Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson is gloating over reports her office is investigating America PAC, a federal political action committee launched by Elon Musk, the world’s richest man.
Benson posted an image of a smirking Angelina Jolie on X on Sunday in response to a post from CNBC reporter Brian Schwartz.
https://t.co/HpGZXZkYp6 pic.twitter.com/xKQ1DNrdQF
— Jocelyn Benson (@JocelynBenson) August 4, 2024
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“The day Benson’s office told me they’re launching a probe into the Musk backed PAC and I reached out to the PAC, is the same day the committee took down their homepage links to register to vote & request a ballot,” Schwartz wrote.
On Sunday, Schwartz reported the America PAC Musk created and helped fund is under investigation by Benson’s office for potential state law violations over how the PAC’s website helps folks register to vote.
CNBC alleges “the committee has been acquiring detailed voter information from those living in Michigan and other battleground states after people submit their personal data through a section on the PAC’s website that says ‘register to vote.’”
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Schwartz contends Michigan residents who use the feature were met with a form to complete, though the form has since been removed.
“Every citizen should know exactly how their personal information is being used by PACs, especially if an entity is claiming it will help people register to vote in Michigan or any other state,” an unnamed spokeswoman for Benson’s office told CNBC.
“While the America PAC is a federal political action committee, the Department is reviewing their activities to determine if there have been any violations of state law,” the spokeswoman said. “We will refer potential violations to the Michigan Attorney General’s office as appropriate.”
CNBC alleges America PAC does not directly register swing state residents to vote, but instead harvests their personal information. A previous CNBC report cited Brendan Fischer, a deputy executive director at campaign finance watchdog Documented, who alleged “its safe to assume that the voter data gathered through these digital appeals are going to inform America PAC’s canvassing and other political activities” in support of Trump.
Musk, who owns X, and serves as CEO of Space X, Tesla, and other companies, is publicly backing former President Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential contest, though Reuters acknowledges Musk, with an estimated net worth of over $225 billion, “has not pledged anything to anyone.”
Benson previously served as “hate crime investigator” and later a board member for the Southern Poverty Law Center, which is bankrolled by billionaire Democratic activist and Hungarian-American businessman George Soros.
The SPLC was founded in the 1970s to litigate civil rights violations, but has faced criticism in recent years for labeling Christian and conservative groups as “hate groups,” and attacks on parents groups Moms for Liberty and Moms for America that have pushed back on indoctrination and sexual content in schools.
Benson took an official trip to Selma, Ala., in March, when she met up with her SPLC comrades, but would not disclose the funding source for the trip.
More recently, Benson has focused on campaigning for Democrats in Michigan and beyond, while promoting voting through youth outreach, Veterans Affairs offices, and Small Business Administration sites in Democratic areas of the state.
Benson has also encouraged Michiganders to report their neighbors for election “misinformation” while enlisting the media to help her “protect the minds of voters” in the run up to November.
While Benson’s X post makes clear she’s enjoys scrutinizing America PAC’s operations, legal experts who spoke with the media don’t seem to think the PAC has done anything illegal.
“I’m not aware of any laws being broken,” Barbara McQuade, a former U.S. District attorney, wrote in an email to CNBC.
Likewise, Mary Massaron, a partner at Plunket Cooney, could not say whether the PAC violated the law, but suggested its operations are “very troubling.”
“A person with direct knowledge of the PAC’s operations” told the news site the group plans to launch a new site in the coming weeks, and acknowledged some links on the site no longer function properly.
Benson’s office would not discuss the focus of its investigation when contacted by Reuters, while Nessel and America PAC ignored requests for comment from multiple media outlets.
Nessel, who has also spent considerable time in 2024 campaigning for Democrats, is currently prosecuting at least 20 Republican activists and operatives who supported Trump in 2020 or opposed Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s crushing pandemic edicts.