Elon Musk Is Committing a Crime—however It Doesn’t Matter As a result of He’s Wealthy

Elon Musk is—successfully—paying individuals to register to vote. This can be a violation of federal election legal guidelines, and he must be prosecuted, fined, and imprisoned for his quite a few violations. Sadly, that is Elon Musk we’re speaking about, and the individual accountable for implementing federal legal guidelines in opposition to him is Lawyer Normal Merrick Garland—and all of that signifies that Musk is not going to be prosecuted, fined, or despatched to jail. The foundations, you see, are totally different for wealthy white Republicans who violate the legal guidelines than they’re for anybody else. I believed everyone knew that by now.

What Musk is doing isn’t sophisticated, however there’s sufficient misdirection in his scheme that it may be complicated to see what he’s as much as. So enable me to clarify. By means of his political motion committee, Musk is providing $1,000,000, lottery fashion, to individuals in “battleground” states—particularly, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, Wisconsin, Michigan, and North Carolina—who signal his PAC’s petition. The petition is a common pledge to “assist” the First and Second Modification (due to course a white South African whose household benefited from apartheid is considerably extra all for supporting the Second Modification than, say, the thirteenth, 14th, and fifteenth Amendments, which stop individuals like Musk from doing right here what individuals like Musk did in South Africa). In the event you signal the petition, you’ve got an opportunity of successful 1,000,000 bucks. Musk handed out the primary examine final weekend.

Paying individuals, or providing individuals a lottery ticket, to signal a petition is authorized. That’s superb. It’s an train of free speech, not less than on this ridiculous nation that equates cash with speech.

The issue with Musk’s scheme is that, with the intention to get the cash, you must be registered to vote. By making voter registration key to getting the cash, Musk is making an attempt to induce people who find themselves not registered to register to vote. That’s unlawful. Because the elections regulation professional Rick Hasen factors out, paying individuals, bribing individuals, or giving individuals just about something of financial worth to induce them to register to vote is a violation of federal regulation.

For these taking part in alongside at residence, the regulation Hasen factors to is 52 U.S.C. 10307(c), which states: “Whoever knowingly or willfully provides false info as to his identify, deal with or interval of residence within the voting district for the aim of building his eligibility to register or vote, or conspires with one other particular person for the aim of encouraging his false registration to vote or unlawful voting, or pays or presents to pay or accepts fee both for registration to vote or for voting shall be fined no more than $10,000 or imprisoned no more than 5 years, or each.” (Emphasis Hasen’s)

The Division of Justice has clarified that this regulation doesn’t apply to, say, giving voters a experience to the polls. However it does embrace giving individuals money, or liquor, or meals stamps, or… “lottery possibilities” to induce them to register.

Musk is violating the regulation, however for that to matter any individual has to prosecute him for his violations, and that job, sadly, rests with Merrick Garland. Garland despatched Musk and his PAC a letter earlier this week during which he “warned” that they “may” be violating federal regulation. Garland is reportedly monitoring and investigating the scenario. Musk ignored the warning and introduced extra winners.

I do know there are nonetheless individuals who want to defend Garland’s historic lack of ability to implement any legal guidelines in opposition to Republican political actors, however, truthfully, Garland’s response is past pathetic. It takes a Google search and half an hour of Westlaw entry to “examine” whether or not “Hoo boy, register to vote and have an opportunity to win 1,000,000 {dollars}” violates relevant federal requirements. The Division of Justice’s personal “Election Crimes Guide” explains that what Musk is doing is against the law. Garland want solely “examine” the foundations written down by his personal establishment to determine that Musk is in violation of the regulation.

The strongly worded letter Garland despatched to Musk ought to have been a authorized criticism, filed in court docket, and served to Musk whereas he was on stage handing out the freaking examine.

However whereas Garland continues to be a nationwide embarrassment, incapable of doing something that may anger the Republican base, the unhappy actuality is that even bringing the total power of the regulation in opposition to Musk wouldn’t cease his unlawful actions. That’s as a result of the total power of the regulation is extremely weak on this occasion and of little consequence to a wealthy white man.