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Day 6 of Coomer vs. Lindell was all Mike Lindell. The Pillow Man took the stand Monday morning, and his testimony will continue on Tuesday.
The winding and often contentious questioning by Eric Coomer’s attorneys largely sought to tie together Lindell’s election fraud claims, being broadcast on FrankSpeech, with MyPillow promo codes underwriting the effort. This is likely because Coomer seeks damages from Mike Lindell, FrankSpeech, and MyPillow – so he needs to prove that they are all liable.
Video clips from FrankSpeech, RSBN, and NewsMax were played for the jury on Monday, along with a full length segment from Anderson Cooper on CNN where a field reporter interviewed Lindell.
Coomer is attempting to prove that Lindell ignored evidence that disputed his claims and, before playing the video, Lindell admitted that he had watched the full clip when it aired. So, the video is relevant and admissible under the rules; still, this is the first piece of evidence presented that I personally would consider unduly prejudicial. It didn’t just highlight Lindell’s claims, it showed openly biased reporting (including misinformation like “safe and secure” and “debunked”) for what felt like several minutes.
For purposes of defamation law, a person becomes a public figure when they have involvement in public affairs that subjects them to increased public scrutiny. As the Vice President of Product Strategy and Security for a major US voting vendor, during an unprecedented election event – the 2020 presidential election in the middle of a (fabricated) pandemic – and with heavily biased public statements of his own, Eric Coomer was involved in public affairs in such a way that subjects him to increased scrutiny. A public figure in the context of this case.
The legal standard for defamation requires a plaintiff to prove that (1) a false statement of fact was published to a third party, (2) that it caused harm to their reputation, and (3) that the statement was made negligently or with actual malice (depending on whether the plaintiff is a public figure). Actual malice means that a defamatory statement was made with knowledge of its falsity or with reckless disregard for the truth. It’s clear from the testimony on Monday, that Lindell believes what he said; so Coomer’s angle is likely that Mike Lindell engaged in actual malice through a reckless disregard for the truth.
Indeed, Coomer’s team spent most of the day asking Lindell about all the ways he should have known his statements were false, ostensibly going for reckless disregard for the truth. The statements Lindell made about Coomer were mostly in response to Coomer suing MyPillow and, as we discussed in yesterday’s update, Lindell gets big mad when you come at the pillows.
Side Note: I wish the benches in the courtroom were lined with mattress toppers.
Late in the day, Coomer’s attorney passed the witness, and Lindell’s attorneys took over his questioning. They focused mainly on Lindell’s modest upbringing, business history, and unexpected success; questioning is expected to continue at 9aMT Tuesday, with the charge conference taking place Tuesday afternoon. The charge conference is where the jury instructions are finalized, which sets the guardrails for how the case will be decided in the deliberation room.
You can read the full thread of the Monday’s events here, and follow updates (posted on breaks in trial) for today on my X.
I’ll be in the courtroom again, and you can follow the latest trial updates (on delay per court order) on X @asheinamerica. If you still want more, check out last night’s Culture of Change on Badlands Media for more detailed Monday recap.
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The post Lindell Testimony Resumes Tuesday After Full Day Monday appeared first on Colorado Free Press.