Wednesday, April 2, 2025
Tuesday, April 1, 2025
Monday, March 31, 2025
Sunday, March 30, 2025
Appeals Court rejects AG Josh Kaul's effort to block Elon Musk payments to Wisconsin voters
Molly Beck
MADISON - A panel of state appeals judges on Saturday rejected an effort by Attorney General Josh Kaul to block Elon Musk from paying voters in Wisconsin ahead of a pivotal state Supreme Court election on Tuesday.
A Madison-based state appeals court on Saturday declined to quickly intervene in an event Musk planned to hold Sunday during which he initially said he would pay two voters each $1 million and later backtracked and said the money would go to people who signed a petition to oppose judges who rule against President Donald Trump.
The appeals panel rejected a motion filed by Kaul late Friday seeking emergency relief after a Columbia County circuit judge rejected hearing Kaul's lawsuit against Musk before Sunday, according to Kaul.
Now, Kaul may ask the state Supreme Court to step in before Sunday but a spokesman for Kaul did not immediately say whether the Democratic attorney general planned to ask the high court.
In the order from the appeals court, the judges wrote Kaul had not filed or supported his request properly, which forced them to deny the request.
In a since-deleted post on X, Musk said he would hold an event Sunday in Wisconsin and hand out $1 million checks to voters "in appreciation for you taking the time to vote."
But after election experts and Democrats raised questions about whether the offer violated the state's election bribery laws, Musk deleted the post and said he would instead be handing over the checks to two people who would serve as spokespeople for his "Petition In Opposition To Activist Judges." The new post also no longer said attendance would be limited "to those who have voted in the Supreme Court election," as the original post had stated.
"To clarify a previous post, entrance is limited to those who have signed the petition in opposition to activist judges," Musk wrote. "I will also hand over checks for a million dollars to 2 people to be spokesmen for the petition."
Musk, a close ally of Trump, has poured about $20 million into the race to back conservative Supreme Court candidate Brad Schimel through spending from his own coffers and via two outside groups.
Schimel has sought to distance himself from Musk's event in recent days.
"We have no plans to be there. We have a very aggressive campaign calendar," Schimel told reporters Friday. "I have no idea what he's doing. I have no idea what this rally is."
Liberal Supreme Court candidate Susan Crawford called Musk's activities "immoral" on Saturday.
Kaul's lawsuit seeks a restraining order barring Musk "from any further promotion of the million-dollar gifts" to attendees of the planned Sunday event and "from making any payments to Wisconsin electors to vote."
In an odd twist, Crawford was initially assigned to oversee the case involving her race but a spokesman said it was a random assignment and that she will recuse.
The case was quickly reassigned to Columbia County Circuit Judge W. Andrew Voigt.
A spokesman for America PAC declined to comment on Kaul's plans.
The move comes after Kaul and Milwaukee County District Attorney Kent Lovern received a letter from the liberal Madison-based Law Forward legal firm, Wisconsin Democracy Campaign and State Democracy Defenders Fund seeking "an immediate investigation."The groups asked Kaul and Lovern to review Musk's America PAC's offer to pay $100 to Wisconsin voters for signing a petition opposing 'activist judges' who have ruled against President Donald Trump and Musk's Thursday announcement of plans to give two voters each $1 million checks.
Daniel Bice of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel contributed to this report.
Molly Beck can be reached at molly.beck@jrn.com.
Saturday, March 29, 2025
Friday, March 28, 2025
AG Kaul seeks to block Musk's pledge to give $2 million to 2 voters ahead of Supreme Court election
MITCHELL SCHMIDT
Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul and the state Department of Justice plan to take legal action to halt billionaire Elon Musk's pledge to deliver $1 million each to two Wisconsin residents in the final days leading up to the high-stakes April 1 election that will determine ideological control of the state Supreme Court.
Musk, a close aide to President Donald Trump who has showered millions of dollars on the race to support Republican-backed candidate Brad Schimel, said in a post on the social media platform X he will visit Wisconsin on Sunday to deliver the $1 million checks.
Kaul said on Friday he'll be seeking a court order to stop the payments.
