Elon Musk Warned by Justice Department

Good morning everyone and happy Friday. I hope you're all doing well today. I'm curious actually, you know, where are you all from? You can write in the comments actually. I'm kind of curious to know where everyone's coming in from. But there's some wild stuff happening as seems to often be the case. There's some updates on Elon Musk. Elon Musk, threatened by the Justice Department for again having this, what they're calling a giveaway for not for registering to vote but for again signing this petition he has. He's standing up to it. Has some real interesting stuff happening with that. We'll be going into that. Let me show you real quick. This is Elon Musk. Look, basically he's giving away one million dollars each day to a random person signing up for his America PAC petition. The Department of Justice is warning him allegedly that this may violate federal law. So we're going to go into what's happening with that. Also, interestingly enough, the Los Angeles Times and the Washington Post, they have not endorsed a candidate for the 2024 elections. And the silence, let's say, is making some people very unhappy to the point where like one of the heads of LA Times is maybe having to step down because people are so angry at him. I'll be talking about some of these topics and more today. So let's jump into it. Now, first of all, on Elon Musk, the Justice Department, they have allegedly, right, according to CNN, allegedly issued a warning to Elon Musk's America PAC. This is his, again, political action committee he started after he started backing Trump. Now, look, this is related to a petition the PAC has put out which offers people who are already registered to vote, right, registered voters in swing states a possible reward and also, if you recommend somebody an award, for signing to support freedom of speech and the right to bear arms. The PAC petition says that, quote, by signing below, I am pledging my support for the first and second amendments. It is an award for a petition. But since the petition offers monetary prizes for people who refer registered voters to sign and offers a $1 million prize each day, some analysts are believing that the petition equates to offering payments or an incentive for people to register to vote so they can sign up for it. Now, let me show you first. CNN said this. They said the Justice Department warned Elon Musk's America PAC in recent days that his $1 million sweepstakes to registered voters in swing states may violate federal law. People briefed on the matter told CNN. Now, look, the details are still slim. CNN had the exclusive on it. The Justice Department, they declined to comment when they reached out. After the warning was issued, though, it did appear that Elon Musk's America PAC initially did not hold that day's $1 billion giveaway. But since then, it seems to have changed. Now, let me show you this, folks. Washington Post said, really on this, yesterday night they did award two winners and it appeared to give away continuing with this despite the warnings. Basically, they held one and then they did two in one day, suggesting that maybe they had to do a legal review, decided that maybe they're willing to take the risk or they believe that they're within the law. And they did two in one after missing one day. Now, prior to this, though, Elon Musk described the petition campaign saying this on X. He said, quote, all you need to do is sign the America petition in support of the constitutional rights to free speech and bear arms to have a daily chance of winning $1 million. You can be from any or no political party and don't even have to vote. Now, the America PAC also posted about the campaign saying that the $1 million daily giveaway is to designate a person as a spokesperson for the America PAC. And this is important because then it's not really a sweepstakes, right? It's not really a sweepstakes, like a special award. They are selecting a person to become a spokesperson, meaning that you're kind of entering this application. If you get it right, you have to, again, serve a role with the political action committee. You're given a million bucks for it. And so technically it's a job. This suggests it would legally designate this as a type of job as a spokesperson, which could actually change some of the legalities around this as well, making it a little more solid on their end. Now, they also posted a video of one of the recipients acting as a spokesperson. Watch this. The petition is fabulous because free speech, the right to bear arms, these are things that we all have to remember as Americans how important they are and not to take them for granted. So I think it's a way to actually bring people back to that and signing the petition really cemented it. The city of my seat when he came on stage was so exciting. He did the jump like he did at the Butler rally. It was just really fun to see. Now, look, on the laws themselves, basically, election laws forbid anyone to pay someone to register to vote. That's the technicality. Musk's initiative is not technically doing that. Instead, he's paying people $47 for each registered voter already registered that someone refers in swing states to sign the petition. He's offering $100 for each registered voter who signs it in Pennsylvania