Mike Lindell gives a thumbs up as he passes by a rally for supporters of former President Donald Trump, Tuesday, April 4, 2023, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee).
Two weeks after granting Smartmatic's motion to hold MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell in civil contempt for his refusal to pay sanctions, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., has mostly unsealed his reasoning.
U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, a Donald Trump appointee, explained why he gave the voting machine company just about everything it asked for, including a "daily penalty" of $500 until the 2020 election conspiracy theorist pays the $56,369 in full and in a "lump sum." That penalty was set to kick in Wednesday if Lindell's "noncompliance" continued as his "history" of it suggested it would, the order — issued on March 24 but filed to the public docket on Tuesday — detailed.
Nichols referred to the fact that he ordered Lindell to pay in January 2025, more than a year ago and counting, but rather than using his $14.8 million in assets to pay as ordered, he claimed to have a "negative $18.7 million" net worth and spent $187,037.87 in Minnesota gubernatorial campaign funds to buy copies of his own book "What Are the Odds? From Crack Addict to CEO" from his own company MyPillow Inc. — just to give the books away.
"That Lindell prioritized spending in other legal proceedings over this case—despite those proceedings taking place after the Court ordered him to pay Smartmatic for filing frivolous counterclaims against it—does not excuse his failure to pay here," the judge said, tacking on a footnote that slammed Lindell's failure to explain why the "sanction should be treated as inferior to all his other outstanding liabilities."
"Because the record suggests that Lindell had sufficient funds to pay the sanction after it was issued and continues to bring in money from various sources, he has not met his burden 'to produce evidence justifying his noncompliance,'" Nichols went on, crediting Smartmatic for "easily" coming up with "clear and convincing evidence" that Lindell violated a court order.
As evidence that Lindell knew he had to follow the order, Nichols cited the pillow mogul's own words when he represented, "If I had the ability to pay, I would do so immediately."
"Although Lindell provides documents purporting to prove that he currently has a negative net worth and that My Pillow is losing money, those documents are insufficient to establish that he 'lacked the financial ability to comply' in light of contrary evidence in the record," the judge summed up. "Several pieces of unrebutted evidence illustrate that Lindell has paid for legal services in other proceedings since the Court entered the sanction order against him."
Smartmatic long argued that Lindell had the funds to pay but he simply chose not to out of "disregard for this Court's orders, rather than genuine financial hardship," and Nichols agreed.
Read the order in full here.
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