Law professor questions if Constitution should be amended to silence ‘ultra-wealthy’ like Elon Musk

(Daily Caller News Foundation) – University of California at Los Angeles law professor Rick Hasen questioned if a constitutional amendment was needed to address campaign involvement by “ultra-wealthy” people like Tesla CEO Elon Musk Monday.

Musk funds America PAC, a super-PAC that is seeking to boost former President Donald Trump in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada, and  announced Saturday he would give $1 million each day to a random signatory to a petition on the PAC’s website. Hasen said that Musk’s expenditures couldn’t be restricted due to Supreme Court rulings.

“To be clear, under current law, it’s unconstitutional, thanks to the Supreme Court, to limit spending in elections. Supreme Court decided that in 1976. They reaffirmed that in the Citizens United case in 2010,” Hasen told MSNBC host Chris Jansing. “You know, Congress tried to pass laws eliminating spending by the ultra rich in elections, and the Supreme Court said that that’s a violation of the First Amendment. So, all the other things that Musk is doing, his work with X, his giving the money to the Super PAC, those are all considered legal under current system. And then the question is, you know, do we want to think about amending the Constitution to change the role of the ultra-wealthy?”

Many on the left have called for amending the constitution to overturn the Supreme Court’s January 2010 decision in Citizens United v. FEC.

Hasen claimed, that despite the inability to restrict spending, that Musk’s giveaway could result in his prosecution.

“But that’s really very different than what Musk is doing with this lottery, which seems to be a clear violation of federal law,” Hasen told Jansing.

Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania said during a Sunday interview that Musk should face a criminal probe over the giveaway.