PHOTO: Security fencing is assembled around Lafayette Square as construction for the presidential inauguration parade takes place near the White House in Washington, Nov. 3, 2024. (Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images)
D.C. police will have increased patrols in key areas downtown and around the White House, Police Chief Pam Smith told reporters Monday.
“[The] proactive presence is a preventive measure, and while there is no credible threat to the District of Columbia, we want residents and visitors alike to feel sure that MPD is here prepared and dedicated to keep communities safe across all seven districts.,” Smith said.
PHOTO: Workers erect anti-scale fencing and other security measures around Howard University, Nov. 3, 2024, in Washington. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
The mayor said before Jan. 6 and the inauguration she expects to make a National Guard request for additional assistance, but no request will be made for election week.
-ABC News’ Beatrice Peterson
Nov 4, 4:17 PMJudge’s decision coming ‘shortly’ on Elon Musk giveaway case
Philadelphia Judge Angelo Foglietta said he plans to issue a decision “shortly” after a nearly six-hour hearing over Elon Musk’s America PAC’s million-dollar giveaway, as Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner is seeking an emergency injunction to stop the sweepstakes.
During closing arguments, a lawyer for Krasner called Musk’s giveaway “one of the great scams of the last 50 years” by deceiving more than a million swing state voters to sign a petition in the hopes of winning a million dollars.
“There is nothing random about that process,” the lawyer, John Summers, said. “This was a profound, devastating and widespread deception.”
Summers argued that Musk attempted to “influence the election” by encouraging hundreds of thousands of voters to sign a petition while preselecting the winners based on their “suitability” to serve as spokespeople for the political action committee. Summers argued that even if the lottery was not random, it’s still illegal under Pennsylvania law.
“They essentially advertised this as a lottery. It’s not a defense that what we said it was isn’t true,” Summers said.
Andy Taylor, a lawyer for Musk’s America PAC, argued that the DA’s case falls apart after today’s revelation that the alleged lottery awarded preselected winners.
“It’s an opportunity to earn. It’s not a chance to win,” Taylor said, emphasizing the winners’ roles as spokespeople for the PAC.
Taylor emphasized that the case centers on a petition in support of the First and Second amendments, arguing that shutting down the giveaway would infringe on free speech.
“You are going to smother in the crib the rights of millions of Pennsylvanians from exercising constitutional magnitude free speech,” Taylor said.
Speaking outside court, Krasner’s attorney declined to comment on the specifics of the case, simply acknowledging, “It’s in the hands of the judge.”
-ABC News’ Peter Charalambous
Nov 4, 3:29 PMCISA continues to see threats toward election officials
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency continues to see threats towards election officials a day before Election Day, according to a top official for CISA, the cyber arm of the Department of Homeland Security.
In a call to reporters Monday, Cait Conley, who is in charge of CISA’s election security portfolio, called these threats “fundamentally un-American.”
PHOTO: A voter drops off ballots at an official ballot drop box on the final day of early voting ahead of Election Day at City Hall, Nov. 4, 2024, in San Francisco, Calif. (Loren Elliott/Getty Images)
CISA Director Jen Easterly said most local elections officials are in touch with law enforcement.
“We’ve not seen specific reporting about violence at polling places, so I certainly don’t want voters to feel at all intimidated about going to voting locations,” Easterly said, saying it should “really be a day of celebration.”
Easterly said they “expect” disruptions throughout Election Day, and they are prepared for it. Foreign adversaries — particularly Russia, China and Iran — are looking to “undermine American confidence and the legitimacy of our elections and to stoke partisan discord,” she said.
-ABC News’ Luke Barr
Nov 4, 3:29 PMTrump campaign looks to Vance to help them over the finish line in Pennsylvania
From the moment he arrived in Milwaukee, after being named former President Donald Trump’s running mate, it was clear that one of Sen. JD Vance’s primary roles was to help deliver battleground Pennsylvania for the former president.
The day Vance was announced as Trump’s vice presidential pick in July, Trump told ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent Jon Karl that he was “going to leave [Vance] in Pennsylvania.”
Pennsylvania’s importance in this election can’t be overstated — it’s a crucial swing state with 19 coveted electoral votes where Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are neck and neck. Whoever wins the state is very likely win the presidential election. During the 2020 election, Pennsylvania was the state that sealed the presidency for President Joe Biden.
Click here to read more about Vance’s efforts in Pennsylvania.
