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Gruenke, a Democrat, announced on Tuesday that he didn’t think he could convince a jury that Musk had made a bribe with the posts. “Either way the first post is perceived, in the end nobody was paid anything of value for voting or promising to vote,” Gruenke said in a statement announcing his decision. “Even if I could convince a jury that the original post was still a bribe, I do not believe that a jury would convict Elon Musk of a crime after considering the intent, the second post, and the fact nothing of value was ever given to anyone for voting for an incident occurring in March of 2025.” If you strip away the “famous name” and the large amount of money involved, “it is a simple case of a poorly worded statement that was corrected and brought into compliance with the law,” Gruenke said.
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