The attorneys representing Lindell and his company MyPillow in the defamation lawsuits filed by Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic have moved to withdraw from both cases following allegations that conspiracy theorist Mike Lindell built up millions in unpaid legal bills.
Parker Daniels Kibort, a law company with offices in Minnesota, said in court documents that Lindell and MyPillow failed to pay the firm for its work on the case and would not be able to do so in the future.
“On October 2, 2023, [the law firm] was informed by Defendants that they are not able to get caught up with or make any payment on the large amount they owe in arrears nor pay for anywhere near the estimated expense of continuing to defend against the lawsuits going forward, including either the legal fees or litigation costs,” the filing stated.
In an interview with CNN on Thursday, Lindell revealed that he hasn’t paid his lawyers in two or three months and that he’s uncertain of his next legal counsel.
Although Lindell was being sued for defamation by Dominion and Smartmatic, another electoral technology business, he was emphatic that he would not agree to a settlement with either of them.
Dominion, an election technology provider, sued MyPillow and Lindell in 2021 for $1.3 billion over his repeated claims that Dominion had rigged its machines to give Joe Biden a victory over Donald Trump. Dominion has been the target of discredited right-wing conspiracy theories about voting fraud in the 2020 election.
Similar to Smartmatic, Lindell was sued for defamation on the grounds that he misrepresented the firm’s involvement in the 2020 election in order to benefit himself financially.
MyPillow, a frequent advertiser on the right-wing cable network Fox News, which also supported fake election conspiracy theories, started experiencing financial difficulties after Dominion’s lawsuit, Lindell told CNN. As a result, MyPillow is currently unable to cover their legal expenses.
Lindell and MyPillow, who were informed of their attorneys’ intention to withdraw on Thursday, stated they would not object to the action and “understand the need to withdraw due to the lack of funds,” according to the court document.
Before officially terminating their representation of Lindell and MyPillow, the attorneys must obtain the court’s approval of their request to withdraw.
The court document reveals that Dominion’s legal representatives had no stance on the motion at the time it was submitted. A CNN request for comment was not immediately answered by Dominion or Smartmatic.
Lindell blamed his financial difficulties on “attacks on MyPillow” that had been “devastating” to the company’s credit in a statement made on Steve Bannon’s “War Room” program on Thursday.
“I — can’t pay the lawyers. We can’t pay. There’s no money left to pay them,” he said. “I don’t know where that leaves us.”
