Mark Bankston
@markbankston.bsky.social
Partner, Farrar & Ball, LLP.
Bomb-throwing do-gooder.
Half Robin Hood, half Blackbeard.
Caught Alex Jones lying on the stand.
Bomb-throwing do-gooder.
Half Robin Hood, half Blackbeard.
Caught Alex Jones lying on the stand.
I look forward to providing more updates soon. I strongly believe that PACs should not be able to harvest information through deception, and this may be the most egregious example of that conduct in American history.
August 21, 2025 at 8:13 PM
I look forward to providing more updates soon. I strongly believe that PACs should not be able to harvest information through deception, and this may be the most egregious example of that conduct in American history.
Since the case is going forward, the court noted that Musk will soon be subject to discovery regarding AmericaPAC’s activities:
August 21, 2025 at 8:13 PM
Since the case is going forward, the court noted that Musk will soon be subject to discovery regarding AmericaPAC’s activities:
The court summarized the plaintiff's cause of action as follows:
August 21, 2025 at 8:13 PM
The court summarized the plaintiff's cause of action as follows:
Musk’s attorneys attempted to argue that the use of pre-selected winners was actually consistent with Musk’s pledge of a “random” giveaway. The court found this argument “wholly unpersuasive.”
![Defendants argue that Plaintiff has not properly alleged three of those elements. They first contend that Plaintiff has not pled a plausible false representation because, in Defendants’ view, the PAC’s decision to “pre-determine” recipients is consistent with the notion that the recipients were selected “randomly.” (Mot., Dkt. 5, at 16–17). Defendants’ argument on this ground is wholly unpersuasive. As Defendants themselves point out, a common definition for “randomly” is “lacking a definite plan, purpose, or pattern.” (Id. at 16 (citing Random Definition, Merriam-Webster.com, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/randomly)). If Defendants pre-determined the $1 million recipients based on their personal stories rather than chance, as Plaintiff has alleged, then the recipients were obviously not chosen in a way that “lack[ed] a definite plan, purpose, or pattern.”](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:yj24lhakttv2r562euqdgp7u/bafkreiduqbs7ubhgm4gqqwcn5hu4mfwbb3vs3a2radgfgbrp7cjk46ttyi@jpeg)
August 21, 2025 at 8:13 PM
Musk’s attorneys attempted to argue that the use of pre-selected winners was actually consistent with Musk’s pledge of a “random” giveaway. The court found this argument “wholly unpersuasive.”
As the judge explained in yesterday’s order, the value of that data secured from one million signers of the petition amounts to at least $47 million.
![In this case, the Court need not rely on common sense to understand that Defendants found Plaintiff’s PII valuable because Defendants themselves created a market for Plaintiff’s PII. Aside from the $1 million award, the Petition encouraged those who signed the Petition to refer others to sign it and offered $47 “for each registered voter referred who signed the [P]etition.” (Compl., Dkt. 1, ¶ 10). This offer suggests that Defendants themselves believed that every eligible voter’s PII was worth at least $47 because that was the amount Defendants were willing to pay to obtain it. It is disingenuous for Defendants to argue that Plaintiff’s PII has no value when Defendants went through so much effort—two monetary programs, multiple town halls, several social media posts—to acquire it. Plaintiff has sufficiently alleged that Defendants valued the PII and that she lost that value by giving Defendants her PII without getting what she bargained for in return—a random chance to win $1 million.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:yj24lhakttv2r562euqdgp7u/bafkreif6tmnhf2flqbtinvxuvb6bgzy3qoshgowisp7ubp2kmbzypwp2h4@jpeg)
August 21, 2025 at 8:13 PM
As the judge explained in yesterday’s order, the value of that data secured from one million signers of the petition amounts to at least $47 million.
Musk and AmericaPAC used this false promise to harvest the contact information of a million swing state voters weeks before an election. That kind of data has value, and it was secured through fraud.
August 21, 2025 at 8:13 PM
Musk and AmericaPAC used this false promise to harvest the contact information of a million swing state voters weeks before an election. That kind of data has value, and it was secured through fraud.
These cases were brought because Musk, through AmericaPAC, made false promises of a random daily giveaway of $1 million to any swing-state voter who signed his petition. But in reality, the winners were pre-selected. It was a scam.
August 21, 2025 at 8:13 PM
These cases were brought because Musk, through AmericaPAC, made false promises of a random daily giveaway of $1 million to any swing-state voter who signed his petition. But in reality, the winners were pre-selected. It was a scam.
The world has been pretty dark but I just wanted you to know that every now and then the dark news will be interrupted by a picture of your lads in their little outfits or whatever and it honestly does make it a little better.
August 20, 2025 at 11:45 PM
The world has been pretty dark but I just wanted you to know that every now and then the dark news will be interrupted by a picture of your lads in their little outfits or whatever and it honestly does make it a little better.
I’m seeing so much conflicting info on this. I’ve seen posts saying the hoax profile stole its profile pic from some nice lady named Hope who has uploaded videos of her in tears saying it’s her pic but not her account. Picking apart disinformation is growing exponentially harder.
July 9, 2025 at 12:46 AM
I’m seeing so much conflicting info on this. I’ve seen posts saying the hoax profile stole its profile pic from some nice lady named Hope who has uploaded videos of her in tears saying it’s her pic but not her account. Picking apart disinformation is growing exponentially harder.
You seem to be a highly unpleasant individual so I’m going to stop talking to you now.
July 8, 2025 at 9:16 PM
You seem to be a highly unpleasant individual so I’m going to stop talking to you now.
You might not want to come in my replies and call my followers stupid when you weren’t even capable of reading my tweets and screenshots which make quite clear that Cindy Steinberg did not say any of the things being claimed. It was a Nazi hoax. And you fell for it. And then you didn’t even read.
July 8, 2025 at 9:11 PM
You might not want to come in my replies and call my followers stupid when you weren’t even capable of reading my tweets and screenshots which make quite clear that Cindy Steinberg did not say any of the things being claimed. It was a Nazi hoax. And you fell for it. And then you didn’t even read.
Grok now advocating for Adolf Hitler to “deal with” Cindy Steinberg, who by the way is innocent of anything. This is real. It was posted about 30 minutes ago.
July 8, 2025 at 8:51 PM
Grok now advocating for Adolf Hitler to “deal with” Cindy Steinberg, who by the way is innocent of anything. This is real. It was posted about 30 minutes ago.
I am a lawyer and you are absolutely correct.
June 26, 2025 at 5:29 PM
I am a lawyer and you are absolutely correct.
Reposted by Mark Bankston
