Jury finds MyPillow founder defamed former employee for a leading voting equipment company
DENVER (AP) — A federal jury in Colorado on Monday found that one of the nation's most prominent election conspiracy theorists, MyPillow founder Mike Lindell, defamed a former employee for a leading voting equipment company after the 2020 presidential election.
The employee, Eric Coomer, was awarded $2.3 million in damages. He had sued after Lindell called him a traitor and accusations about him stealing the election were streamed on Lindell's online media platform.
Coomer was the security and product strategy director at Denver-based Dominion Voting Systems, whose voting machines became the target of elaborate conspiracy theories among allies of President Donald Trump, who continues to falsely claim that his loss to Democrat Joe Biden in 2020 was due to widespread fraud.
Dominion won a $787 million settlement in a defamation lawsuit it filed against Fox News over its airing of false claims against the company and has another lawsuit against the conservative network Newsmax.
Newsmax apologized to Coomer in 2021 for airing false allegations against him.
Coomer said during the two-week Lindell trial that his career and life were destroyed by the statements. His lawyers said Lindell either knew the statements were lies, or conveyed them recklessly without knowing if they were true.
Lindell's lawyers denied the claims and said his online platform, formerly known as Frankspeech, is not liable for statements made by others.
Lindell said he went to trial to draw attention to the need to get rid of electronic voting machines that have been targeted in a web of conspiracy theories. He said he used to be worth about $60 million before he started speaking out about the 2020 election and is now $10 million in debt.
Reviews, recounts and audits in the battleground states where Trump contested his loss in 2020 all affirmed Democrat Joe Biden's victory. Trump's attorney general at the time said there was no evidence of widespread fraud, and Trump and his allies lost dozens of court cases seeking to overturn the result.
Lindell stuck by his false claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen during the trial, but did not call any experts to present evidence of his claims.
Lindell said his beliefs that the 2020 election was tainted by fraud were influenced by watching the 2020 HBO documentary 'Kill Chain' and by the views of Trump's former national security adviser, Michael Flynn. In an interview for a documentary Lindell made in 2021, Flynn said foreign interference was going to happen in U.S. elections, and Lindell said he had no reason to doubt the claim since Flynn had worked for both political parties in intelligence.
Lindell distanced himself from an account by a Colorado podcaster who claimed to have heard a conference call from the anti-fascist group Antifa before the 2020 election. The podcast claimed that on the call someone named Eric from Dominion said he would make sure that Trump would not win, a story that was recounted on Frankspeech during a 2021 event. Lindell said he only learned about that during the trial.
Lindell said he never accused Coomer of rigging the election, but he did say he was upset because he said Newsmax blocked him from being able to go on air to talk about voting machines after it apologized to Coomer. Coomer denied there was any such deal to block Lindell under his agreement with the network.
Coomer's lawyers tried to show how their client's life was devastated by the conspiracy theories spreading about him. Lindell was comparatively late to seize on Coomer, not mentioning him until February 2021, well after his name had been circulated by other Trump partisans.
Coomer said the conspiracy theories cost him his job, his mental health and the life he'd built and said Lindell's statements were the most distressing of all. He specifically pointed to a statement on May 9, 2021, when Lindell described what he believed Coomer had done as 'treason.'
Lindell's attorneys argued that Coomer's reputation was already in tatters by the time Lindell mentioned him. They said that was partly because of Coomer's own Facebook posts disparaging Trump, which the former Dominion employee acknowledged were 'hyperbolic' and had been a mistake.