"Based on our understanding of applicable Wisconsin law, we intend to take legal action today to seek a court order to stop this from happening," Kaul said in a statement.
Musk has offered $100 to anyone who signs his "Petition In Opposition To Activist Judges" and on Thursday he said a Green Bay man who signed the document had been awarded $1 million.
Late Thursday evening, Musk said in the now-deleted post he will deliver the checks "in appreciation for you taking the time to vote." Entry to the event was to be limited to "those who have voted in the Supreme Court election."
But as questions swirled regarding the legality of such a pledge, Musk deleted the post about 12 hours after posting it. In a subsequent post shortly after noon Friday, Musk said he will "hand over checks for a million dollars to 2 people to be spokesmen for the petition." He did not say where or when the event will take place, or how the two individuals will be selected.
He also amended his previous statement, noting that entry to the event will be limited to those who have signed his petition, rather than individuals who have already voted.
Schimel, a Waukesha County Circuit Court judge, faces Democratic-backed Dane County Circuit Court Judge Susan Crawford in a race that's shattered previous spending records for state judicial elections.
Musk has spent more than $20 million on the race so far through two political action committees and direct donations to the Republican Party of Wisconsin.
Musk has spent more than $20 million on the race so far through two political action committees and direct donations to the Republican Party of Wisconsin.
One of Musk's political action committees deployed a similar effort last year leading up to Trump's victory over then-Vice President Kamala Harris, offering $1 million a day to voters who signed a petition supporting the First and Second Amendment in several battleground states, including Wisconsin.
Philadelphia's district attorney sued to halt Musk's efforts in Pennsylvania in the 2024 presidential election, but a judge ultimately ruled prosecutors failed to show the attempt was an illegal lottery and it was allowed to continue through Nov. 4, according to the Associated Press.
Wisconsin election bribery laws ban individuals from offering "anything of value” to any elector in an attempt to “induce” them to vote or refrain from voting.
University of California election law professor Rick Hasen wrote in a Friday blog post that, while he hasn't researched Wisconsin caselaw surrounding election bribery, Musk's efforts "appear to violate the plain meaning of the statute."
"He’s offering a chance to win a million dollars, (which) is a thing of value, and it’s only offered to people who have voted," Hasan continued. "One might say he’s not inducing people, but instead rewarding them. I don’t think this helps, because the statute likely covers rewarding as well — think of people who decide to vote in order to attend the talk for the lottery chance to win a million dollars."
Officials with Crawford's campaign have called the payments a corrupt attempt to influence voters. Musk's involvement in the race began shortly after his Tesla electric car company sued Wisconsin for blocking it from opening dealerships in the state.
Crawford spokesperson Derrick Honeyman said Musk's efforts are "just a last-minute desperate distraction" and an attempt to influence the race in hopes of securing a favorable ruling in the lawsuit.
"Wisconsinites don’t want a billionaire like Musk telling them who to vote for, and on Tuesday, voters should reject Musk’s lackey Brad Schimel," Honeyman continued.
State Democrats also blasted Musk's pledge. Ben Wikler, chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, said in a statement "merely the offer of something of value — in this case, the chance to receive one million dollars — is plainly illegal."
“Let’s be very clear: Elon Musk committed a crime the moment he offered million-dollar checks ‘in appreciation for’ voting, and deleting evidence of that crime changes nothing," Wikler continued.
"Wisconsinites will not be bought," Democratic Gov. Tony Evers said in a social media post. "Our votes are not for sale."
Schimel's campaign did not respond Friday to request for comment on the payments or whether the former attorney general plans to attend the event.
The state's highest court currently holds a 4-3 liberal majority. Seats on the seven-member court are technically nonpartisan, but political interests are spending millions on the race, the state’s two major parties have chosen sides and both candidates have painted their opponent as beholden to their partisan donors.
Total spending on the race topped $81 million as of Tuesday, according to the Brennan Center for Justice. That includes about $22 million spent by Crawford and more than $10 million spent by Schimel. The remaining more than $49 million flowing into the race has come from the state's two major political parties, megadonors and outside groups.
