTriggerWarning@lemmy.world 14 points 1 month ago

"When you're a billionaire, they let you do. You can do anything. Grab 'em by the judiciary."

[-] ColeSloth@discuss.tchncs.de 43 points 1 month ago

"Oh no. I got all the benefits I was after and now I can skip out on paying people a million dollars a day and blame the Democrat's for not doing it. Wah"

[-] RedditWanderer@lemmy.world 42 points 1 month ago

Got any more of them "warnings" for regular people?

[-] clover@slrpnk.net 40 points 1 month ago

$10,000 fine on a $1,000,000 lottery is just a 1% tax. I'm surprised he even bothered to notice.

[-] shasta@lemm.ee 35 points 1 month ago

It was probably the 5 years in prison part that he cares about

[-] radioactivefunguy@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago

If he stops it now, he's not going to see prison or pay a dime...

[-] mycodesucks@lemmy.world 11 points 1 month ago

Even if he doesn't stop it now, he’s not going to see prison or pay a dime…

[-] Goun@lemmy.ml 3 points 1 month ago

I'd even say the government is gonna give him some more money

[-] mycodesucks@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago

Of course. If they don't the communists win.

[-] troed@fedia.io 5 points 1 month ago

I'm assuming there's an additional risk of having to step down from any company he owns with federal contracts as well.

[-] Dorkyd68@lemmy.world 31 points 1 month ago

He ain't scared of shit. At the end of the day he's so rich he could murder someone in broad daylight with multiple witnesses and still walkl a free man.

In America money buys freedom

[-] 4lan@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago

It doesn't only buy your freedom, it buys other people's freedom away from them too

[-] aseriesoftubes@lemmy.world 31 points 1 month ago

Deport him back to SA

[-] AnarchoSnowPlow@midwest.social 12 points 1 month ago

"Elon Musk sure seems... Dumb..."

[-] CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world 10 points 1 month ago

I'd like to see him get arrested and then see how scared he is. This warning seems like the same strongly-worded letter all these rich assholes get.

[-] BigTrout75@lemmy.world 7 points 1 month ago

He's rich! Nothing is going to happen.

[-] Snapz@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)
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this post was submitted on 25 Oct 2024
473 points (99.4% liked)

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