and $100 for referring people there as well. And he's also entering people to win $1 million each day for signing. And again, this is for people who are already registered to vote, not to make them register. Now, look, technically, again, that is not to make them register. That is not, again, in violation of that law on that side. It's about signing a petition to state public support for the first and second amendments of the U.S. Constitution. But the other side of the argument, the gray area that's getting backlash, right? The backlash on it is that some analysts suggest that since it could potentially incentivize people to register to vote, hey, you want $100? You want, you know, $47? You want $1 million possibly? Well, then maybe people, because of that financial incentive, will go and register to vote in order to enter it, right? Then it may equate to paying them to register through an incentive. That is the legal concern on the other side. Now, the U.S. law on this specifically makes it illegal for someone to, quote, knowingly and willfully, right? If you pay or offer to pay or accept payment, either for registration to vote or for voting. That's the technical legal language. Look, that's again about registering to vote, not about creating an indirect incentive. But look, given the Justice Department's warning on this, it's possible the case could be legally debatable. Now, there's mixed analysis on whether what Musk is doing actually violates that, though. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro raised some concerns about it, as have others. NPR said this. They said the sweepstakes, the $1 million prize, is raising concerns among election law experts and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, who formerly served as the state's attorney general. It says Shapiro, who is also a surrogate for Vice President Harris's campaign, right? They said, quote, I think it's something that law enforcement could take a look at, he said on NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday, and added, quote, I'm not the attorney general anymore of Pennsylvania. I'm the governor. But it does raise serious questions, referring again to what Now, it continues to stigma that UCLA election law professor Richard Hasen said that on its face, there's nothing illegal about a petition sweepstakes. But a closer look raises some red flags for him. He said, quote, if you look at the conditions, you must be a registered voter. And so this is essentially a lottery that's open only to people who register to vote. So it's either an incentive for someone to vote, or it's a reward. Elon Musk made it clear that you don't have to vote. You don't have to vote. It doesn't matter which party you vote for it. So technically, the voting side may not apply here. But the registration is the issue. Now, he said that, quote, either way, it violates federal law, according to him. Now, on the other side of it, though, others are saying that Musk may be within the clear, basically. Here's what Hans von Spakowsky, manager of the Election Law Reform Initiative, had to say on Daily Signal. He said this. Musk's very vocal support for the First Amendment, which he says is under relentless attack, is nothing new. Again, he's suggesting Elon Musk buying Twitter, changing it to X, and becoming a very aggressive force pushing for the freedom of speech. This is something within Musk's interests. And he notes as well that he announced in April that he would fund a national signature campaign in support of free speech. And he's frequently said defending free speech is one of the main reasons he purchased X on Twitter. He's also been vigorous in his support for the Second Amendment. Now, Hans von Spakowsky is suggesting here that this defines Musk's intent. The intent meaning it's to get people to vote for one party or the other. The intent meaning he wants people in these swing states to come out in support of the constitutional rights that Musk has previously said are some of his biggest interests. Now, he continues here stating, notice the precise terms of this clear language. If America PAC, again, Elon Musk's political action committee, was directly paying individuals to register to vote, and if any individuals accepted those payments, they would be violating the law. But America PAC, by the explicit terms of the petition, is paying individuals to sign the petition, not register to vote. And the registered voters in the applicable states are accepting payment for signing the petition, not becoming registered. He adds that, quote, what Musk is doing transactionally is not that different, except in terms of sheer scale, from what pollsters, political consultants, and campaigns do all the time with focus groups. He said with focus groups, they convene a group of registered voters who are paid for their involvement to ask them questions about candidates and issues. It is normally a condition that you are a registered voter to be eligible to participate in the focus group and get paid for spouting your opinion. Requiring that as a condition to participate does not violate federal law. So he's suggesting the way that, again, campaigns do these focus groups. Registered voter in this state, you're paid to come and talk about it, right? You're being paid by the