AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File
A federal judge on Friday handed Smartmatic a major victory in its defamation case against Mike Lindell, the CEO of MyPillow, ruling that none of the conspiracy claims Lindell made about the company’s voting technology were true.
In an order, U.S. District Judge Jeffrey M. Bryan wrote that “no reasonable trier of fact could find that any of the statements at issue are true” and that “because no reasonable jury could find that the statements at issue are true, the Court concludes that the statements are false and defamatory as a matter of law.”
The ruling grants Smartmatic partial summary judgment on the issue of falsity, leaving only two questions for a jury to decide: whether Lindell acted with “actual malice” and how much the company can recover in damages. Smartmatic is seeking damages in the nine figures.
The case, filed in 2021, stems from Lindell’s repeated claims that Smartmatic was part of a plot to steal the 2020 election from President Donald Trump. The MyPillow CEO alleged without evidence that Smartmatic’s machines were connected to the internet, hacked by foreign actors, and programmed to flip votes to former President Joe Biden. But audits, state and federal reviews, and independent testing all confirmed the security and integrity of Smartmatic’s systems.
Erik Connolly, legal counsel for Smartmatic, celebrated the decision in a statement to Mediaite:
“We are pleased with the Court’s decision to hold Mike Lindell and MyPillow responsible for spreading lies about Smartmatic and grateful they will be barred from lying further. As the Court recognized, Smartmatic did not and could not have rigged the 2020 election. It was impossible, and everything that Mr. Lindell said about Smartmatic was false. With this victory in hand, we are eager to put on the rest of our case so we can recover nine-figure damages from Mr. Lindell and MyPillow. This is another step in Smartmatic’s efforts to hold individuals and organizations responsible for lying. Lying has consequences.”
The order marks the latest blow for Lindell, who has already been sanctioned over what the judge described as a “frivolous” countersuit against Smartmatic. In April, Lindell grew emotional in a hearing when he told the court he could not afford to pay the $56,369 owed to cover Smartmatic’s legal fees.
Friday’s ruling means the trial will focus solely on whether Lindell knowingly lied and how much it will cost him.
The post Trump Pal Mike Lindell Walloped In Court — Judge Ruled Claims Were ‘False And Defamatory’ first appeared on Mediaite.