In addition to Musk, Schimel has received support from GOP megadonors like Diane Hendricks, the owner of ABC Supply in Beloit, and Liz Uihlein, president of shipping company Uline. Crawford, meanwhile, has benefited from liberal philanthropist George Soros, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and others.
The April 1 contest comes just two years after the last judicial election, another battle for ideological control of the court that set records at the time with more than $51 million spent by candidates and special-interest groups leading up to Janet Protasiewicz's 2023 victory over former Justice Dan Kelly.
Elon Musk to visit Wisconsin Sunday ahead of Supreme Court election
MITCHELL SCHMIDT
Billionaire Elon Musk plans to visit Wisconsin on Sunday to deliver $1 million each to two voters who have already cast ballots in the high-stakes April 1 election that will determine ideological control of the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
Musk, a close aide to President Donald Trump who has showered millions of dollars on the race to support Republican-backed candidate Brad Schimel, said in a Thursday evening post on the social media platform X he will give a talk in Wisconsin on Sunday. Schimel, a Waukesha County Circuit Court judge, faces Democratic-backed Dane County Circuit Court Judge Susan Crawford in a race that's shattered previous spending records for state judicial elections.
Musk didn't say exactly where or when he will speak, but noted entry to the event will be limited to "those who have voted in the Supreme Court election."
"I will also personally hand over two checks for a million dollars each in appreciation for you taking the time to vote," Musk continued. "This is super important."
Musk has spent more than $20 million on the race so far through two political action committees and direct donations to the Republican Party of Wisconsin. He has also offered $100 to anyone who signs his "Petition In Opposition To Activist Judges," and on Thursday he said a Green Bay man who signed the petition had been awarded $1 million.
One of Musk's political action committees deployed a similar effort last year leading up to Trump's victory over then-Vice President Kamala Harris, offering $1 million a day to voters who signed a petition supporting the First and Second Amendment in several battleground states, including Wisconsin.
Officials with Crawford's campaign have called the payments a corrupt attempt to influence voters. Musk's involvement in the race began shortly after his Tesla electric car company sued Wisconsin for blocking it from opening dealerships in the state.
Crawford spokesperson Derrick Honeyman said Musk's efforts are "just a last-minute desparate distraction" and an attempt to influence the race in hopes of securing a favorable ruling in the lawsuit.
"Wisconsinites don’t want a billionaire like Musk telling them who to vote for, and on Tuesday, voters should reject Musk’s lackey Brad Schimel," Honeyman continued.
Schimel's campaign did not immediately respond Friday to request for comment on the payments or whether Schimel plans to attend the Sunday event.
The state's highest court currently holds a 4-3 liberal majority. Seats on the seven-member court are technically nonpartisan, but political interests are spending millions on the race, the state’s two major parties have chosen sides and both candidates have painted their opponent as beholden to their partisan donors.
Total spending on the race topped $81 million as of Tuesday, according to the Brennan Center for Justice. That includes about $22 million spent by Crawford and more than $10 million spent by Schimel. The remaining more than $49 million flowing into the race has come from the state's two major political parties, megadonors and outside groups.
In addition to Musk, Schimel has received support from GOP megadonors like Diane Hendricks, the owner of ABC Supply in Beloit, and Liz Uihlein, president of shipping company Uline. Crawford, meanwhile, has benefited from liberal philanthropist George Soros, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and others.
The April 1 contest comes just two years after the last judicial election, another battle for ideological control of the court that set records at the time with more than $51 million spent by candidates and special-interest groups leading up to Janet Protasiewicz's 2023 victory over former Justice Dan Kelly.
Anti-Elon Musk plane flies over Milwaukee days before high-stakes Wisconsin Supreme Court election
Vanessa SwalesAlison Dirr
"Go Home Elon. Vote Susan," reads the banner flying behind a small plane, referencing liberal Dane County Judge Susan Crawford.
She will go head-to-head with Musk's preferred candidate, conservative Waukesha County Judge Brad Schimel, in an election that a watchdog group has estimated could top a record $100 million in spending.
