You may have heard that Elon Musk’s super PAC has been giving away $1 million checks to voters through a sort of daily lottery. To enter, one must be registered to vote in a swing state and sign a petition sponsored by his group, America PAC, stating that they support free speech and the right to bear arms.
But because federal law prohibits paying someone for their vote or even registering to vote, some legal scholars, like NBC News/MSNBC election law analyst Rick Hasen, immediately raised alarms about Musk’s giveaway scheme. A group of former Justice Department officials from the Republican Party even asked Attorney General Merrick Garland to open an investigation. And while it’s not clear what Garland did ThatPublic reporting, including by NBC News, shows that the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Division has at least sent a letter to America PAC warning that the giveaway may violate federal law.
Although America PAC announced two winners on Thursday, the group did not announce a winner on Wednesday after awarding $1 million to registered voters over the past four days.
Meanwhile, a source familiar with America PAC’s efforts told NBC News earlier this week: “The PAC is confident in the legality of this initiative.”
That made me wonder: Why is the super PAC so confident? And who exactly provides the group with legal advice?
America PAC’s Federal Election Commission filings may reflect the answer. According to publicly available FEC data, America PAC made payments to only one company – The Gober Group PLLC – with the descriptions of the payouts including the words “legal” or “statutory.” These payments – made in July, August, September and October of this year – total more than $247,000. (At least part of the October payment was for “travel” in addition to “legal advice,” according to FEC data.)
That raises a second question: what or who is The Gober Group?
Although the company’s website is no longer accessible, a version filed in July 2024 reflects that the company was founded by attorney Chris Gober, who previously represented conservative luminaries such as Senator Ted Cruz and podcaster Ben Shapiro. Indeed, Gober’s biography touts his “dozens” of victories for the FEC; his leading role in drawing Texas’ new congressional maps after the 2020 census; his previous, senior legal positions at the Republican National Committee and its Senate-specific arm, the National Republican Senate Committee; and a client base of “dozens of U.S. Senators, U.S. Representatives, Governors and Attorneys General across the country.” And Gober is reported to have connections to two Supreme Court justices: Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito, whom he helped prepare for their confirmation hearings.
So is Chris Gober the legal brain behind Musk’s massive controls? Veteran political journalist Tom LoBianco, writing for his own Substack, said the DOJ letter was indeed sent to Gober on Monday and that while it “did not contain any immediate legal action … it did mention the penalties for violating U.S. voting laws mentioned, including possible imprisonment of up to five years.”
The real question then is whether Gober remains optimistic about the legality of Musk’s payouts, especially given the lack of an announcement from the lottery winner on Wednesday. Gober did not respond to MSNBC’s attempts to reach him for comment. Stay informed.
This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
