Elon Musk Reveals Multimillion Dollar Effort to Buy Votes in Key Race

Elon Musk is so desperate to get Wisconsin voters to sign his petition condemning so-called “activist” judges, he’s paying them a million dollars—but there’s reason to doubt the giveaway is even real.

Musk’s America PAC announced the first so-called “winner” of his million-dollar giveaway on Wednesday, in the latest attempt from the oligarch to interfere with the democratic process.

“Scott A. From Green Bay, WI is the first $1 Million spokesperson for signing our Petition In Opposition To Activist Judges. Stay tuned between now and April 1st for more surprise announcements from Wisconsin,” a post on X reads.

The petition asked voters to reject “the actions of activist judges who impose their own views” and demand “a judiciary that respects its role—interpreting, not legislating.”

Musk previously held a $1 million sweepstakes in several swing states, including Wisconsin, ahead of the presidential election. He invited voters to sign a petition endorsing the constitutional right to free speech and to bear arms—potentially collecting data on millions of voters.

Philadelphia’s District Attorney Larry Krasner sued Musk to prevent him from continuing his grift, but a judge said he failed to prove Musk was holding an illegal lottery because Krasner could provide no evidence beyond “speculation.” When Krasner petitioned the court, his bid was denied by the judge because there was only one sweepstakes remaining. Well, it seems like there will be a lot more, as Musk continues efforts to buy the nation’s courts after purchasing the presidency.

Crucially, it’s unlikely that there was any “winner” to Musk’s game. In November, America PAC lawyers revealed in court that the so-called winners were paid spokespeople for the PAC, not victors in a game of chance. It seems implausible that this time would be any different—especially when they got away with it so easily before.

Musk has been offering $100 to anyone who completes his petition in Wisconsin ahead of the state Supreme Court race on April 1. Musk has also put at least $20 million behind conservative candidate Brad Schimel.

Wisconsin’s Supreme Court is set to weigh questions on hot-button issues, including the use of voter drop boxes in elections, abortion access, and redrawing congressional maps. A Republican majority on the court could influence the outcome in any of these cases, which would have national repercussions. Musk is also waging his own legal battle in the state, after he sued Wisconsin for not allowing Tesla dealerships there.

The American public knew before Donald Trump that top administration officials had conducted airstrikes on Yemen via a Signal chat, and now it appears that the president has been left in the dark on other intelligence matters too.

At an Oval Office news briefing Wednesday evening, Trump casually admitted that he was not aware that several U.S. army members had gone missing during a training exercise in Lithuania.

“Have you been briefed about the soldiers in Lithuania who are missing?” a reporter asked.

“No, I haven’t,” Trump said.

Earlier that day, the U.S. Army released a statement that four soldiers had disappeared on training grounds in a swamp near Pabradė, along the border with Belarus. The soldiers were conducting “scheduled tactical training” at the time of their disappearance, according to the Army. The M88 Hercules armored recovery vehicle they had been using was discovered 16 feet underground a day after the soldiers went missing, reported NBC News.

But the armymen were known to be missing as early as Tuesday at 4:45 p.m., the Lithuanian military said, so why Trump was still unaware of the situation more than 24 hours later is unclear.

Search efforts are “underway,” the Army said in their statement, specifying that the operation has been a joint effort between U.S. military officials, the Lithuanian Armed Forces, Lithuanian law enforcement, the Lithuanian Fire and Rescue Department, and other groups. Helicopters operated by Lithuanian Air Forces and the State Border Guard began a search and rescue mission on Tuesday, according to the country’s military press office.

“I would like to personally thank the Lithuanian Armed Forces and first responders who quickly came to our aid in our search operations,” said Lieutenant General Charles Costanza, the V Corps commanding general. “It’s this kind of teamwork and support that exemplifies the importance of our partnership and our humanity regardless of what flags we wear on our shoulders.”

The lapse in Trump’s knowledge begs the question, however, as to just how much intel the president has been left out of within the folds of his own administration.

During another White House press briefing on Monday, Trump fumbled by admitting that he was not only not invited to his Cabinet’s Signal exchange, in which his top officials discussed when, how, and where they would bomb Houthi targets in Yemen, but that he actually had no idea it had happened.

“I don’t know anything about it,” Trump said at the time, noting that a reporter’s question regarding the group chat was the first he had heard of it. “But I know nothing about it, you’re saying that they had what?”

President Trump had a late-night meltdown on Truth Social about his least favorite federal judge being assigned to the Signalgate lawsuit.

“How disgraceful is it that ‘Judge’ James Boasberg has just been given a fourth ‘Trump Case,’ something which is, statistically, IMPOSSIBLE. There is no way for a Republican, especially a TRUMP REPUBLICAN, to win before him. He is Highly Conflicted, not only in his hatred of me—Massive Trump Derangement Syndrome!— but also, because of disqualifying family conflicts,” Trump wrote past one o’clock in the morning on Thursday.

