Elon Musk won't face election bribery charges in Wisconsin, state prosecutor says

https://abcnews.com/Business/wireStory/elon-musk-face-election-bribery-charges-wisconsin-state-135945200

Elon Musk will not face charges for promising to give $1 million to voters in a 2025 Wisconsin Supreme Court election because no jury would find that constituted election bribery, a state prosecutor said Tuesday.

Musk, the founder of SpaceX and CEO of Tesla, was deeply involved in the effort to flip majority control of the highest court in battleground Wisconsin last year. But the candidate he and Republicans backed lost to Democratic-supported Susan Crawford, whose victory preserved liberals' majority on the court.

The bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission in July referred two complaints to the Brown County district attorney’s office for possible charges, saying Musk likely broke the law. La Crosse County District Attorney Tim Gruenke was later appointed as a special prosecutor because of a conflict of interest.

261 points · 30 comments · view on lemmy.world

30 Comments

nymnympseudonym@piefed.social · 106 pts · 12d (6 replies)

no jury would find that constituted election bribery, a state prosecutor said

Even though the Wisconsin Elections Commission found probable cause that Elon Musk broke the law ?

ImgurRefugee114@reddthat.com · 68 pts · 12d (1 reply)

Somebody should investigate the prosecutor for accepting a bribe, me thinks.

orbituary@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 19 pts · 12d

Turtles all the way down...

undefined@lemmy.hogru.ch · 31 pts · 12d (2 replies)

Why don’t they actually ask a jury that, you know, with a trial maybe?

halcyoncmdr@piefed.social · 12 pts · 12d (1 reply)

Or at least a Grand one maybe. I hear those will indict a ham sandwich.

nforminvasion@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 12d

Yeah because a ham sandwhich has no assets. If you're rich, a grand jury is not indicting you as vigorously.

mHtt@lemmy.ca · 15 pts · 12d

you assume they act in good faith.

BillyClark@piefed.social · 90 pts · 12d (1 reply)

no jury would find that constituted election bribery

Why not? Are they planning to let Elon Musk bribe the jury, as well?

undefined@lemmy.hogru.ch · 38 pts · 12d

Why don’t they actually ask a jury that, you know, with a trial maybe?

Bebopalouie@lemmy.ca · 46 pts · 12d

Guess the prosecutor got paid off as well.

artyom@piefed.social · 39 pts · 12d (1 reply)

La Crosse County District Attorney Tim Gruenke, a Democrat, announced on Tuesday that he didn’t think he could convince a jury that Musk had made a bribe with the posts.

Gonna write this guy a nice letter...

SupraMario@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 12d

This is why even if Dems take the house and Senate, and the POTUS, nothing will be done to prosecute any of these criminals. They'll do the same shit that Biden did and drag their feet.

Still would rather they be running the show, but fucking hell...someone giving up because they don't think they could convince a jury....has he been paying attention in MN?

Octavio@piefed.social · 35 pts · 12d

If you want to get away with crime in America, just be rich.

weps@lemmy.world · 35 pts · 12d

state prosecutors can decide what the jury will say and that's enough to close the case

USA weird

W3dd1e@lemmy.zip · 18 pts · 12d

By this logic, we should stop arresting people for attempted murder because it didn’t work anyway.

Baphomet_The_Blasphemer@lemmy.world · 16 pts · 12d

I live in Wisconsin and would have 100% called it election bribery if on the jury, because it was.

lemmylump@lemmy.world · 14 pts · 12d

Major_Tsiom@fedia.io · 13 pts · 12d (1 reply)

Bend over, Wisconsin.

ScrambledEggs@lazysoci.al · 3 pts · 12d

I don't think "tough" when I think of Wisconsin. I think cheese and pudgy people.

Yuccagnocchiyaki@lemmy.world · 12 pts · 12d

Lol. This shows everyone that even the bluest of the blue states won't stand up to this stuff. CA won't even punish the a-hole sherrif that stole and tainted votes.

It doesn't matter how hard you "vote blue" ,MAGA IS NOT LEAVING WITHOUT PHYSICALLY BEING REMOVED

ChickenLadyLovesLife@lemmy.world · 11 pts · 12d

Jury muskification.

DevDave@piefed.social · 8 pts · 12d (1 reply)

La Crosse's demographics and voting history is just marginally more for Democrats so I wonder what the justification is besides "nah"

runner_g@piefed.blahaj.zone · 1 pts · 12d

💵💵💵

BigTurkey@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 6 pts · 12d

Pretty sure if Elon goes before a jury, he is getting convicted regardless of what he is charged with cause of how much people don't like him but he'll probably find a way to bribe or blackmail a jury member or two.

blastosist@lemmy.zip · 4 pts · 12d

I used to like Elon until he started talking.

dan1101@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 12d

Put me on the jury

itsgroundhogdayagain@lemmy.ml · 4 pts · 12d

I'm shocked

osanna@lemmy.vg · 3 pts · 12d

sigh.

bigbangdangler@reddthat.com · 3 pts · 12d

Because of course he does.

santa@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 12d

Maybe he bribed the jury…