Elon Musk moves a voter lottery lawsuit to federal court

A lawsuit by the Philadelphia District Attorney’s office seeking to stop Elon Musk and his political action committee from offering $1 million prizes to influence voters in the state will be heard — for now at least — in federal court in Pennsylvania, said a state court judge Thursday. .

But John Summers, an attorney for Philadelphia District Attorney 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 motion in federal court. “The complaint does not allege a federal claim; rather, it alleges state law claims of public nuisance for the operation of an illegal lottery.”

Summers requested an immediate hearing on his request.

Summers had told reporters earlier Thursday that he would file such a motion after a brief hearing in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas.

That hearing was originally scheduled to hear an emergency request from Krasner to restrain Musk and America PAC from pursuing the $1 million award.

But attorneys for Musk and America PAC filed a notice of removal late Wednesday in Pennsylvania federal court, hours after a Court of Common Pleas judge ordered Angelo Foglietta Tesla CEO to appear in person for the emergency hearing.

The notice argued that because the PAC is registered as a federal entity, it is not subject to state law.

“Although the Complaint purports to assert only constitutional claims relating to public nuisance and consumer protection, DA Krasner’s allegations, as is evident from the Complaint, focus primarily on the allegation that Defendants are somehow engaging in unlawful wise interference in federal elections.” says the file.

Musk did not show up for the hearing on Thursday, but his lawyers were present.

Matthew Haverstick, a lawyer for Musk and the PAC, said at the hearing that the billionaire is a busy man who could not “materialize” with 12 hours’ notice. Haverstick also said Musk was named as a defendant by prosecutors as a “publicity stunt.”

Foglietta admitted during the hearing that Musk’s removal 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 removal motion “cowardly and irresponsible.”

It’s not clear how soon a federal judge will rule on Krasner’s request to have the case sent back to state court or to halt the lottery.

Krasner’s lawsuit, which alleges Musk’s $1 million giveaway is an illegal, unregulated lottery, was filed Monday in the Court of Common Pleas.

A hearing on Krasner’s request for an emergency injunction to block the lottery’s continuation was originally scheduled for Friday.

On Wednesday, lawyers for Krasner raised security concerns in a lawsuit over “anti-Semitic attacks on” the prosecutor from Musk’s social media followers, one of whom posted the accuser’s home address online. The lawyers also asked the judge in the case to order Musk and a representative of America PAC to appear in person for Friday’s hearing.

Later Wednesday, the judge postponed the hearing to Thursday morning and ordered Musk to attend.

Musk and his America PAC have offered the supposedly random cash prizes to people in one of seven swing states who sign a petition “in support of the Constitution.” The prosecutor’s complaint alleges that Musk is trying to influence voters in the election between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.

Musk is heavily backing Trump in the race.

“America PAC and Musk are inducing citizens of Philadelphia – and others in the Commonwealth (and other swing states in the upcoming elections) – to give up their personal identification information and make a political pledge in exchange for the chance to win $1 million ,” says Krasner. lawsuit says. “That’s a lottery.”

The U.S. Department of Justice previously warned America PAC that the giveaway could violate federal election law, but had not filed a lawsuit to block it.

America PAC has said it has given away a total of $12 million in the lottery.

Four of the $1 million prizes went to people in Pennsylvania, the most of any swing state eligible for the prize.

– Additional reporting by NBC News’ Daniel Barnes and legal correspondent for MSNBC Lisa Rubin