-ABC News’ Hannah Demissie
Nov 4, 3:23 PMMusk’s sweepstakes winners were vetted, signed NDAs: Political adviser
Before announcing the winners of Elon Musk’s $1 million giveaway, America PAC employees conducted background checks on them, vetted their social media and had them sign non-disclosure agreements, Elon Musk’s political adviser Chris Young testified during an ongoing hearing in Philadelphia on Monday.
The inside look at how winners were selected is at odds with how Musk himself described the “random” selection process.
“Were you surprised that he used the word ‘randomly’?” Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner’s attorney, John Summers, asked.
“That’s not the word I would have selected,” Young said.
Young testified that he reviewed candidates based on the location of Musk’s next rally before vetting the people who signed America PAC’s petition in support of the First and Second amendments.
PHOTO: Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk gestures as he steps on stage during a rally for former President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at Madison Square Garden in New York City, Oct. 27, 2024. (Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images)
“I essentially used the petition like a job application,” Young said, with America PAC considering the number of eligible voters that the candidate referred to the petition, their personality and social media history.
According to Young, Musk was notified when a candidate was selected. Young also said that winners signed non-disclosure agreements preventing them from talking publicly about their “consulting agreements.”
While the testimony contradicts Musk’s public statements, Young insisted that the winners “earned” their money by doing work on behalf of the PAC, seemingly supporting the defense argument that the giveaway is not an illegal lottery.
“Anyone who participated in the program knew what they were entitled to for their participation in the program,” Young said.
Closing arguments in the hearing will happen after a brief break.
-ABC News’ Peter Charalambous
Nov 4, 3:21 PM’Candidates don’t get to decide who wins elections’: Michigan secretary of state
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson was asked during a press briefing Monday about the possibility that Trump could declare victory tomorrow before all the votes are actually counted.
“Candidates don’t get to decide who wins elections, voters do,” Benson responded. “And so we will keep reminding folks of that truth. Candidates certainly can say and will say whatever they want to say, it doesn’t change the facts. It doesn’t change the tallies of the votes that are cast on paper ballots that will be audited after the fact and securely tabulated throughout the election to ensure the accuracy of the results, whatever those results may be.”
PHOTO: Jocelyn Benson (Ed White/AP)
Benson added that they “hope and expect and ask all the candidates to respect the will of the people and respect those results, and to not claim something is true when it’s not.”
In 2020, Trump claimed to have won the election only hours after polls closed on Nov. 3, 2020, before final results were in.
Benson said she and her staff will be debunking false statements and conspiracy theories as they arise, but that “truth and transparency are on our side.”
“We’ve seen how completely innocent things can be misused to spread false aspersions about our election, so let’s all be vigilant,” she said.
She also urged the public to question what they see on social media.
“Don’t assume anything that you’re seeing from a source other than a trusted voice or an election official has truth until you cross-check it with other sources of information,” she said.
-ABC News’ Mike Levine
Nov 4, 3:09 PMTrump expected to host dinners at Mar-a-Lago on election night with club members, donors and close friends
Former President Donald Trump is scheduled to host multiple dinners on election night at his Mar-a-Lago club — including with his close friends, donors and club members, multiple sources familiar with the dinners told ABC News.
PHOTO: Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at J.S. Dorton Arena, Nov. 4, 2024, in Raleigh, N.C. (Evan Vucci/AP)
Trump is expected to dine with an intimate group of close friends Tuesday night, and there will be a separate Mar-a-Lago club member dinner in the ballroom. A source familiar with the dinners said there won’t be any formal speeches but Trump will likely stop by to greet them all.
Earlier that day, Trump is expected to cast his vote in Palm Beach, Florida.
Several of the attendees of the dinners told ABC News that they’re planning on heading over to the Palm Beach Convention Center after the dinner.
-ABC News’ Soo Rin Kim, Lalee Ibssa and Kelsey Walsh
Nov 4, 2:42 PMHarris emphasizes unity while addressing canvassers in Pennsylvania
Harris addressed canvassers in Scranton, Pennsylvania, ahead of a rally later this afternoon in the battleground state, where she emphasized building community and unity.
“I can feel the mood in here because it’s the best of who we are as a democracy,” Harris said at the event at the Montage Mountain Resort. “We are a people-driven campaign, and we love the people, and we see in the face of a stranger a neighbor, right? And that’s the spirit of what we are doing.”
PHOTO: Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign event at Montage Mountain Resort in Scranton, Pa., Nov. 4, 2024. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)
She said the “whole era of this other guy” and discussion about “trying to point fingers at each other and divide each other” makes people feel alone.
“As we are getting out to vote, as we are canvassing, let’s be intentional about building community, about building community, about building coalitions, about reminding people we all have so much more in common than what separates us,” she said.
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Publish date : 2024-11-04 05:45:00
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