Lindell denied making any statements he knew to be false about Coomer and testified that he has called many people traitors. His lawyers argued the statements were about a matter of public concern — elections — and therefore protected by the First Amendment.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Axios
an hour ago
- Axios
Trump team proposes Iran talks this week on nuclear deal, ceasefire
The White House is discussing with Iran the possibility of a meeting this week between U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, according to four sources briefed on the issue. The objective would be to discuss a diplomatic initiative involving a nuclear deal and an end to the war between Israel and Iran. Why it matters: The meeting hasn't been finalized yet, but it is part of a last-ditch effort by President Trump to swerve away from war and back toward dealmaking. "A meeting with the Iranians this week is under consideration," a U.S. official confirmed. The meeting could be a make-or-break moment for the question of whether the U.S. will join the war in order to eliminate Iran's nuclear program militarily. Zoom in: Trump sees the massive bunker busters needed to destroy Iran's underground enrichment facility at Fordow — which the U.S. has and Israel does not — as a key point of leverage to get Iran to cut a deal, a senior U.S. official said. Describing the decision on bunker busters as an "inflection point," the official said Trump "thinks in terms of deals and leverage. And this is leverage." "They do want to talk," the senior official continued. "But what we don't know is, 'have they been brought to their knees fully so that they realize that in order to have a country, they have to talk?' And assuming they get there, is there any degree of enrichment you would allow them to have?" State of play: Trump has so far declined to directly participate in Israel's attacks on Iran, but he has made clear that Iran must be prevented from obtaining a nuclear weapon one way or another. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is pushing him to join the war and bomb Fordow. Trump has continued to insist he believes he can make a deal, particularly given Iran's weak negotiating position. Driving the news: Trump shocked the Middle East with a Truth Social post on Monday night in which he called on Iranian civilians to evacuate Tehran immediately. Shortly thereafter, Trump dcut short his trip to the G7 summit in Canada to return to Washington and focus on the war. These two moves, together with reports of explosions in Tehran, led to reports in the Israelis press and on social media that the U.S. had joined the war. White House spokesperson Alex Pfeiffer denied the reports. "American forces are maintaining their defensive posture, and that has not changed. We will defend American interests," he wrote on X. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reiterated that message in an interview on Fox News and stressed Trump is still seeking a deal. "President Trump hopes there will be peace," he said. Behind the scenes: The Trump administration discussed the meeting proposal with Iran on Monday, the sources said. "We are talking on the phone but it is better to talk in person," Trump said at the G7. Trump expressed hope that Iran would agree to make a deal. "I think a deal will be signed. I think Iran is foolish not to sign one," he said. During the summit, Trump discussed with other leaders the need for a ceasefire between Iran and Israel, French President Macron told reporters. "The Americans have made an offer to meet with the Iranians. We will see what happens," he said.
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Terry Moran defends 'accurate' post about Stephen Miller, Trump after ABC ouster
Terry Moran defends 'accurate' post about Stephen Miller, Trump after ABC ouster Show Caption Hide Caption ABC News ousts reporter who called Trump a 'world class hater' ABC News has ended its relationship with longtime reporter Terry Moran after a post on social media drew internal backlash. Straight Arrow News Terry Moran is speaking out about his exit from ABC News – and defending the comments that led to his ouster. After ABC cut ties with Moran over a social media post about President Donald Trump and White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, the journalist doubled down on his comments in an interview on Substack. During a conversation with The Bulwark writer Tim Miller, Moran, a former senior national correspondent for ABC News, said of his post, "I wrote it because I thought it was true." In his original X post on June 8, Moran described Stephen Miller as "a man who is richly endowed with the capacity for hatred" and said that his "hatreds are his spiritual nourishment." The post also said that Trump, whom Moran interviewed earlier this year, is a "world-class hater" whose hatred is "a means to an end, and that end his his (sic) own glorification." The post drew heavy criticism from the White House and led ABC to suspend Moran. An ABC News spokesperson said in a statement to USA TODAY on June 8, "ABC News stands for objectivity and impartiality in its news coverage and does not condone subjective personal attacks on others. The post does not reflect the views of ABC News and violated our standards − as a result, Terry Moran has been suspended pending further evaluation." ABC subsequently said it would not renew its agreement with Moran based on his post, which was a "clear violation of ABC News policies." In his Substack conservation, Moran said he used "very strong language deliberately" and accused Miller of "spitting venom and lies," adding that it's "very disturbing to me" that he has been "degrading our public discourse" and using his power "to grind us down in that bile." Moran, who joined ABC News in 1997, also argued that as a journalist, "Your job is not to be objective." Instead, "What you have to be is fair and accurate," he said, and he argued that his controversial post was "accurate and true." ABC News cuts ties with Terry Moran over Stephen Miller social media post Moran also clarified that his post "wasn't a drunk tweet," despite being shared after midnight. He said he had been "thinking about the country" throughout that day and decided to make his post after getting into bed that evening. "I typed it out and I looked at it, and I thought, 'That's true,'" Moran recalled. "And I hit send." Fired ABC anchor Terry Moran, axed for slamming Trump, reveals next move Moran, who said he is "not that liberal" and is a "Hubert Humphrey Democrat," argued that to describe Miller "accurately," he "needed" to use the language he used. He said that it's his "observation, which is what reporters do," that Miller is "a danger." Moran announced he would launch his own Substack shortly after his exit from ABC. In a video shared on June 11, he said he "can't wait to get at it" and do "the important work that we all have to do in this time of such trouble for our country."
CNN
an hour ago
- CNN
Trump to MAGA critics: I decide what ‘America First' means
Facing backlash from Steve Bannon and Tucker Carlson among others for his foreign policy decisions amidst the backdrop of the conflict between Israel and Iran, Trump says he came up with the term "America First" and that he decides what that means.
