A federal judge on Thursday slammed MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, saying he would sanction the pro-trump election denier for making baseless legal claims against the voting machine manufacturers Dominion and Smartmatic.
Judge Carl J. Nichols of the U.S. District Court for Washington, D.C. said the pillow salesman’s claims fall “on the frivolous side of the line” and will have to pay a portion of Smartmatic’s legal fees.
“Lindell’s Complaint points to no event, no conversation, no document — really, nothing at all — to suggest that Dominion, Smartmatic, or Hamilton Place reached any sort of ‘agreement,’” the judge wrote. “Nor does Lindell offer allegations from which an agreement could be inferred.”
“In particular, the Court concludes that at the very least Lindell’s claim against Smartmatic under the Support or Advocacy Clause falls on the frivolous side of the line (other claims do too),” Nichols wrote. “As a result, the Court orders Lindell and his previous counsel to pay some of the fees and costs Smartmatic has incurred defending itself and moving for sanctions under Rule 11.”
As noted by Talking Points Memo, Lindell was sued for defamation by the companies last year, alongside MyPillow, in a case that’s ongoing in federal court in Washington, D.C. for pushing the lie that Donald Trump actually won the last presidential election. Among other things, Lindell claimed the voting machines were “built to cheat.”
“But rather than backing off his lies about the last election, Lindell has continued to double down, including by financing various candidates and political efforts around the country invested in the same falsehoods,” TPM reported.
