{"id":2446480,"date":"2025-06-12T12:59:10","date_gmt":"2025-06-12T16:59:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wisconsin-watchdog-sues-musk-alleging-million-dollar-bribes\/"},"modified":"2025-06-12T13:00:43","modified_gmt":"2025-06-12T17:00:43","slug":"wisconsin-watchdog-sues-musk-alleging-million-dollar-bribes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wisconsin-watchdog-sues-musk-alleging-million-dollar-bribes\/","title":{"rendered":"Wisconsin watchdog sues Musk, alleging million-dollar bribes"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwisconsin-watchdog-sues-musk-alleging-million-dollar-bribes%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2446480&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A Wisconsin watchdog group, the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, has filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk, claiming that he engaged in election bribery during the state&#8217;s 2025 Supreme Court elections by promoting a pair of &#8220;million-dollar&#8221; giveaways. the lawsuit alleges that Musk conspired to incentivize votes for the conservative candidate Brad Schimel, who ultimately lost the election.it accuses Musk and his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/amid-threats-of-corporate-donation-withdrawals-gop-senate-fund-hauls-in-8-3-million\/\" title=\"Amid Threats Of Corporate Donation Withdrawals, GOP Senate Fund Hauls In .3 Million\">political action committees<\/a> (PACs) of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sf-city-attorney-calls-out-teachers-unions-vaccine-demands-unlawful\/\" title=\"SF City Attorney Calls Out Teachers\u2019 Union\u2019s Vaccine Demands: \u2018Unlawful\u2019\">violating state law<\/a> by distributing monetary rewards to voters who signed a petition against &#8220;activist judges.&#8221; The lawsuit seeks to prevent Musk from conducting similar actions in future Wisconsin elections. It also emphasizes that such <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >practices undermine voter confidence<\/a> in the election system. Musk, during a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/tv-network-ratings-drop-during-bidens-first-full-week-in-office\/\" title=\"TV Network Ratings Drop During Biden\u2019s First Full Week in Office\">town hall event<\/a>, distributed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mcconnell-biden-proposal-to-give-illegal-immigrants-1m-sounds-like-it-was-a-parody-created-by-gop\/\" title=\"McConnell: Biden proposal to give illegal immigrants M sounds like it was a parody created by GOP\">million-dollar checks<\/a> under the pretense of rewarding voters for participation, but this has led to legal scrutiny and accusations that he mischaracterized these payments. Despite pushing for an immediate injunction against Musk,the Wisconsin Attorney General&#8217;s efforts where rebuffed by a county judge and the Wisconsin Supreme court. Musk had previously claimed the giveaways were appreciation rewards rather than bribes.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Wisconsin watchdog group sues Musk, alleging his million-dollar giveaways were bribes<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2077556\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/wisconsin\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Wisconsin<\/a> group filed a lawsuit against <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/elon-musk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Elon Musk<\/a>, claiming he bribed voters by promoting two &ldquo;million-dollar&rdquo; giveaways during the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/wisconsin-supreme-court\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">state&rsquo;s 2025 Supreme Court election<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The lawsuit, from the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, a nonprofit organization that investigates campaign funding and election transparency, alleges that Musk and his PACs acted together to commit election bribery by creating the petition and trading cash for a pledge to vote for Brad Schimel, the conservative candidate who ultimately lost the race.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3439534\/georgia-gop-salleigh-grubbs-women-cant-win-statewide\/\">Georgia GOP scoffs at vice chair who says women can&rsquo;t win statewide<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/3438784\/mikie-sherrill-democratic-pick-new-jersey-governor\/\">Who is Mikie Sherrill? Meet the Democratic pick for New Jersey governor<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/3436596\/jack-ciattarelli-wins-new-jersey-republican-primary-governor\/\">Jack Ciattarelli secures New Jersey Republican nomination for governor<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>The complaint also alleges that Musk violated state laws by giving away $100 to voters who <a href=\"https:\/\/petition.theamericapac.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">signed a petition<\/a> &ldquo;in opposition to activist judges&rdquo; and handing out million-dollar checks to those who signed the petition.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;In the context of an election for Wisconsin&rsquo;s highest court, election bribery&mdash;providing more than $1 to induce electors (that is, voters) to vote&mdash; undermines voters&rsquo; faith in the validity of the electoral system and the independence of the judiciary,&rdquo; the lawsuit states.<\/p>\n<p>The lawsuit was filed by the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign and two Wisconsin voters against Musk, his America PAC, and another Musk-owned entity, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/sarahemerson\/2024\/10\/17\/elon-musk-created-a-mysterious-corporation-called-united-states-of-america-inc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">the United States of America Inc.<\/a> The lawsuit claims the event was a civil conspiracy and an unlawful lottery.<\/p>\n<p>The lawsuit seeks to bar Musk from &ldquo;replicating any such unlawful conduct in relation to future Wisconsin elections.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>At a town hall in Green Bay, Musk, donning a cheesehead, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/3363820\/musk-2-million-says-humanity-at-stake-wisconsin-election\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">gave away million-dollar checks<\/a> to two people, both of whom the suit claims voted for Schimel. The suit states that Musk had said the $1 million checks would be given &ldquo;in appreciation&rdquo; for those &ldquo;taking the time to vote.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Elon Musk wears a cheesehead during a town hall Sunday, March 30, 2025, in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (AP Photo\/Jeffrey Phelps)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3363221\/wisconsin-attorney-general-sues-elon-musk-million-payments-voters\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">sought an emergency injunction<\/a> to stop Musk&rsquo;s payments from going out. He argued that the handouts violated Wisconsin law because only supporters of one candidate are eligible for the prize. A county judge ultimately declined to hold an immediate hearing in Kaul&rsquo;s suit, and the Wisconsin Supreme Court <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/3363699\/wisconsin-supreme-court-attorney-general-musk-million-giveaways-voters\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">unanimously rejected<\/a> it.<\/p>\n<p>When Kaul&rsquo;s lawsuit was filed, Musk and his team had portrayed the payments as a reward for signing petitions and serving as spokespeople for Schimel&rsquo;s campaign. He did not portray it as compensation for votes. Musk was also at the time an adviser to President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/3368300\/wisconsin-counties-shift-left-state-supreme-court-race\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">EVERY WISCONSIN COUNTY SHIFTED LEFT IN STATE SUPREME COURT RACE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Musk had initially said that the giveaway event and prize money would be open only to those who had voted early, &ldquo;in appreciation for you taking the time to vote.&rdquo; Musk deleted an initial post about the giveaway, later <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/elonmusk\/status\/1905673297439666486?s=46&amp;t=ypIr59182hwfK8LkO5rcaw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">claiming<\/a> it would be open to all Wisconsin-registered voters who signed a petition opposing &ldquo;activist judges.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Musk&rsquo;s America PAC spent over $12 million on Schimel&rsquo;s campaign, but he ultimately lost by 11 points to now justice-elect Susan Crawford.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_2077556\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"2077556\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Wisconsin group sues Musk, claiming his giveaways were bribes<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2910,"featured_media":2446481,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/musk-million-dollar-check.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[19322,4585,4250,6056,4124],"class_list":["post-2446480","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-bribes","tag-lawsuit","tag-musk","tag-watchdog","tag-wisconsin"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/musk-million-dollar-check.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2446480","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2910"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2446480"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2446480\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2446484,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2446480\/revisions\/2446484"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2446481"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2446480"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2446480"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2446480"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}