‘Characterization is false’: Mike Lindell found in contempt for repeat discovery violations in Smartmatic defamation case, judge orders MyPillow CEO to pay attorneys fees

Mike Lindell listens during an interview from the podium in the press briefing room of the White House, Friday, Feb. 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Mike Lindell listens during an interview from the podium in the press briefing room of the White House, Friday, Feb. 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

A federal court in Minnesota on Thursday found pillow magnate Mike Lindell in contempt for shirking discovery obligations in a years-old defamation lawsuit filed by voting software company Smartmatic.

In a 16-page order, U.S. District Judge Jeffrey M. Bryan, a Joe Biden appointee, directed Lindell and MyPillow to provide the plaintiffs with an extensive set of requested discovery on various topics. Additionally, the defendants were ordered to pay Smartmatic’s attorneys’ fees — an amount that will be decided at a later date.

The ruling catalogs a series of missed deadlines, falsities, mischaracterizations, and outright rejection of prior court orders.

“Smartmatic asks the Court to find Defendants in contempt,” the order reads. “[T]he Court concludes that Defendants disobeyed [two court orders]. Therefore, the Court grants Smartmatic’s motion and finds Defendants in contempt.”

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