Crawford's spokesman said the plane was not her campaign's and he did not know whose it was.
Republican Party of Wisconsin Executive Director Andrew Iverson said in a statement, "Democrats have their heads in clouds focused on a man not even on the ballot. For those on the ground in Wisconsin, we know this race is about stopping the Dangerous Democrat agenda and electing Trump endorsed Brad Schimel."
President Donald Trump endorsed Schimel last week, and days later former President Barack Obama endorsed Crawford.
Musk and his groups have spent about $20 million on the campaign. On Wednesday night, he announced on his social media platform X a $1 million giveaway to a Green Bay voter who signed his super PAC's "Petition In Opposition To Activist Judges."
The single-engine plane flew out of Toledo Executive Airport in Ohio, landing at Brookfield's Capitol Airport Wednesday evening, according to Flight Aware.
About 10 a.m. Thursday the plane took to the skies again and primarily flew over Milwaukee's downtown and parts of the city's lakefront, a map of its flight path shows.
The plane is registered with the Federal Aviation Administration, and the owner is listed as Glass City Aviation Services LLC, a company registered in Delaware but reported as a tenant at the Toledo airport.
Efforts to reach Glass City were not immediately successful.
Wisconsin campaign finance reports show no payments from a Wisconsin campaign committee to Glass City over the past two years.
Daniel Bice of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this story.
Vanessa Swales can be reached at vswales@gannett.com. Alison Dirr can be reached at adirr@jrn.com.
Thursday, March 27, 2025
Elon Musk gives $1 million to a Green Bay voter ahead of the Wisconsin Supreme Court election
Daniel BiceAlison Dirr
Billionaire Elon Musk has thrown another $1 million into next week's Wisconsin Supreme Court race — but unlike his most recent spending on attack ads and canvassers, he said this sum went to just one voter.
Musk took to X, the social media platform he owns, to announce Wednesday evening that "Scott A." from Green Bay had won the sum for signing Musk's "Petition In Opposition To Activist Judges."
The petition was announced late last week on the X account of Musk's super PAC, America PAC. It offers $100 in cash to people who sign the election petition but does not mention a $1 million giveaway.
The PAC would then use the demographic information from the petition to make sure people vote in the high-stakes Wisconsin election on Tuesday.
The $1 million giveaway was initially announced by America PAC, though the super PAC's spending records make no mention of that payment. More than $2 million in independent expenditures in recent days have been for texting, field operations and canvassing.
In offering the large payout, Musk is resurfacing a mechanism he used in the November presidential election, when he offered $1 million sweepstakes payments to registered pro-Donald Trump voters in seven swing states — Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — who signed a petition.
The U.S. Department of Justice in October warned him that the actions might be illegal and Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, a Democrat, also sued to try to block the contest in Pennsylvania.
A Pennsylvania state judge in November allowed the giveaway to proceed.
Musk wrote that the next award would be announced Friday.
He has spent about $20 million backing conservative Supreme Court candidate Brad Schimel in Tuesday's election, when Schimel will go head-to-head against liberal Dane County Judge Susan Crawford.
Musk's spending has made him the single largest spender in the race that an election watchdog group has predicted could top a record-breaking $100 million in spending.
Crawford's campaign spokesman slammed Musk and Schimel over the payouts.
"It turns out that Schimel is such a bad candidate that Elon Musk will spend whatever it takes to prop up Schimel’s failing campaign in a corrupt attempt to buy influence on the Supreme Court for his company's lawsuit," spokesman Derrick Honeyman said in a statement, referencing the lawsuit by another Musk company, Tesla, against the State of Wisconsin. "It's corrupt, it's extreme, and it's disgraceful to our state and judiciary."
Schimel's campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment, though he has said he does not control Musk's spending.
Contact Daniel Bice at (414) 313-6684 or dbice@jrn.com. Follow him on X at @DanielBice or on Facebook at fb.me/daniel.bice.
Alison Dirr can be reached at adirr@jrn.com.