campaign in a way that may influence the elections, by the way, but not to make you register otherwise, but you have to register to do it. He's saying that is no different legally from what Elon Musk is doing. The only difference being the scale of it. Elon Musk has managed to do this on a very, very large scale. Now the points about Elon Musk's previous statements on, you know, supporting free speech and free, again, the fight for second amendment rights, it suggests his intent. And any legal debate on this would likely focus on intent. Is the intent to have voters stand by the first and second amendment, amendments, or is it the incentive to have people register to vote, right? That said, again, we'll have to see whether the justice department comes out with anything public. We've not really seen anything solid on this yet, other than some of the reports coming around. Now on the other side of it, though, you also have, again, the Trump campaign raising some alarms that the British, the UK Labor Party is allegedly paying operatives, notably in a LinkedIn page, according to one of their, again, lawsuits, a LinkedIn page where they have offered to pay for housing for UK, again, campaign workers to come and support Kamala Harris. And the Trump campaign is calling that illegal. They're calling on, again, election law officials to do something about it. We have not yet heard anything from the Biden administration on responding to that just yet. But look, in other news, it now appears the troops in North Korea, the ones they're sending to Russia, that they may, in fact, be heading there to fight in the war. And this would actually represent a really significant expansion in the war. It means that new countries are getting involved in this war. This is becoming a global war, not a regional war. I'll be talking more about this, though, after I come back from a quick break. Stay tuned. Experts agree one of the best ways to protect against financial uncertainty is to diversify your portfolio. Learn how physical gold and silver can secure your retirement funds from today's economic challenges with a gold IRA from American Hartford Gold. You can safeguard your wealth with no penalties or taxes when you transfer your current qualifying retirement accounts. Call now and our precious metals specialists will send you a free information kit, no cost or obligation. American Hartford Gold, a trusted industry leader with an A-plus from the Better Business Bureau, has a five-star rating from thousands of happy clients. Whether you're getting physical precious metals in a gold IRA or delivered to your doorstep, we offer only the highest quality gold and silver. For your peace of mind, we also offer a no-fee buyback commitment, a low-price guarantee, along with free shipping and free insurance. So don't wait. Call the number on your screen today and secure your financial future. Welcome back. Well, folks, it appears the troops that North Korea is sending to Russia are, in fact, there to fight in Ukraine, suggesting this is becoming a global war, not just a regional war. Now, look, North Korea, they're also planning to send more troops already. NBC News said this, 12,000 North Korean troops will be sent to Russia, South Korea said Thursday, vowing it will not stand by and do nothing in the face of these significant provocation. And it's that Pyongyang is expected to augment Russia's military with its own sizable contingent of special forces, military engineers, and artillery troops. And it's a National Security Council spokesperson, John Kirby, told reporters on Wednesday, quote, they're fair targets, and the Ukrainian military will defend themselves against North Korean soldiers, the same way they're defending themselves against Russian soldiers. He said there could be dead and wounded North Korean soldiers fighting against Ukraine. Now, this would represent a significant expansion of the war. And again, because of that, that means that South Korea is very likely getting involved. South Korea has suggested that if this were to take place, they would send weapons and troops also to Ukraine. Again, officials there to maybe interrogate North Korean troops, to help gain intel on them, watch the way they fight. And if they do that, that means that Russia may also retaliate against South Korea, something the CCP has warned South Korea against. And because the Chinese Communist Party is one of the main enablers of the war on Russia's side against Ukraine, it also means that North Korea, sorry, South Korea could have problems with the Chinese Communist Party as well. Meaning that that regional battle in the Asia Pacific region could now maybe push South Korea more towards the Western alliance with the United States, Japan and others. Now look, in other news, the LA Times and the Washington Post, well, they have yet to endorse any candidate for the 2024 elections. And well, the silence there is ruffling some feathers. I'll be talking about this though only on EpicTV.com. But first, for all of those of you watching YouTube, Facebook, ExaRumble, something big, my team and I, we recently went out to North Carolina to have a look at what's happening with the disaster relief efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. 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