Marshall Cohen for CNN:
Later in the hearing, Musk political adviser Chris Young provided new details about how the giveaway operated.
“Our intent all along is to only provide compensation to registered voters and US citizens, and avoid any chance that we are somehow providing funds to foreign nationals or someone with ill-intent,” Young said.
Young, the super PAC’s treasurer, said the group received plenty of sign-ups from people who weren’t registered to vote – and those people “received a follow-up opportunity and were encouraged to check their registration status,” Young testified.
The Justice Department has warned the pro-Trump group that its sweepstakes might violate federal election laws that make it a crime to offer cash or prizes to induce people to register to vote.
“The testimony does suggest the PAC saw the sweepstakes as an inducement to get voters to register, which would run afoul of federal law,” said Derek Muller, a CNN contributor and election law scholar who teaches at the University of Notre Dame. “This testimony could be used if the Department of Justice later brought charges in federal court.”