“Boasberg, who is the Chief Judge of the D.C. District Court, seems to be grabbing the ‘Trump Cases’ all to himself, even though it is not supposed to happen that way,” he continued. “Is there still such a thing as the ‘wheel,’ where the Judges are chosen fairly, and at random? The good news is that it probably doesn’t matter, because it is virtually impossible for me to get an Honest Ruling in D.C. Our Nation’s Courts are broken, with New York and D.C. being the most preeminent of all in their Corruption and Radicalism. There must be an immediate investigation of this Rigged System, before it is too late!”

Trump officials were sued Tuesday by the government watchdog American Oversight after news broke that The Atlantic’s editor in chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, was added to a Signal group chat in which multiple Cabinet members and Vice President JD Vance were discussing an attack on the Houthi rebels in Yemen. The administration has denied that anything classified was covered, and Trump himself blamed it on someone who worked at a “lower level.” Now Boasberg will be the judge.

Boasberg’s Signalgate assignment comes after he already ruled against the Trump administration’s extrajudicial deportation of hundreds of Venezuelan men with no proven ties to Tren de Agua—the gang that Trump swears they’re all from—to El Salvador.

“This Radical Left Lunatic of a Judge, a troublemaker and agitator who was sadly appointed by Barack Hussein Obama, was not elected President—He didn’t WIN the popular VOTE (by a lot!), he didn’t WIN ALL SEVEN SWING STATES, he didn’t WIN 2,750 to 525 Counties, HE DIDN’T WIN ANYTHING!” Trump wrote of Boasberg on Truth Social on March 18. “This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges’ I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!! WE DON’T WANT VICIOUS, VIOLENT, AND DEMENTED CRIMINALS, MANY OF THEM DERANGED MURDERERS, IN OUR COUNTRY. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”

Kari Lake, the failed Arizona politician and current special adviser to the president at the U.S. Agency for Global Media, has withdrawn the termination of a federal grant to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, one of the agency’s media properties, to end a legal fight. 

Lake gave notice in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Wednesday that the grant termination was being withdrawn, and also sent a letter to RFE/RL’s president, Stephen Capus, notifying the organization that the grant agreement was restored. But the letter added a caveat: The grant was restored “without prejudice,” meaning that Lake and the Trump administration can still terminate the grants at a later date if they so choose.

Lake officially serves as a special adviser to the president in charge of the agency while she awaits Senate confirmation to take over as director of Voice of America, also part of the USAGM.  Earlier this month, President Trump signed an executive order gutting USAGM, resulting in all VOA employees being fired and other outlets, such as RFE/RL, Radio Free Asia, and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks, operating with minimal resources while they challenged the order in court. 

Now it seems that at least RFE/RL has some temporary relief to be able to serve its mission of reporting in 27 languages to 23 countries around the world, many of which don’t have a functioning free press. But the USAGM’s other media outlets aren’t so fortunate, and for now are still at the mercy of a Trump appointee known for peddling election lies and even lying about the agency she’s now trying to run.

It’s a good thing that the second lady’s trip to Greenland was canceled, because apparently nobody wanted her there.

U.S. representatives were reportedly seen knocking door-to-door in Nuuk, Greenland’s capital, to ascertain just how Vance’s visit to the Nordic island would be received. The answer? Not well.

“The Americans’ charm offensive mission has failed,” reported TV 2 correspondent Jesper Steinmetz, adding that locals have completely cold-shouldered the Vance family’s prospective visit.

American representatives were seen walking around the city, canvassing residents to see if people would be interested in a visit from the vice president’s wife.

“They’ve gotten no, no, no, no, no, every single time,” Steinmetz said.

Usha Vance was reportedly scheduled to attend a dogsled race in the foreign country, sharing in a video statement on Instagram that she was “reading all about it with my children” and was looking “forward to meeting” the island’s residents.

“I’m also coming to celebrate the long history of mutual respect and cooperation between our nations and to express hope that our relationship will only grow stronger in the coming years,” the second lady said. “See you soon!”

The Vance family’s travel plans to Greenland were, however, dropped. Instead, they will visit a U.S. space base on the island’s northwest coast later this week.

“This is categorically false,” a senior White House official told The New Republic, though they did not specify what part of the report they objected to. “The Second Lady is proud to visit the Pituffik Space Base with her husband to learn more about arctic security and the great work of the Space Base.”

Greenland’s government said in a statement posted on Facebook Monday that it had “not extended any invitations for any visits, neither private nor official.”

The self-governing Danish territory has not taken kindly to what its officials have described as Donald Trump’s repeated “aggression” against Greenland’s sovereignty. Over the last several months, the U.S. president has made odd jokes and eyebrow-raising militaristic threats about buying and annexing Greenland and shipped his son and MAGA allies to the island for a slapdash photo op with the island’s homeless.

Republicans at home have also incensed the other side of the long-standing international relationship. Last month, Georgia Representative Buddy Carter pitched that Greenland should be renamed “Red, White, and Blueland” while handing Trump free license to pursue Greenland under the belief that the territory is suddenly a national security priority.

A late January poll by pollster Verian found that 85 percent of Greenland’s residents do not want to become part of the United States. Just 6 percent were in favor of the switch, while 8 percent were undecided, according to The Guardian.

This story has been updated.