Wednesday, March 26, 2025
Elon Musk leads the deep-pocketed Wisconsin Supreme Court donors by spending $19 million on race
Daniel Bice
Deep-pocketed donors are writing six- and seven-figure checks for liberal Dane County Judge Susan Crawford and conservative Waukesha County Judge Brad Schimel. The winner of the April 1 contest will determine the Supreme Court's ideological direction.
Leading the way is Elon Musk, the wealthiest individual in the world.
So far, he has dropped $19.3 million in support of Schimel, according to state campaign records.
That includes $3 million that he has given to the state Republican Party, including a $2 million gift late last week. Under state election laws, big-dollar donations have to go to the parties, which then transfer the cash to a state candidate.
In addition to his party donations, Musk's super PAC, America PAC, has spent $11.5 million on digital advertising, mailers, texts, field operations and voter turnout. The Musk-funded political nonprofit Building America's Future has also paid out nearly $4.8 million on TV ads attacking Crawford.
Candidates and outside groups are updating their fundraising totals frequently as the election nears, so many of the totals are likely to increase in the coming days.
Last week, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson said Musk will deserve the credit if Schimel comes out on top.
"If we do win it, again, we have to thank Elon for all the support he's given this race," the Wisconsin Republican said in a live, half-hour discussion on the social media platform X, which the tech billionaire owns.
At the same time, Democrats have tried to make the contest a referendum on Musk, whose popularity has plunged since he began slicing the size of the federal government as head of President Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency. A recent Marquette Law School poll found Musk is viewed favorably by 41% of registered voters in Wisconsin and unfavorably by 53%.
Ben Wikler, chairman of the state Democratic Party, said in a Tuesday statement that Musk has made Schimel "his latest pawn" in his effort to amass unchecked power.
“Brad Schimel made a bad bet with Elon Musk. Across this state, the voters Brad Schimel needs are learning how he’s crawled around on his kneepads begging for cash from the world’s richest man," Wikler said, referring to Schimel's earlier joke that he was burning through kneepads while asking so many people for support and money. "It’s a bad look.”
Others giving big bucks to the state GOP to help out Schimel include Beloit businesswoman Diane Hendricks ($3.1 million); Uline co-founders Elizabeth Uihlein ($2.2 million) and Richard Uihlein ($1.6 million); and former TD Ameritrade CEO Joe Ricketts ($500,000).
Richard Uihlein, whose packaging business is based in Pleasant Prairie, has also given a little more than $4 million to Fair Courts America, making him the only supporter of the super PAC. The group has spent all of those funds on TV commercials criticizing Crawford's sentencing practices.
Overall, Schimel, a former Republican attorney general, has raised nearly $14.3 million since getting into the race in December 2023. Of that, Schimel has received about $8.8 million from the state GOP.
Crawford pulls in cash from George Soros, JB Pritzker
By contrast, Crawford has taken in almost twice that of her opponent, raising a record $26.6 million for the hotly contested election, the most ever in a judicial race in the U.S. (But conservative outside groups have raised more than liberal ones in the race, as indicated by the TV buys in the contest.)
Among her biggest donors are liberal megadonor George Soros ($2 million); Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker ($1.5 million); Milwaukee progressive Lynde Uihlein ($740,000); and Tulsa billionaires and philanthropists Lynn Schusterman ($500,000) and Stacy Schusterman ($500,000).
Records show that of Crawford's total take, $10.4 million has come from the state Democratic Party.
In announcing her fundraising haul, Crawford contrasted her support with Musk's role in the race.
“I’m grateful for the historic outpouring of grassroots support across Wisconsin from folks who don’t want Elon Musk controlling our Supreme Court," she said in a statement.
But Jacob Fischer, a spokesman for Schimel, said Crawford's latest report shows that 80% of her donors are from outside the state. He said this shows she is running "purely for the interests of national Democrats."
"She hypocritically plays the victim while receiving more money than any judicial candidate in American history, thanks to George Soros, Reid Hoffman, and JB Pritzker funneling money to her campaign," Fischer concluded.
Contact Daniel Bice at (414) 313-6684 or dbice@jrn.com. Follow him on X at @DanielBice or on Facebook at fb.me/daniel.bice.
Posts
