The Supreme Court rejects the appeal of Trump ally Mike Lindell

• MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell’s bid to fend off a defamation lawsuit was rejected by the Supreme Court.
• Dominion Voting Systems sued Lindell over his far-fetched claims about the 2020 presidential election.
• A federal judge’s ruling that allowed the lawsuit to move forward remains in place.

The Supreme Court denied MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell’s request to dismiss a defamation lawsuit filed by voting machine company Dominion Voting Systems against him for making speculative claims about the 2020 presidential election.

Because the justices declined to hear the case, a federal judge’s ruling in August 2021 that allowed the lawsuit to proceed remains in effect.

Lindell, a well-known TV salesman for the pillows made by his company, is a vocal supporter of former President Donald Trump.

Dominion filed a lawsuit against Lindell and MyPillow in February 2021, claiming $1.3 billion in damages and alleging that Lindell purposefully propagated the “big lie” that Trump won the 2020 election. Lindell repeated baseless claims that Dominion’s machines manipulated vote counts to ensure Joe Biden’s victory over Trump. The allegations have been widely refuted. Dominion claims in the lawsuit that Lindell knew his claims were false, while Lindell’s lawyers claim he genuinely believes them.

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Lindell’s lawyers wrote in court papers, “Lindell asserts today, as he did throughout the relevant period, that his statements regarding Dominion, its voting machines, and the integrity of the tabulation were, and continue to be, valid, accurate, and true.”

Lindell had attempted but failed to obtain U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols of Washington, D.C., to allow him to appeal two legal questions related to the landmark 1964 Supreme Court defamation ruling in New York Times v. Sullivan.

Which determined that a public figure must have “actual malice” to pursue a defamation claim. Lindell contends that Dominion is a public figure because it serves a government function in elections, and thus the “actual malice” standard applies.

His lawyers argue that there was no “actual malice” because Lindell genuinely believes in his claims, and thus the lawsuit should be dismissed.

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