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WASHINGTON, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Mike Lindell, a prominent ally of former President Donald Trump, must face a $1.3 billion lawsuit by Dominion Voting Systems Inc accusing him of defamation for pushing false claims that its voting machines rigged the 2020 presidential election, with the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday turning away his appeal.
The justices rejected a bid by Lindell and his company My Pillow Inc to immediately appeal a federal judge's refusal to toss the lawsuit. A lower court also snubbed his effort to quickly review the case, allowing the litigation to proceed.
Denver-based Dominion's lawsuit against Lindell is one of a number that the company and a competitor, Smartmatic USA Inc, have filed against Trump allies and conservative media outlets over false claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from Trump through widespread voting fraud.
U.S. Judge Carl Nichols in August 2021 rejected Lindell's request to dismiss the case, finding that Dominion "adequately alleged that Lindell made his claims knowing that they were false or with reckless disregard for the truth."
Nichols added, "As a preliminary matter, a reasonable juror could conclude that the existence of a vast international conspiracy that is ignored by the government but proven by a spreadsheet on an internet blog is so inherently improbable that only a reckless man would believe it."
The justices rejected a bid by Lindell and his company My Pillow Inc to immediately appeal a federal judge's refusal to toss the lawsuit. A lower court also snubbed his effort to quickly review the case, allowing the litigation to proceed.
Denver-based Dominion's lawsuit against Lindell is one of a number that the company and a competitor, Smartmatic USA Inc, have filed against Trump allies and conservative media outlets over false claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from Trump through widespread voting fraud.
U.S. Judge Carl Nichols in August 2021 rejected Lindell's request to dismiss the case, finding that Dominion "adequately alleged that Lindell made his claims knowing that they were false or with reckless disregard for the truth."
Nichols added, "As a preliminary matter, a reasonable juror could conclude that the existence of a vast international conspiracy that is ignored by the government but proven by a spreadsheet on an internet blog is so inherently improbable that only a reckless man would believe it."
U.S. Supreme Court rejects Trump ally Lindell's defamation case appeal
Mike Lindell, a prominent ally of former President Donald Trump, must face a $1.3 billion lawsuit by Dominion Voting Systems Inc accusing him of defamation for pushing false claims that its voting machines rigged the 2020 presidential election, with the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday turning away...
www.reuters.com