What's New
Trump-supporting pillow tycoon Mike Lindell is hiding his financial records behind an online password, a lawyer said.
In a court filing on December 18, the attorney, Cary Joshi, sought a court order compelling Lindell to hand over the records in five days. Joshi is the legal representative of a computer analyst who successfully sued Lindell for $5 million.
Why It Matters
The case casts further light on false claims by supporters of President-elect Donald Trump that the 2020 election was rigged for President Joe Biden.
Lindell, a Republican, made his fortune as founder and CEO of MyPillow, but his empire has been in financial trouble as he deals with a series of lawsuits stemming from his claims about the 2020 election.
The current lawsuit stems from Lindell's public promise to pay anyone $5 million to disprove his claim that the 2020 presidential election was rigged in Biden's favor, based on Lindell's claim of Chinese government interference.
Computer forensics expert Robert Ziedman proved that Lindell's data was erroneous and successfully sued for $5 million.
Ziedman and his lawyers are seeking financial records from Lindell and his company, Lindell Management LLC, so they can collect the money.
What To Know
Joshi has spent months trying to get access to Lindell's financial records.
She notified Minnesota Judge Dulce Foster on August 26 that Lindell had complied with orders to hand over financial documents, but that Joshi couldn't read the digital records because of their electronic formatting.
"Lindell Management LLC has also produced documents in electronic format that we have not yet been able to review," Joshi's letter to the judge said. "I have been in touch with counsel for Lindell Management and we have agreed to continue to work through any technical or substantive issues related to the responses and productions."
Joshi discovered that the electronic documents Lindell provided could only be read by someone using QuickBooks accounting software.
"To expedite access to QuickBooks native files produced by Lindell, I purchased a trial version of QuickBooks," Joshi explained in the latest filing.
Once she downloaded the software, she discovered it was "not possible to review the files because they were password protected and it appears that only Lindell Management LLC has the password."
She then emailed Lindell's lawyer "regarding our inability to access the native QuickBooks files" but has not received a reply and Lindell's lawyer "has not responded to requests to meet and confer since September 30, 2024."
Newsweek sought email comment from Lindell's attorney on Thursday.
What People Are Saying
Lindell told War Room podcast host Steve Bannon after a court in February ordered Lindell to hand over the $5 million that he will appeal and that Zeidman won't "see a dime."
Lindell told NBC News after the ruling: "I don't have any money. I have a pickup truck and a house that I live in. That's it."
What Happens Next
Joshi has asked Foster to issue a court order demanding that Lindell hand over the financial documents in five working days.
If granted, Lindell will be compelled to submit the financial records or face contempt of court. The court previously made a similar threat and Lindell handed over the financial records that were later discovered to be password protected.
English (US) ·