Mike Lindell Cites Declassified CIA Report, Asks Judge To Reconsider Smartmatic Defamation Ruling

Mike Lindell, the MyPillow founder and Republican candidate for governor in Minnesota, asked a federal judge on Monday to reconsider a prior finding that he defamed voting-technology company Smartmatic. In a letter to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Bryan, Lindell says a declassified CIA report released by the White House on July 16 constitutes 'newly discovered evidence' that could create material fact disputes in the case.

Nearly one year earlier Judge Bryan granted partial summary judgment in favor of Smartmatic, concluding that 'no reasonable juror could conclude that any' of the 51 statements alleged to be defamatory 'was true.' The judge said Lindell's central claim — that Smartmatic machines helped steal the 2020 presidential election from Donald Trump — could not stand 'as a matter of law' based on the evidence in the record.

Judge Bryan noted that Smartmatic 'has never stolen any election' abroad and that its 'technology has never been used to manipulate ballots.' He also observed that Smartmatic had only one U.S. customer, Los Angeles County, where Joe Biden received 71.04% of the vote.

In his new filing, Lindell acknowledges the CIA report does not support his most sweeping allegation. He cites the report's language that 'neither Smartmatic nor the Venezuelan Government had the capability ... to manipulate the outcome of an election outside of Venezuela in a predictable fashion,' and that Smartmatic left only a 'small footprint in the domestic election picture' in 2020.

Nonetheless, Lindell argues the CIA analysis describes techniques that could be used to hide election manipulations and that those descriptions, combined with existing evidence, establish genuine issues of material fact about the vulnerability of voting technology. He asks the court for the opportunity to introduce the declassified report as evidence so jurors can consider it alongside other materials.

Lindell recently stepped down as MyPillow CEO while running for governor and has previously maintained that his company employees were not involved in his public efforts to challenge election technology. The litigation over his statements about Smartmatic remains ongoing.

Original reporting: Law & Crime.